Funding Round Values China EV Maker Zeekr At $13bn

Chinese carmaking giant Geely said its Zeekr electric vehicle brand is now valued at $13 billion (£11bn) after a $750m fundraising round in which battery giant CATL and others took part.

Zeekr’s first external fundraising round in 2021 valued it at about $9bn.

In December Geely said it had confidentially filed with US regulators for a Zeekr IPO in that country, without giving details as to a possible timeline.

Reuters reported at the time that Zeekr was aiming to raise more than $1bn in the IPO and was seeking a valuation of more than $10bn.

EV competition

The new valuation makes Zeekr theoretically worth more than fellow Chinese electric carmaker Xpeng, a publicly traded company worth about $8.01bn as of Monday.

Competitors Nio and Li Auto have market values of respectively $17.22bn and $25.22bn, while market leader BYD is valued at more than $100bn.

Geely said the new Zeekr investors included Amnon Shashua, co-founder and chief executive of self-driving company Mobileye.

CATL and three state-affiliated funds also took part.

European launch

Geely said Zeekr would use the funds to develop its technology and to fund its planned entry into the European market this year.

The company established Zeekr in 2021 and since October of that year has delivered more than 80,000 of its 001 coupe units.

Geely, which has owned Volvo since 2010, began deliveries of the larger Zeekr 009 in January.

China’s electric vehicle industry is the world’s biggest, and forms a critical source of revenues for US-based EV maker Tesla.