Zeekr, the luxury electric car brand of China’s Geely Automobile Holdings has raised $750 million in a Series A funding round at a post-money valuation of $13 billion.
The investors include Amnon Shashua(CEO and founder of autonomous driving technology company Mobileye Global), Chinese battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL), and the Guangzhou city municipal government’s investment arm Yuexiu Industrial Fund.
The Tesla-chaser will use the funds to support technology research and the global expansion of its brand. This funding round coincides with an accelerating electrification transition across the Geely Holding Group to support zero-emission growth and new mobility technologies.
Zeekr also plans to enter the European market over the course of 2023. However, it is expected to face stiff competition from a lot of European EV startups.
Reportedly, last year, Zeekr secretly filed for an initial public offering to raise more than $1 billion at a $10 billion valuation.
Premium electric mobility brand
Founded in 2021, Zeekr is the global premium electric mobility technology brand from Geely Holding Group. Besides Zeekr, Geely owns Volvo, Lotus, Polestar, and Lynk&Co.
The name Zeekr is a combination of “geek” and Generation Z, demonstrating the aim of grabbing a younger customer base. Last year around September, Geely acquired a 7.6 per cent share of the “ultra-luxury British performance brand — Aston Martin.
Zeekr utilises Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA) and includes its battery technologies, battery management systems, electric motor technologies, and electric vehicle supply chain.
Zeekr has been delivering its first product, the Zeekr 001 in October 2021 and started delivery of the Zeekr 009 MPV in January 2023, rivaling Tesla and other high-end EV brands.
In 2022, Zeekr delivered 71,941 cars, with over 10,000 units delivered in each October, November, and December. Zeekr says it has an ambitious roll-out plan over the next 5 years to satisfy the rapidly expanding global EV industry. Later this year the company plans to launch two new models including Zeekr X, a premium urban SUV.
