Zeekr has followed in the footsteps of fellow EV startup Rivian by raising funds via an initial public offering in the U.S.
Shares of the Chinese company started trading as American depositary receipts on May 10 on the New York Stock Exchange, under the ticker symbol “ZK.”
Due to an oversubscription, Zeekr expanded the size of its IPO to raise a total $441 million by offering 21 million shares at the upper range share price of $21.
In a statement, Zeekr said the raised funds will be used to develop new products and support the expansion of sales in new markets.
2023 Zeekr 001
The IPO price values Zeekr at approximately $5.13 billion, or roughly half of fellow NYSE-listed Chinese EV brand Nio's current market capitalization of $10.7 billion. Additional U.S.-listed Chinese brands Xpeng and Li Auto have current market capitalizations of $7.5 billion and $28.4 billion, respectively.
Zeekr is a premium EV brand from Chinese auto giant Zhejiang Geely, and whose first model, the 001 hatchback, was only launched in 2021. Fellow Geely brand Volvo launched an IPO in Sweden that same year, while another Geely brand, Polestar, went public in 2022 in the U.S. via the easier route of a SPAC deal, also known as a reverse merger.
Although Zeekr has started sales in Europe, the company hasn't said whether it plans to enter the U.S. market. However, the company has been tapped by Alphabet Inc.'s Waymo self-driving division to supply of electric shuttles for Waymo's robotaxi fleet.
