Leapmotor's new Shanghai design hub to start operation in Nov.

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- On November 19, Leapmotor unveiled plans to bring its Shanghai styling center online in November 2025, choosing the city's Hongqiao central business district as its new creative base.

The facility will work in tandem with the company's existing design hub in Hangzhou, establishing a dual-center design network that taps into the Yangtze River Delta's talent pool and supply-chain ecosystem. The strategy marks a significant step in strengthening the brand's global design footprint.

A key differentiator of the new Shanghai center is the introduction of a perception-quality evaluation system, giving Leapmotor more rigorous control over everything from digital design data to the tactile qualities of physical models. This framework spans the full workflow—starting with sketch reviews and extending through clay-model refinement—allowing the company to tighten quality standards in areas such as surface transitions and panel-gap precision.

Under the dual-center model, the Hangzhou team focuses primarily on domestic user insights—particularly Chinese consumers' expectations for space utilization and family-oriented features. The Shanghai team, meanwhile, is tasked with tracking global design trends and leading innovation in areas such as color and materials, as well as UX and HMI design. Through a shared real-time data platform, both centers work in sync, enabling Leapmotor's B-series models to concurrently meet both Chinese and European NCAP safety and quality standards.

As part of its global expansion, Leapmotor is preparing to establish an innovation center in Europe to build a time-zone-spanning collaboration network. The B10 has already begun large-scale exports to the region, and after its appearance at the IAA MOBILITY 2025, the model is expected to reach more than 20 European markets by year-end. Looking ahead, the design team is developing a high-seating-position SUV tailored to European tastes while also studying Southeast Asia's demand for higher-clearance chassis designs—efforts aimed at regionalizing its "Tech-Natural Aesthetics" design language.

With this upgraded design architecture, Leapmotor is strengthening its broader "technology for all" strategy. The Shanghai styling center not only raises the brand's precision in design quality control but also serves as a forward-looking anchor for future global product iterations. This design-driven approach reflects the evolving playbook of China's new energy vehicle makers as they compete increasingly on the world stage.