China’s electric car brand Zeekr raised $750 million in a new funding round
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An electric car brand of Geely Automobile Holdings, Zeekr, recently held a funding round that can be described as a major success. The Chinese brand raised $750 million from both existing and new investors, raising the value of the brand to $13 billion.
So far, Zeekr has created two car models, both of which are 100% electric. In its recent statement, the brand noted that the funding round’s proceeds would be of great use in financing support technology research, as well as the company’s global expansion after that.
Details of the funding round
Some of the leading investors who participated in the funding round include Yuexiu Industrial Fund — the investment arm of the Guangzhou city municipal government — and Amnon Shashua, the founder and CEO of Mobileye Global — the autonomous driving tech firm. It is also worth noting that the majority of Mobileye Global is owned by Intel Corp.
Apart from the two, another major supporter of the round is CATL, which is a well-known Chinese battery maker. CATL has been a supporter for a while now, and this is not the first time that it backed Zeekr’s business.
As mentioned, Zeekr has seen the participation of five new investors 3 Yuexiu Industrial Fund, Amnon Shashua, Tongshang Fund, Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd, and Xin’an Intelligent Manufacturing Fund. The company has attracted major names with its proprietary technologies, built around sustainability, safety, user experience, as well as new mobility services.
Zeekr’s plans for 2023
Commenting on the round, Zeekr said that it coincides with an accelerating electrification transition across the Geely Holding Group. Interestingly, Geely Holding Group is also a partial owner of Volvo Cars, a luxury car brand from Sweden.
Zeekr’s first product is known simply as the Zeekr 001, and it emerged in October 2021. The company’s second product emerged only last month, in January 2023, known as Zeekr 009 MPV. The company’s first car saw great demand, and Zeekr reported selling 71,941 units in 2022. 10,000 of them were delivered in three consecutive months, including October, November, and December of last year.
Zeekr now has big plans for 2023. Apart from the mentioned intention to reach global expansion, the company also intends to bring forth two new models, one of which will be a premium urban SUV known as Zeekr X. Apart from that, another big goal that the brand has for the current year is to enter the European market.
