Alibaba

ByteDance

CATL

Huawei

Meituan

Tencent

Xiaomi

Most Followed

Market News

Listings (IPO)

Earnings Reports

Venture Roundup

Big Tech

Automotives

Retail and Commerce

Collections

News

Features

Insights

Press Releases

Anta

DeepSeek

Geely

Li Auto

Mixue Bingcheng

Pop Mart

Going Global

Latest

Collaborate

Earnings

Auto

Retail & Commerce

The global <a href="/industry/ai">artificial intelligence</a> boom has boosted electronics shipments from Southeast Asian technology hubs, pushing their overall exports to historic highs despite the supply chain shock emanating from the Middle East.
According to data released on May 20 by Malaysia's Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry, the country's exports of electrical and electronic goods in April climbed 46.4% year-on-year to a record MYR 88.16 billion (USD 22.2 billion).
The spike was "primarily supported by strong demand from the artificial intelligence and automotive electronics segments," the ministry said in its statement.
Malaysia is known for semiconductor packaging processes. With the electrical and electronics segment accounting for 48% of its total exports, overall shipments jumped 36.9% year-on-year, the fastest pace of growth in nearly four years, to MYR 182.74 billion (USD 46.1 billion), a record for any month.
Since the US war with Iran broke out in late February, the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has pushed up oil prices, clouding global logistics. But the latest trade data suggests the recent technology upcycle, which has already benefitted leading chipmakers, is outweighing the impact of the Middle East shock.
"Malaysia's trade maintained its stellar performance" despite higher logistics costs, supply chain disruptions, and commodity price volatility, the ministry said.
By destination, Taiwan, Asia's leading semiconductor production hub, grew fastest, up 86% from a year earlier, thanks to strong exports of electronics as well as optical and scientific equipment.
Malaysia also expanded its exports to the US and China, each up 39%, and to Vietnam, by 65%.
Southeast Asian manufacturing hubs like Malaysia have increased their presence in recent years, particularly as the trade rivalry between the US and China intensified.
To circumvent US tariffs, Chinese companies in sectors such as batteries, semiconductors, and solar energy have sought alternative production and export channels in Southeast Asia, which may be one factor supporting Malaysia's increased exports to the US
Apparently reflecting these moves, Malaysia's trade data showed that re-exports in April doubled from a year earlier, contributing to the overall growth.
In neighboring Singapore, April exports also grew strongly. The city-state's benchmark nonoil domestic exports surged 24.5%, Enterprise Singapore announced on May 18, marking the fastest pace since February 2012.
Electronic exports rose 66.7%, "supported by robust AI-related demand," the statutory board said. Shipments of integrated circuits jumped 82.7% year-on-year, disk media products increased 2.5-fold and personal computer exports rose 35.7%.
Electronics shipments to the US increased 224% from a year earlier, those to South Korea gained 214% and to Taiwan 118%.
"Robust global AI demand should continue to underpin electronics exports, particularly in semiconductors," Mohamed Afham Zulghafir, an economist at CGS International, said of Singapore's outlook.
Likewise, in Thailand, which is expected to release its April trade data in the next week or so, electronics are expected to lead exports in the coming months.
In Thailand's <a title="" href="https://asia.nikkei.com/economy/thailand-s-q1-gdp-growth-picks-up-bucking-trend-among-asean-peers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">first-quarter gross domestic product</a> announcement on May 18, the National Economic and Social Development Council revised up its full-year export growth projection in dollar terms to 9.6% from the previous 2%, citing "increasing demand for advanced technology-related products, which is expected to support continued expansion in exports of electronics and electrical appliances."
However, economists are cautiously monitoring the impact of the crisis in the Middle East.
CGS International's Zulghafir pointed out that lingering tensions in the Middle East may lead to more cautious inventory restocking and softer trade-financing flows.
Meanwhile, Julia Goh, a senior economist at United Overseas Bank, said operating conditions in the manufacturing sector are expected to worsen due to logistics disruptions. "Although firms are sourcing alternatives," she said, "substitutes may be delayed or fail to meet required specifications."
This article first appeared on <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/economy/trade/malaysia-singapore-exports-surge-on-ai-boom-defying-mideast-shock">Nikkei Asia</a>. It has been republished here as part of 36Kr’s ongoing partnership with <a href="https://www.0722vps.aieehr01.top/nikkei-teams-up-with-36kr-in-asia-tech-news-coverage/">Nikkei</a>.
Note: MYR figures are converted to USD at rates of MYR 3.96 = USD 1 based on estimates as of May 22, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.

Malaysia, Singapore exports surge on AI boom, defying Middle East shock

Singapore

Malaysia

Southeast Asia

… speakers first. They have to consider other important parts of the car first,” a Sonavox R&amp;D staff member told 36Kr. Speakers therefore must become increasingly invisible.
Discussing the competitive direction over the next three to five years, Sonavox management’s overall view is that the marginal utility of hardware stacking is diminishing. “We focus more on optimization from the software perspective, the algorithm perspective, and the soft power perspective,” a Sonavox staff member said. Another member of the Sonavox R&amp;D team added that the acoustic foundation of the speaker unit remains the premise, but on top of that, “whoever controls autonomy and AI across the entire chain will see the value-added change.”
This creates new opportunities and problems for suppliers such as Sonavox. The opportunity is that automotive acoustics increasingly requires system solutions, which could amplify domestic suppliers’ advantages in development speed, cost control, and scenario understanding. The problem is that system capabilities must be recognized by automakers, while brand mindshare must be built gradually. In the past, suppliers could hide behind finished vehicles. In the future, the industry will need to know what problems they have solved.
In terms of specific moves, Sonavox will continue advancing technology and commercializing nanomaterials, digital speakers, and multichannel amplifiers. It will also accelerate product-side innovation and cross-sector cooperation in embodied intelligence acoustics, extending automotive-grade acoustic capabilities into more scenarios and seeking a second growth curve.
At the same time, Sonavox will continue binding itself closely with new energy vehicle makers in the Chinese market, participating in the smart cabin industry’s growth while using refined cost control and digital manufacturing to improve delivery quality.
Overseas, it will continue investing in local R&amp;D, manufacturing, and delivery. While defending its advantages in Europe, the US, and China, it will also accelerate expansion into regional markets such as Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia.
From a township factory to a listed company in the top tier of the global automotive acoustics industry, Sonavox has spent 50 years growing. As automotive acoustics becomes more deeply integrated into vehicles, and more invisible within them, the people who have spent years working on sound systems have reached the moment when they need to be seen.
KrASIA features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/3789207177141249">article</a> was written by 36Kr Brand.
Note: RMB figures are converted to USD at rates of RMB 6.81 = USD 1 based on estimates as of May 21, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.

Sonavox makes a loud case for audio as part of the smart cabin stack

Hardware

China

Family-owned Mayer &amp; Cie is not only a giant in the German textile industry. Over 80,000 of the circular sewing machines it has manufactured are used throughout the world to make clothes for global brands like H&amp;M, Uniqlo, and Decathlon.
In April, the 120-year-old company became yet another German entity to fall into the hands of a Chinese buyer, Huixing Machinery in this case, after it declared bankruptcy last year and laid off nearly all of its over 200 staff. It blamed a raft of reasons for its failure, including an inability to compete with Chinese rivals on price, a predicament European industrial companies are all too familiar with.
"State-subsidized manufacturers from China offered their textile machines at low prices on the world market," Mayer &amp; Cie wrote in its insolvency filing in September. European machines are usually at least 20% more expensive than Chinese ones.
For four generations, the company supplied the world with circular-knitting machines from its base in Germany's southwestern town Albstadt. They make tube-shaped fabric for collars, socks, hats and mattresses, to name some items and are much more productive than flatbed machines. Each Mayer &amp; Cie machine manages over 12 million stitches per minute, which equates to around 380 T-shirts per hour.
Huixing has now taken over the Albstadt site and a subsidiary in the Czech Republic and one in Jintan, China, for an undisclosed sum. Apart from Chinese competition, Mayer &amp; Cie also blamed its collapse on the US-China trade war and the Ukraine war, both of which led to inflationary pressure. At the same time, Turkey, a major importer of textile machines, was struggling with hyperinflation, in part brought on by its own unconventional economic policy before June 2023.
An arranger of the Mayer &amp; Cie deal said the German company can benefit from the reach of Quanzhou-based Huixing in China, a key market for the industry.
Wang Jiawei, head of consultancy Roedl's China practice, further explained that the deal was waved through by authorities because it was about vertical integration to expand market share and not aimed at technology transfer.
Huixing's commitment to gradually rehire the employees who had been laid off would have helped its case with German authorities. It will also keep key functions, such as manufacturing, research, and development, in Albstadt.
An analyst said Mayer &amp; Cie could thrive under the new leadership, citing the 2005 takeover of industrial sewing-machine maker Duerkopp Adler. The company that was established in 1860 became the first German-listed company to come under the control of a Chinese shareholder, Shanghai-listed ShangGong Group.
"At the time, the news was treated across Europe as a sensation, but 20 years on, Duerkopp Adler still operates from its plant in Bielefeld-Oldentrup, employs more than a thousand people, has materially improved its margins under Chinese ownership, and runs the German sister brand Pfaff Industrial within the same group," said Anton Schumann, partner and CEO of textile consultancy Gherzi Germany.
Schumann also cited the 2023 acquisition of the bankrupt, Stuttgart-based Terrot, one of the oldest names in circular knitting, by Santoni Shanghai Knitting Machinery, an Italian-Chinese group. The company continues to trade under the brand, with an intact workforce.
Germany's Machinery and Equipment Manufacturers Association (VDMA) observed that European textile machinery manufacturers are operating in a challenging market environment that has changed noticeably since 2022. Orders have declined, particularly for clothes. At the same time, the Ukraine war and subsequent sanctions on Russia have pushed up energy and regulatory costs in Europe.
"Chinese textile machinery manufacturers benefit from several advantages, including government support measures for financing, energy, and infrastructure, and as a result, they are increasingly penetrating market segments that were long dominated by European manufacturers," said Nicolai Strauch of VDMA's textile machinery division.
Strauch said that European machines, however, have longer lifespans, higher performance rates and are more technologically advanced.
"European textile machinery manufacturers also possess extensive expertise in energy saving, emission reduction, recycling, and circular economy solutions, as well as regulatory compliance to EU regulations," he added.
Schumann also urged European textile machinery makers to specialize in niche products with markets either too small or too complex for Asian volume manufacturing, such as nonwovens for filtration or medical knit.
Another option is to focus on tapping nearer markets such as Morocco, Tunisia, Jordan, Turkey, southern Spain, Portugal, and parts of central Europe that are yet to be fully served by Asian volume producers or suppliers of premium machines.
This article first appeared on <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/business/markets/commodities/china-investor-gobbles-up-120-year-old-german-sewing-machine-maker">Nikkei Asia</a>. It has been republished here as part of 36Kr’s ongoing partnership with <a href="https://www.0722vps.aieehr01.top/nikkei-teams-up-with-36kr-in-asia-tech-news-coverage/">Nikkei</a>.

China investor takes over 120-year-old German knitting machine maker

Europe

… AI code generation rate to 80% from 30% currently.
ZKH has built an integrated AI application system covering core business processes including products, sales, operations, and customer service. It has also formed a portfolio of AI agents, including an inquiry and quotation tool, a materials manager, and a product recommender. The company said these tools are beginning to show commercial value.
This <a href="https://xueqiu.com/2854806290/390246013">article</a> was adapted based on a feature originally written by Stone Jin and published on IPO Zaozhidao. KrASIA is authorized to translate, adapt, and publish its contents.
Note: RMB figures are converted to USD at rates of RMB 6.81 = USD 1 based on estimates as of May 22, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.

ZKH’s Q1 GMV growth accelerates as efficiency push lifts profit

The China Securities Regulatory Commission has disclosed information on its website indicating that Chinese memory chip maker Yangtze Memory Technologies Holding has begun pre-listing tutoring, formally starting its A-share IPO process. CITIC Securities and CSC Financial are serving as its advisors.
Founded in 2016, YMTC Holding is a memory integrated device manufacturer (IDM), with businesses spanning chip design, manufacturing, packaging and testing, and system solution products. Its wholly owned subsidiary, Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC), is valued at more than RMB 160 billion (USD 23.5 billion).
YMTC is central to YMTC Holding’s development. The company has made several advances in memory chip technology, supporting its product innovation.
In October 2017, YMTC designed and manufactured what it described as China’s first 3D NAND flash memory through a combination of in-house R&amp;D and international collaboration.
In September 2019, the company began mass production of its second-generation triple-level cell (TLC) 3D NAND flash memory, which uses its proprietary Xtacking architecture.
In April 2020, YMTC announced that it had completed R&amp;D for two third-generation products, covering TLC and quad-level cell (QLC) flash memory. The company said its X2-6070, its first third-generation QLC flash memory product, had the industry’s highest input-output speed, highest storage density, and highest single-die capacity at the time of its release.
YMTC’s self-developed Xtacking architecture is one of the company’s key assets. The architecture uses wafer bonding, a technology that can improve transfer speed, storage density, R&amp;D efficiency, and production cycles.
Before Xtacking was introduced, 3D NAND products on the market mainly used traditional side-by-side architecture or CMOS-under-array (CuA) architecture. YMTC applied wafer bonding to 3D NAND flash memory after nine years of technical accumulation in 3D integrated circuits and four years of R&amp;D validation.
According to the company, YMTC’s technology enables billions of metal channels to be connected within an area the size of a fingernail, merging two components into a single unit while delivering reliability comparable to processing on the same wafer. As layer counts continue to rise, 3D NAND flash memory developed and manufactured using Xtacking could gain cost and innovation advantages.
Amid rising global <a href="/industry/ai">artificial intelligence</a> demand and higher hardware costs, memory chips are entering what analysts have described as a new industry upcycle. According to a CITIC Securities research report, strong AI-driven demand is expected to keep memory demand robust in the near term, while memory chip price increases are expected to continue throughout 2026 and serve as an industry catalyst. Morgan Stanley has said bottlenecks in the AI value chain are shifting from GPUs to memory, packaging, and network bandwidth, and that sustained growth in memory demand could continue for at least three to five years.
Since its founding, YMTC Holding has completed multiple funding rounds. Its cap table includes state-owned, private, and industrial investors, including phases one and two of China’s Big Fund, five major state-backed banks, and various venture capital and private equity firms.
This <a href="https://xueqiu.com/2854806290/389786289">article</a> was adapted based on a feature originally written by and published on IPO Zaozhidao. KrASIA is authorized to translate, adapt, and publish its contents.

YMTC moves toward A-share listing amid memory chip supercycle

Deep Tech

Semiconductors

iMotion Automotive Technology, a Chinese autonomous driving technology developer, has released its financial results for the four months ended April 30.
According to company disclosures, iMotion recorded RMB 400 million (USD 58.7 million) in revenue during the first four months of 2026, up 162.55% year-on-year. Gross profit reached RMB 37 million (USD 5.4 million), a year-on-year increase of 571.89%, while gross margin rose to 9.32% from 3.64% in the same period of 2025.
In the announcement, iMotion said the revenue growth was mainly driven by a ramp-up in production and deliveries of its driving assistance solutions and products across multiple projects with <a href="/company/chery">Chery</a>, <a href="/company/geely">Geely</a>, Dongfeng Motor, <a href="/company/leapmotor">Leapmotor</a>, and other customers. Product sales volume rose 243.3% year-on-year to more than 148,400 sets. Sales of its self-developed iDC domain controllers and smart front cameras increased by 95.6% and 460.3%, respectively. Chery’s iCar V27, the first mass produced model equipped with the iDC510 Pro domain controller, officially launched in March.
Supported by revenue growth and gross margin improvement, iMotion’s pre-tax loss for the first four months of 2026 narrowed by 51.39% from a year earlier.
iMotion also secured 23 nomination letters from OEM (original equipment manufacturer) customers during the first four months of 2026. These projects are expected to enter mass production in stages in 2026 and 2027. They included the first two projects from an unnamed northern state-owned OEM, additional nominated projects from an unnamed customer in Taiwan, and a direct supply deal with an undisclosed overseas customer.
By product category, iMotion continued to secure projects for products and solutions based on Horizon Robotics’ Journey 6B platform, further strengthening its position on the platform. It also added multiple nominations for iDC500 and iDC700 projects based on the Journey 6M platform, reflecting further progress in mid- to high-end assisted driving solutions.
In embodied intelligence, iMotion said it has continued to advance R&amp;D, product implementation, and commercial applications. One of its subsidiaries reportedly received a new domestic order for its iRC100P robotics controller. The product has already been deployed in the customer’s robots and is expected to move into large-scale deployment and systematic operations alongside the customer’s products, entering real-world application scenarios.
This <a href="https://xueqiu.com/2854806290/389786371">article</a> was adapted based on a feature originally written by and published on IPO Zaozhidao. KrASIA is authorized to translate, adapt, and publish its contents.
Note: RMB figures are converted to USD at rates of RMB 6.81 = USD 1 based on estimates as of May 22, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.

iMotion revenue jumps as product volume triples on new OEM nominations

Transportation

Autonomous Vehicles

Mobility

China's leading memory chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) said net profit skyrocketed over 1,688% in the January-March period from the same quarter the year before as revenue surged more than 719%, fueled by the global <a href="/industry/ai">artificial intelligence</a> boom.
The results, shared in an IPO prospectus submitted to the Shanghai Stock Exchange on May 17, underscore the significant progress Beijing has made in its push to localize critical chip production.
CXMT reported a net profit of RMB 24.7 billion (USD 3.6 billion) for the quarter on revenue of RMB 50.8 billion (USD 7.5 billion). The country's top maker of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips said the sharp rise in profit and revenue was driven by the global increase in DRAM prices.
The company logged its first full-year profit in 2025, reporting RMB 1.87 billion (USD 274.6 million) on revenue of RMB 61.79 billion (USD 9.1 billion), the prospectus said.
<div class="embed-container"><iframe src="https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/29082813/embed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen> frameborder="0" scrolling="no" sandbox="allow-same-origin allow-forms allow-scripts allow-downloads allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation"></iframe></div>
<style>@media (min-width:769px){.embed-container{height:600px!important}}@media (max-width:768px){.embed-container{height:640px!important}}h2{line-height:36px}</style>
The memory chipmaker said its planned listing on Shanghai's Star Market is intended to raise capital to support technology development and capacity expansion, as its current output still falls far short of massive domestic demand. The tech-heavy STAR Market is widely viewed as China's version of the Nasdaq.
Nikkei first reported that CXMT is undertaking its <a title="" href="https://asia.nikkei.com/business/tech/semiconductors/china-s-cxmt-and-ymtc-to-massively-expand-memory-output-amid-global-crunch" target="_blank" rel="noopener">most aggressive expansion ever</a> in Shanghai, aiming to not only multiply its production capacity but also develop high-bandwidth memory (HBM), the critical memory component used in AI data center servers. The company is also expanding its production capacity close to its headquarters in Hefei, Anhui.
CXMT said in its prospectus that it operates three chip complexes in Hefei and Beijing.
The company was founded in 2016 with the goal of helping China reduce its reliance on foreign DRAM suppliers, a market long dominated by Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron Technology.
CXMT's planned listing comes as US lawmakers aim to further tighten restrictions on shipments of chipmaking equipment to Chinese customers with the proposed MATCH Act. In addition to pushing Washington's allies to step up their controls, the act also seeks to place more Chinese chipmakers, including CXMT and Hua Hong Semiconductor, on trade blacklists to further limit their access to advanced chipmaking tools.
The record financial results by CXMT and the prospectus were filed shortly after <a title="https://asia.nikkei.com/spotlight/trump-xi-summit/trump-xi-summit-how-the-us-president-s-china-visit-unfolded" href="https://asia.nikkei.com/spotlight/trump-xi-summit/trump-xi-summit-how-the-us-president-s-china-visit-unfolded" target="_blank" rel="noopener">US President Donald Trump concluded a visit to Beijing</a> for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The global memory chip crunch has created a golden opportunity for emerging players such as CXMT to rise on the international stage and benefit from a favorable pricing environment. Several leading PC makers, including HP, Dell Technologies, Asus, and Acer, are also <a title="" href="https://asia.nikkei.com/spotlight/supply-chain/hp-dell-acer-and-asus-mull-using-chinese-memory-chips-amid-supply-crunch" target="_blank" rel="noopener">open to qualifying CXMT's products</a> as memory shortages increasingly affect product rollouts and market demand.
CXMT said it is China's top DRAM maker and the world's number four player with a global market share of 7.67%, citing data from research company Omdia.
This article first appeared on <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/business/tech/semiconductors/china-chipmaker-cxmt-logs-1-688-profit-surge-amid-global-memory-crunch">Nikkei Asia</a>. It has been republished here as part of 36Kr’s ongoing partnership with <a href="https://www.0722vps.aieehr01.top/nikkei-teams-up-with-36kr-in-asia-tech-news-coverage/">Nikkei</a>.
Note: RMB figures are converted to USD at rates of RMB 6.81 = USD 1 based on estimates as of May 22, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.

China chipmaker CXMT logs 1,688% profit surge amid global memory crunch

Max Beier, a sales manager for China-based carmaker Leapmotor, has little doubt that the T03 <a href="/industry/ev">electric vehicle</a> will be the dealership's most popular offering in May and June. After all, no other model carries a lease starting at only EUR 48.9 (USD 56.8) per month.
"It has been selling very well recently," Beier said.
Under a new strategy to encourage green car sales, the German government is subsidizing EVs at up to EUR 6,000 (USD 6,966.2) per vehicle. A family earning less than EUR 45,000 (USD 52,246.6) a year with at least two children will receive the maximum subsidy. This will more than cover the deposit usually required in auto lease contracts, EUR 4,250 (USD 4,934.4) in this case, and the delivery fee for the car, leaving the buyer to foot only the monthly payment.
With the T03 priced at EUR 18,900 (USD 21,943.6), Leapmotor will only recover EUR 11,139 (USD 12,932.8) at the end of the 36-month lease term, a sign of its aggressive strategy. Lessees will essentially only pay EUR 1,760.4 (USD 2,043.9)—less than the price of some bicycles—to use the car for three years under the offer that lasts until the end of June.
"The vehicle's extremely competitive pricing is made possible by Leapmotor's high level of cost efficiency," a Leapmotor spokesman told Nikkei Asia. "One key factor behind this is the company's extensive vertical integration. Additionally, the leasing rate, which starts at just EUR 49 (USD 56.9), is made possible by German government incentives."
The spokesman said the T03 is an entry-level electric model, suitable for new drivers and the elderly.
At Beier's dealership, just one T03 remains displayed at the main entrance, while seven newly leased ones are waiting to be picked up by customers at the side of the building.
"If the car is then returned without significant scratches or other damage, and the milage limit of 10,000 kilometers per year was not breached, the buyer has effectively paid very little for a good car," Beier said.
Leapmotor is majority-owned by European carmaker Stellantis, with the T03 built solely in China after production in Poland was stopped in March 2025. Industry observers said the move was in retaliation by Beijing for Warsaw having voted in favor of punitive European Union tariffs on Chinese EV imports.
The headline-grabbing price has precedent in France. In 2023, France launched its first subsidized leasing scheme, offering EVs to low- and middle-income households for EUR 49–150 (USD 56.9–174.2) a month. The French government plans to launch the scheme for the third time in June in response to rising gasoline and diesel prices brought on by the Iran war. The catch is that the scheme only covers the first 50,000 contracts.
There had been speculation that Leapmotor's generosity was driven by its desire to clear its inventory of T03s, which may not comply with new regulations. Starting in July, an EU regulation will require all newly registered EVs and light commercial vehicles to have installed camera-based driver warning systems, enlarged head impact protection zones for pedestrians and cyclists, and upgrades to autonomous emergency braking.
The Leapmotor spokesman rejects this claim and said the T03 is fully compliant with the new rules.
In the run-up to the previous round of regulatory changes in 2024, German automaker Porsche was forced to withdraw the Macan model from the EU market. MG Motor, which is owned by China's SAIC Motor, cleared its inventory of MG4s in Germany by offering buyers a second one free of charge under a leasing scheme.
An observer believes that given the volume of T03 sales in 2025, when the model accounted for 66% of all new Leapmotor registrations in Germany, it was unlikely that the company would have failed to comply with well-flagged rules.
"It would be incredibly shortsighted for the company to voluntarily forgo two-thirds of its registrations, so they have almost certainly implemented the necessary regulatory adjustments in a timely way," said Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer, director at the Center for Automotive Research, a German think tank.
"In my estimation, what we are witnessing here is essentially a sales-driven extravaganza," he said.
This article first appeared on <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/business/automobiles/electric-vehicles/china-s-leapmotor-woos-germans-with-57-monthly-ev-lease">Nikkei Asia</a>. It has been republished here as part of 36Kr’s ongoing partnership with <a href="https://www.0722vps.aieehr01.top/nikkei-teams-up-with-36kr-in-asia-tech-news-coverage/">Nikkei</a>.
Note: EUR figures are converted to USD at rates of EUR 0.86 = USD 1 based on estimates as of May 22, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.

China's Leapmotor woos Germans with USD 57 monthly EV lease

East Asia

Leapmotor

Electric Vehicles

… This technology system provides a solid foundation whether we are building cars or robots. From the OS to the base layer and chip deployment, it is all our own. That is the premise behind automakers entering robotics.
<h3>36Kr: After the chassis domain becomes tightly integrated with assisted driving, will its software layer also follow the scaling law?</h3>
LL: I do not think the accumulation of chassis data contributes much to chassis algorithms.
Data accumulation in assisted driving follows the logic of scaling law: more data, more compute, larger models, better functions. But chassis control is model-based control. This model is not a large language model. It is a vehicle control model based on vehicle dynamics, a mathematical model of the physical world, and it does not require excessive data.
For chassis, the point that really creates differentiation is the dynamics model. Whether the full-vehicle model is more precise and more intelligent depends fundamentally on the capability of this mathematical model.
<h3>36Kr: In integration, is battery-chassis integration, such as cell-to-body (CTB) or cell-to-chassis (CTC), something Li Auto wants to do next?</h3>
LL: If we make sedans in the future, we will definitely consider it, because it contributes to interior space along the Z-axis, meaning height. CTB’s greatest value lies there. In sedans, second-row headroom is very tight, around 920–930 millimeters. After integration, an extra ten millimeters makes a very large contribution.
<h3>36Kr: What will the next R&amp;D direction for the chassis domain be?</h3>
LL: There will be small hardware iterations, but there will not be significant changes in form. Whether active suspension, steer-by-wire, or EMB, local parts will continue to iterate to make reliability higher. The upper limit for reliability has no endpoint. The pursuit is always zero PPM, or zero defects per million.
The core remains the OEM’s system integration capability: integrating the execution systems in the three directions through a full-vehicle model to coordinate control of the three forces. The emphasis is more on control, making the whole driving and riding experience better. Another direction is integration with AD, making the assisted driving experience better, response faster, and safety performance stronger.
Personalization is also an important direction for our next generation of R&amp;D. The system will adapt to your driving preferences, or the driving preferences you want. You can tell it what you like, and it will report its current state. If you say this is not what you want, and specify the dimensions where you want it to be gentler or more aggressive, you can adjust it, and the car will adapt to you.
<h3>36Kr: How does Li Auto internally judge the value of technology and products?</h3>
LL: Internally, we have a product world model. It is not the world model used in artificial intelligence simulation. It is similar to the integrated product development (IPD) process. In one vehicle, it contains the core selling points, key technologies, business aspects, and so on.
<h3>36Kr: How does Li Auto balance innovation investment against wastage brought by uncertainty?</h3>
LL: If you are doing forward-looking research, you will inevitably face detours. From the chassis perspective, however, among the technologies we selected, Europeans have worked on many of them over the past 100 years. So in this regard, there are not that many detours.
<h3>36Kr: The all-new Li L9 Livis will be delivered soon. What expectations does Li Auto have for the car?</h3>
LL: It is the world’s first vehicle to mass produce electromechanical brake-by-wire, steer-by-wire, rear-wheel steering, and 800V active suspension together. It is also the first vehicle to allow these four systems to truly coordinate through full-stack in-house algorithms. Having the hardware in place is only the prerequisite. Connecting the software is the core.
Once the chassis truly achieves comprehensive electronic control, many things that could not be done in the past have only just become possible: deep coordination between assisted driving and the chassis, personalized driving adaptation, and more extreme safety redundancy. All of these need to continue iterating on the basis of full drive-by-wire.
Internally, we say that the past four years were about teaching the chassis to think with electricity. Next, it is about teaching the chassis to help people think. The day the Li L9 Livis reaches users is not the endpoint. It is the first day this truly begins.
KrASIA features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/3804380633554696">article</a> was written by Xiao Man for 36Kr.

Li Auto uses the Li L9 Livis to make its case as a technology company