Chinese language EV model Zeekr is now value greater than Xpeng

Pictured here is a Zeekr electric vehicle charging station in Dongguan, east China’s Guangdong province, 14 November 2022.

vcg | Visual China Group | Getty Images

BEIJING — Geely-backed electric car brand Zeekr said Monday it is now valued at $13 billion after Chinese battery giant CATL and others raised $750 million.

Zeekr is not yet public, but Geely said the brand confidentially filed for a U.S. IPO in December

The new $13 billion valuation makes Zeekr worth more than it does on paper Xpengwhich had a market value of $8.01 billion, according to data from Refinitiv Eikon accessed Monday.

No And Li car are worth much more, with market valuations of $17.22 billion and $25.22 billion, respectively, the data showed.

Zeekr said his new investors include Amnon Shashua — co-founder and CEO of a self-driving tech company Mobileye. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Modern Amperex Technology (CATL) and three state-related funds also participated in the last round of financing, according to a press release.

Zeekr said it intends to use the funds for tech development – and plans to enter the European market this year.

Geely founded electric vehicle brand Zeekr in 2021. The company began deliveries of its Zeekr 001 coupe in October and claims to have shipped more than 80,000 units since then.

The Zeekr 001 costs between 300,000 yuan ($43,915) and 386,000 yuan. For rough comparison, Tesla’s Model Y starts at 261,900 yuan.

The much larger and boxy Zeekr 009 multi-purpose vehicle began deliveries in January, the company said. Prices start at 499,000 yuan.

In 2010, the China-based company Geely acquired the Swedish car brand Volvo, previously owned by Ford Motor.

Geely was the fourth-largest maker of new energy passenger cars by sales in China in 2022, behind Tesla China, which ranked third according to the China Passenger Car Association.

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