Geely-owned EV sub-brand Zeekr continues its ambitious entry into electrified markets by sharing ambitious delivery goals for China this year. Furthermore, Zeekr now plans to enter the EU market next year, joining previously announced plans to enter North America as well.
Zeekr is a new luxury EV automotive brand birthed last March by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., Ltd – better known as Geely. Zeekr joined Geely’s brand list earlier this year as a higher-end EV brand looking to compete with the likes of Tesla in China (but who isn’t?).
Last fall, the Chinese automotive conglomerate unveiled its Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA) platform, an open-source EV chassis base. All of the EVs across multiple brands inside and out of the Geely umbrella, including Lynk & Co and Zeekr will sit upon this chassis base.
ZEEKR 001, the company’s flagship EV, began deliveries in China this past October and those assembly lines have slowly garnered momentum since. In December, 001 production reached a capacity of 3,697 units, an increase of 88.7% month-over-month according to a recent Zeekr Weibo post.
With its latest news out of China, Zeekr appears poised to increase 001 capacity ten-fold… well, actually, more like twenty-fold. Based off the EV automaker’s recently shared plans for expansion, it will need that sort of output to extend its early reach.
Zeekr aiming for 70,000 deliveries in 2022, EU entry in 2023
As reported by The Financial Associated Press in China, Zeekr has shared 2022 delivery goals in the amount of 70,000 units. Based on its December 2021 numbers, the company is on pace for 44,400 units in 2022, so it will surely need to continue to ramp up its output.
Especially given the nascent automaker’s public plans for global expansion – just last week, we reported that Zeekr is planning to expand to North America next. An Conghui, CEO of Zeekr told Bloomberg, “that will happen after 2022.” This is on top of news that the automaker is expecting to see around 650,000 units sold annually by 2025.
The previously mentioned Chinese press report also cites Zeekr stating plans for expansion into the EU in early 2023. Furthermore, Zeekr expects its total overseas export to reach 100,000 vehicles in 2025. Lastly, the automaker plans to launch seven Zeekr brand models by 2025.
Lots of exciting news from the Geely subsidiary, but lots of work will need to be done before Zeekr can reach that level of presence in China, let alone the EU or North America. Consumers need to purchase the EVs too. Still, it’s tough to challenge this level of ambition.
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