Funding Values the Chinese Electric Vehicle car brand known as Zeekr at $ 13 billion

December 15, 2023: -On Monday, Geely-backed electric car brand Zeekr said it’s currently valued at $13 billion following a $750 million increase from Chinese battery giant CATL and others.

Zeekr is not publicly listed, but Geely stated that the brand filed privately for an initial public offering in the U.S.

The recent $13 billion valuation makes Zeekr worth over on paper than Xpeng, which had a net value of $8.01 billion, according to Refinitiv Eikon data accessed Monday.

The data showed that Nio and Li Auto are worth a lot more, with market valuations of $17.22 billion and $25.22 billion each.

Zeekr said its recent investors include Amnon Shashua, co-founder and CEO of self-driving technology company Mobileye.

According to a press release, contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) and three state-related funds also took part in the recent funding round.

Zeekr stated that is intending to use the funds for tech development and plans to enter the European demand this year.

Geely published the Zeekr electric vehicle brand in the year 2021. The company started delivering its Zeekr 001 coupe that October and claims to have given more than 80,000 units since.

The Zeekr 001 is priced at 300,000 yuan ($43,915) and 386,000 yuan. For a rough comparison, Tesla’s Model Y starts at 261,900 yuan.

The company said that the much more significant and boxy multi-purpose vehicle Zeekr 009, started deliveries in January. Prices start at 499,000 yuan.

In 2010, China-based Geely acquired the Swedish auto brand Volvo, which last belonged to Ford Motor.

By sales in China, Geely was the fourth-significant manufacturer of new energy vehicle passenger vehicles in the previous year, behind Tesla China, which was in third place, the China Passenger Car Association stated.