Leapmotor L80 Launch, BYD in Talks with Stellantis Over European Plant Acquisition, Li Auto Denies Planned Layoffs: NEV Sector Updates

On May 15, LeDao Auto held its second-anniversary brand event in Hefei and officially unveiled the LeDao L80 model. The vehicle is offered in three variants—Pro, Max+, and Ultra+—and supports two intelligent driving solutions: an Orin-X-based pure vision version and a version combining the Shengji chip with LiDAR. The starting price for purchasing the entire vehicle is RMB 242,800, while the starting price under the BaaS (Battery as a Service) battery leasing scheme is RMB 156,800. Positioned as a smart dual-cabin flagship large five-seater SUV, nationwide deliveries commenced on May 16. NIO has built 8,865 charging and battery swap stations and plans to add 1,000 more battery swap stations this year, expanding its "Power Journeys" network to over 100 routes. LeDao’s service centers have reached 343 locations and will continue to expand based on user demand. Li Ke, Executive Vice President of BYD, revealed that the company is in talks with Stellantis and other European automakers to potentially take over idle or underutilized manufacturing plants in Europe, with potential sites including Italy. BYD confirmed the report but declined to provide further details. On May 13, Li Xiang, CEO of Li Auto, stated in an interview that his company would not proactively lay off employees and advised businesses to approach workforce reductions with caution. He noted that talent criteria have evolved in the AI era and suggested leveraging technological tools for natural selection rather than manual layoffs. Recently, Qijing Auto completed a strategic capital increase exceeding RMB 1 billion, bringing in multiple investors including CATL, Bosch-affiliated Boyuan Capital, CITIC Securities, and Shenzhen Investment Holdings Capital. An employee stock ownership platform has also been established to advance mixed-ownership reform. Following the capital injection, GAC Group and GAC Aion together hold approximately 70% of shares, maintaining their controlling stake. The company plans to establish a market-oriented operational mechanism to drive independent commercial operations. According to media reports, XPeng is also exploring the possibility of acquiring manufacturing facilities in Europe together with automakers such as Volkswagen. Elvis Cheng, Managing Director of XPeng for Northeast Europe, said the company is evaluating whether suitable factory sites can be found in Europe and is simultaneously considering building new plants. Volkswagen denied reports that any automaker has expressed interest in taking over its planned-to-close German plant. XPeng declined to comment on the matter.