Pictured is a Zeekr electric vehicle charging station in Dongguan, China’s Guangdong province, Nov. 14, 2022.
CGV | Visual Group China | Getty Images
BEIJING – GeelyThe Zeekr-backed electric car brand said on Monday it was now valued at $13 billion after a $750 million raise from Chinese battery giant CATL and others.
Zeekr is not yet publicly listed, but Geely said in December that the brand had confidentially filed an initial public offering in the United States.
New $13 billion valuation makes Zeekr worth more on paper than Xpengwhich had a market value of $8.01 billion, according to Refinitiv Eikon data accessed Monday.
Nio And Li-Auto are worth much more, with market valuations of $17.22 billion and $25.22 billion, respectively, according to the data.
Zeekr said its new investors include Amnon Shashua – co-founder and CEO of an autonomous tech company mobileye. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) and three state-affiliated funds also participated in the latest funding round, according to a press release.
Zeekr said it intends to use the funds for technology development – and plans to enter the European market this year.
Geely created the Zeekr electric vehicle brand in 2021. The company began delivering its Zeekr 001 coupe in October and claims to have delivered more than 80,000 units since.
The Zeekr 001 costs between 300,000 yuan ($43,915) and 386,000 yuan. For rough comparison, Tesla’s Model Y starts at 261,900 yuan.
The much larger and squarer Zeekr 009 multi-purpose vehicle began deliveries in January, the company said. Prices start at 499,000 yuan.
In 2010, the Chinese company Geely acquired the Swedish car brand Volvo, which was previously owned by Ford Motor.
In terms of sales in China, Geely was the fourth-largest new-energy passenger car maker in 2022, behind Tesla China, which ranked third, according to the China Passenger Car Association.
