China’s no 4 BEV brand Zeekr surges 30% in US debut
Another Geely listing
Zeekr Intelligent Technology Holdings surged on its first day of trading in New York with the electric car brand raising $441 million after pricing the IPO at the top end of the range and upsizing the number of shares offered.
Shares in Zeekr, one of the brands under the sprawling Geely automaking empire headed by billionaire Eric Lee, closed Friday more than 30% higher on the NYSE valuing the company at nearly $7 billion.
While the Hangzhou-based company enjoyed a strong debut, the current valuation is still substantially lower compared to a private fundraising round in February last year when the company raised $750 million at a $13 billion valuation.
Apart from Lee, investors in Zeekr include Israeli autonomous driving technology company Mobileye, and world number one EV cell supplier, CATL.
2021 launch
Zeekr manufactures full-electric cars (BEVs) targeting the luxury end of the market and is barely three years old, having been first revealed at the 2021 Shanghai auto show.
Zeekr is off to a great start in 2024, upping sales of the Zeekr 001 (its shooting brake-styled launch model), the massive boxy 09 minivan, X crossover and 07 sedan in January and February by 134% compared to the same period last year.
The Mix (pictured), another cavernous MPV, has also entered the Zeekr model mix following its launch at the China Auto show in Beijing last week.
Zeekr’s BEVs first went on sale outside China towards the end of 2023 following another Geely brand, Lynk & Co, in its first foray outside its home market. Cumulative sales in Europe and the Middle East are yet to cross the 1,000 mark.
No 4 in China
In terms of the total combined battery capacity of all Zeekrs sold this year – in many ways a better indicator of market electrification and metals consumption than unit sales alone – the company’s performance is equally impressive.
According to the Adamas Intelligence data, Zeekr unleashed just under 1.8 GWh of battery power onto Chinese roads in January and February combined, a 110% increase over the same period last year.
By battery capacity deployed, the marque occupies the fourth spot in China so far in 2024, ahead of NYSE-listed Nio, which competes in the same segment of the market.
Zeekr has captured an impressive 5% of the overall Chinese BEV market so far in 2024, which has shown growth of 22% compared to the country’s red hot plug-in hybrid market, which has expanded by 121% in GWh terms. 
Geely empire
Zhejiang Geely Holding Group acquired Volvo from Ford in 2020 and the company subsequently spun off Polestar, which had been the company’s motorsports unit, as its electrified brand.
Apart from the Swedish brands, Geely also owns Lotus and has a large stake in Aston Martin, another storied British marque. Geely owns 50% of the Smart joint venture formed with Mercedes Benz in 2019.
Lotus, listed on the Nasdaq in February, is now worth a shade over $5 billion after losing nearly half its value since the IPO. Polestar has found 2024 equally tough going – the stock is down 42% year-to-date for a $2.7 billion valuation on the Nasdaq.
Adamas take:
With the European Union and the US putting up barriers to electric vehicle imports from China, where a cutthroat domestic market is in the midst of a brutal price war, Zeekr may find it difficult to continue to grow at its current pace.
