Geely to take on Tesla with premium brand Zeekr as demand for electric cars soars in China

Geely will make battery-powered cars under a new brand ‘Zeekr’, which will be based on the Sustainable Experience Architecture platform

The premium brand will operate under a new EV entity named Lingling Technologies, based in Hefei, Anhui province, sources say

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Cars are assembled at Geely’s plant in Cixi, Zhejiang province. Photo: Reuters

Published: 8:00pm, 19 Mar 2021Updated: 8:20pm, 19 Mar 2021

Zhejiang Geely Holding, one of China’s biggest carmakers and owner of Sweden’s Volvo Cars, plans to launch a premium electric vehicle brand with the aim of taking on market leader Tesla and tap the growing market for upscale EVs on the mainland.

The company will make battery-powered cars under a new brand “Zeekr”, which will be based on the open-source Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA) platform launched late last year, according to Reuters.

The premium brand will operate under a new EV entity named Lingling Technologies, which will be based in Hefei, capital of Anhui province in eastern China, sources said. They, however, did not reveal details of the new marque such as price, driving range and digital technologies.

Geely did not reply to requests for comment.

Geely chairman Li Shufu wants his company to rank among leading industry players globally. Photo: Bloomberg

Geely chairman Li Shufusaid in February that he would unite all forces that can be united in the battle for supremacy in the fast-changing EV market. “We hope to gain more advantages [over competitors] by making new friends to fine-tune the supply chain. By fighting alone, it will be very difficult to win this EV war,” he said.

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