Exclusive-China's Leapmotor to supply EV platform to Hongqi
Leapmotor has struck a deal with Chinese state-owned automaker FAW to deliver an electric vehicle platform that will be used to drive overseas sales for Hongqi, an emerging national champion, executives from both companies said. Leapmotor, a profitable upstart automaker in China's crowded EV market, will supply the underpinnings for a new EV model to the country's oldest auto brand, which got its start supplying sedans for Communist Party leaders and emerged as a fast-growing premium brand in recent years. "We have finalised the partnership to jointly develop a model for overseas market," Leapmotor CEO Zhu Jiangming told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of this week's Shanghai auto show.