Geely’s new premium EV brand Zeekr targets segment leader Tesla

KUALA LUMPUR: Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. (Geely) that owns several car brands like Volvo, Lotus, Polestar, Lynk & Co., etc is planning to launch a new EV brand specifically for premium electric vehicles, called Zeekr. The move is the Chinese automaker’s new attempt to go up-market and backs Chairman Li Shufu’s ambition to create premium cars like Mercedes-Benz in a bid to take on EV market leader Tesla, according to Reuters.

The Zeekr will be integrated into Geely’s new entity Lingling Technology and will operate separately from the mass-oriented Geometry EV brand, which the company launched in 2019. It will use Geely’s open-source electric vehicle platform, known as Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA). 

The said platform can be fitted with battery packs up to 110-kWh, along with single, dual, or even triple electric motor powertrain options. According to Geely, this modular architecture can deliver a cruising range of more than 700 km, with the batteries having a life of approximately 2 million km. It is suited for a number of vehicle body styles, ranging from A-segment to E-segment cars, besides light commercial vehicles. 

For the Zeekr models, Geely plans to open showrooms, or hubs, in city centres to sell cars at a fixed price. This can be observed as a departure from the traditional car selling process involving dealerships. Tesla also uses a similar sales strategy for its vehicles in the world’s biggest car market and recorded a massive sales growth last year.

Besides, the company has also planned an array of sales and marketing strategies to seek deeper relationships with potential buyers. It will bring lifestyle lines for clothing and accessories and will also roll out a car owner’s club. Such tactics have been used by EV maker Nio in the country.

A share ownership plan allowing buyers to become shareholders of Lingling Technology is also planned to boost sales and the relationship between customers and brand.

In recent months, Geely has also made collaborations with several firms to expand its EV business and SEA platform as it aims to become a leading electric car maker. One such joint venture was announced with the tech group Baidu. The subsidiary Geely Technology Group is also planning to invest 30 billion yuan (more than RM 18 billion) in a battery plant, which would have an annual capacity of 12 GWh, before an expansion to 42 GWh in a later phase. 

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