The archive · Hardware & Devices · Strategic decision · 2021–2025
Zeekr's standalone premium-EV bet: 2024 NYSE IPO, privatized into Geely by Dec 2025
Geely launched Zeekr in 2021 as a standalone premium EV brand, listed it in New York in 2024, then merged Lynk & Co in and took it private by December 2025.
Zeekr (极氪)
What the business is
A premium electric vehicle maker launched by Geely in 2021, selling BEVs and hybrids mainly in the RMB 300,000 (about $41,000) and above segment in China and overseas.
Starting capital：IPO raised $441M (21M ADS at $21); earlier 2021 external round raised $500M at a $9B valuation; a 2023 round valued Zeekr at $13B.
How it started
Geely launched the Zeekr brand in March 2021 as its flagship attempt to build a premium 'new energy vehicle' brand separate from its mass-market parent, positioning mid-to-large BEVs above RMB 300,000. A first external financing round in 2021 raised $500M at a $9B valuation from investors including CATL, Intel Capital and Boyu, and Zeekr began exporting to Europe in late 2023.
What happened
Revenue reached $7.28B in 2023, but Zeekr stayed loss-making amid China's EV price war. It listed on the NYSE on May 10, 2024 — priced at the top of its range, raising $441M at roughly a $5.5B valuation, less than half its 2023 private valuation — and its shares jumped about 35–38% on debut. In November 2024 Zeekr agreed to take a 51% stake in sister Geely brand Lynk & Co; the deal closed on February 14, 2025, forming Zeekr Group with a 2025 target of 710,000 combined sales. On May 7, 2025 Geely Auto proposed taking Zeekr private at $25.66 per ADS, valuing it at $6.5B and paying about $2.2B for the 34.3% it did not own; early investors including CATL, Intel Capital and Boyu wrote to the board calling the price too low.
How it ended up
Geely signed a definitive merger agreement on July 15, 2025 and completed the privatization on December 22, 2025: Zeekr became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Geely Automobile, requested NYSE suspension of its ADS, and moved to delist and deregister — ending its 19-month life as a public company while continuing to operate as Zeekr Group.
Background
Geely's bet in 2021 was that a standalone premium EV brand could win the RMB 300,000-plus segment in China and expand overseas, away from the mass-market image of its parent. Zeekr launched in March 2021 on Geely's own SEA vehicle architecture, raised $500M from CATL, Intel Capital and Boyu at a $9B valuation that year, and began selling in Europe in late 2023.
Zeekr grew fast but never stopped losing money. Revenue hit $7.28B in 2023, deliveries reached 222,123 in 2024 (up 87% year on year), and on May 10, 2024 it listed on the NYSE at the top of its range — 21 million ADSs at $21 raising $441M, the first major Chinese listing in the US since 2021. The market cheered (shares rose about 35–38% on debut), but the IPO valued the company near $5.5B, under half its $13B private valuation from 2023.
The strategy then reversed direction. In November 2024 Zeekr agreed to take a 51% stake in sister brand Lynk & Co to stop the two Geely brands cannibalizing each other; the integration closed on February 14, 2025, creating Zeekr Group with a 710,000-unit target for the year. On May 7, 2025 Geely Automobile proposed taking Zeekr private at $25.66 per ADS — a $6.5B valuation and about $2.2B for the 34.3% of shares Geely did not hold. Early investors wrote to the board calling the offer too low, but Geely's 65.7% stake gave it the votes.
The merger completed on December 22, 2025. Zeekr became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Geely Automobile, its ADSs were suspended on the NYSE and it moved to delist and deregister. The brand itself kept operating — it posted a record 28,843 deliveries in November 2025 — but the standalone public-company chapter of Geely's premium EV bet was over after 19 months.
What has to be true
- A premium-only brand on a dedicated architecture let Geely attack the segment above RMB 300,000 without dragging in its mass-market image.
- Fast delivery growth (222,123 in 2024, +87% YoY) was not enough to offset losses from China's EV price war.
- Lynk & Co's electrified models were sister cars to Zeekr's, so Geely merged the brands before the overlap wasted more capital.
- A take-private at $6.5B — far below the $13B 2023 round — shows the public market never re-priced the original standalone story; investors called it inadequate but lacked the votes.
What can be applied
A corporate parent can fund a premium brand's scale, but if the brand still depends on the parent's balance sheet, the separate listing is a financing chapter, not a verdict on the bet.
Aftermath
As of 2025-12-22/23 Zeekr operates as a wholly-owned Geely Automobile subsidiary: NYSE trading suspended, delisting and deregistration underway. It continues as Zeekr Group alongside Lynk & Co under Geely's 'One Geely' restructuring — Zeekr targets the RMB 300,000-plus premium segment and Lynk & Co the RMB 200,000-plus, with combined 2025 sales targeted at 710,000 units and a goal of one million annual sales within two years. Zeekr delivered a record 28,843 vehicles in November 2025 and remains loss-making within Geely's consolidated results.
Sources
- Chinese EV maker Zeekr prices IPO at $21, at the top end of range
- The buzziest EV IPO of the year is a Chinese automaker
- Zeekr closes deal to integrate Lynk & Co, CEO unveils 2025 product plans
- Zeekr investors unhappy with Geely's privatization proposal, report says
- Zeekr completes merger with Geely, delists from NYSE
- Geely completes Zeekr privatization as it tightens control over its premium EV strategy
spotted an error? The archive wants to know.
Your turn
You just read one. Describe what you are building, and see who is betting on the same thing.
Free account · 3 free questions · no card