Zeekr was founded in March 2021 as a premium electric mobility brand for battery-powered vehicles by the Geely Group to compete against Nio and Tesla, among others. Its first model, the Zeekr 001 was officially launched in April 2021.[3] The Zeekr models are to be based on the SEA platform presented in autumn 2020.[4] Zeekr started delivering the 001 model in October 2021 a vehicle originally planned to be launched by sister brand Lynk & Co.[5] In 2022, Zeekr delivered 71,941 Zeekr 001 to customers across more than 330 cities in China. Its subsidiary Zeekr Power covers more than 110 cities with over 660 stations.[6]
Zeekr developed Waymo's autonomous robotaxi.[7][8][9] In December 2021, Geely announced that Zeekr would be collaborating with Waymo to develop and provide all-electric, autonomous ride-hailing vehicle for the Waymo One autonomous mobility service in the United States.[10] The vehicle integrated with Waymo's technology was unveiled in Los Angeles in November 2022.[11]
In January 2022, a cooperation between Zeekr and Mobileye was announced to expand their strategic technology partnership with a goal to deliver the world's first consumer autonomous vehicles with L4 capabilities by 2024.[12][13]
In August 2022, Zeekr announced their cooperation with CATL, making them the first brand to use CATL's Qilin long range batteries for global mass production. The Zeekr 001 will be the first model to use the new batteries, enabling them to have a pure electric range exceeding 1,000 kilometres (620 mi).[14]
Zeekr raised US$500 million in its first external fundraising from five investors including Intel Capital, CATL, Bilibili in August 2021. On February 13, 2023, Zeekr is valued at US$13 billion after it raised US$750 million from five investors.[15] In May 2024, Zeekr filed its initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange. Zeekr raised around US$441 million, making it the largest IPO of a Chinese company since 2021.[16]
In August 2024, Zeekr has faced criticism for launching the 2025 model year of the Zeekr 001 in China just six months after releasing the previous version in February 2024. It led to protests among customers who recently purchased the earlier model, as their vehicles have quickly been superseded by a newer version. The 2024 model came equipped with Mobileye chips, which cannot be upgraded to the new Haohan Intelligent Driving 2.0 system from the 2025 model. In response, Geely Holding President and Zeekr CEO An Conghui acknowledged the issue, admitting that the company could have better communicated its product release plans.[17]
2024 restructuring
In November 2024, the equity structures of Geely Auto, Zeekr, and Lynk & Co were modified in line with Geely Holding Group's restructuring strategy.[18] Geely Holding Group transferred its 11.3% stake in Zeekr Intelligent Technology (Zeekr) to Geely Automobile Holdings (Geely Auto). As a result, Geely Auto's shareholding in Zeekr increased to 62.8%.[19][20] Zeekr subsequently announced its acquisition of a 20% stake in Lynk & Co from Geely Auto for 3.6 billion yuan, along with Volvo Cars’ 30% stake in Lynk & Co for 5.4 billion yuan.[21] This transaction raised Zeekr’s ownership in Lynk & Co to 51%, while the remaining 49% continues to be held by Geely Auto.[19][20]
In December 2024, Lin Jinwen, vice president of Zeekr Intelligent Technology, stated on Chinese social media Weibo that following the integration of Zeekr and Lynk & Co, the company entity "Zhejiang Zeekr Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd." would remain unchanged but would operate under a new name, "Zeekr Technology Group".[22][23]
Market availability
Zeekr first launched in China and starting expanding into Europe. Its first European showroom opened in Stockholm, Sweden in 2023.[24] Sweden, together with the Netherlands, were the first European markets which Zeekr entered in 2023.[25]
In 2024, the brand will expand into Denmark, Germany, France, Norway, Israel, and Australia, and plans to enter the Singapore market by the end of the year.[26][27] Additionally, the brand will begin constructing showrooms in Japan in the fourth quarter of 2024, with sales and deliveries expected to start in 2025.[28] Zeekr is also set to enter the Brazilian market in September 2024 and is planning to officially launch in South Korea in 2025.[29][30]
Zeekr also enters Australian market in October 15.[31]
M-Vision is built on SEA-M architecture to showcase the architecture's fundamental features such as expansive interior, open seat choice, and placement option, no B-pillar, and robust electrical/electronic (E/E) backbone supporting autonomous drive and connected devices. M-Vision is a base model that can be developed for a range of future mobility products including robotaxis, multi-purpose vehicles, and logistics vehicles.[39]
Lynk & Co (Chinese: 领克; pinyin: Lǐng kè) was a brand jointly owned by Geely Auto, Volvo Cars and Zhejiang Geely Holding that was established in 2016.[40] Before November 2024, it was owned 50% by Geely Auto, 30% by Volvo Cars, and 20% by Geely Holding Group, and currently 51% owned by Zeekr and 49% owned by Geely Auto.
^"중국 지리그룹 전기차브랜드 지커(Zeekr), 2025년 한국 상륙" [Chinese Geely Group's electric vehicle brand Zeekr arrives in Korea in 2025]. M투데이 (in Korean). 14 May 2024. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
^"【图】再创新高 极氪汽车12月交付13476台_汽车之家" [Zeekr Motors reaches new heights and delivers 13,476 units in December]. Autohome. 1 January 2024. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
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