Geely will make battery-powered cars under a new brand ‘Zeekr’, which will be based on the Sustainable Experience Architecture platform The premium brand will operate under a new EV entity named Lingling Technologies, based in Hefei, Anhui province, sources say Geely will make battery-powered cars under ‘Zeekr’, with the premium brand set to operate as part of a new entity named Lingling Technologies, based in Hefei. Zhejiang Geely Holding, one of China’s biggest carmakers and owner of Sweden’s Volvo Cars, plans to launch a premium electric vehicle brand with the aim of taking on market leader Tesla and tap the growing market for upscale EVs on the mainland. The company will make battery-powered cars under a new brand “Zeekr”, which will be based on the open-source Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA) platform launched late last year, according to Reuters. The premium brand will operate under a new EV entity named Lingling Technologies, which will be based in Hefei, capital of Anhui province in eastern China, sources said. They, however, did not reveal details of the new marque such as price, driving range and digital technologies. Geely did not reply to requests for comment. Geely chairman Li Shufu said in February that he would unite all forces that can be united in the battle for supremacy in the fast-changing EV market. “We hope to gain more advantages [over competitors] by making new friends to fine-tune the supply chain. By fighting alone, it will be very difficult to win this EV war,” he said. Two industry executives said that new brand reinforces billionaire Li’s ambitions of transforming Geely into a major international player. The launch of Zeekr was in line with the carmaker’s expansion strategy following a raft of partnerships formed over the past months. “Geely has emerged as one of the most aggressive Chinese carmakers to move into electrification,” said Gao Shen, an independent analyst in Shanghai. “Moving upmarket is definitely an important part of its strategy for EV.” Geely is now developing new electric cars under the brands of Lynk, Geometry and the new premium marquee. The SEA platform supports development of a wide range of battery-powered vehicles, from sedans and SUVs to vans and trucks. SEA will use a battery system with a lifespan of 2 million kilometres made by Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd, Geely president An Conghui said in September. US carmaker Tesla dominates the mainland’s premium EV segment, delivering nearly 140,000 Chinese-made Model 3 sedans last year. Its Chinese rivals, EV start-ups NIO, Li Auto and Xpeng, are building cars with longer driving ranges and more sophisticated digital technologies, whose prices start from 200,000 yuan (US$30,750). Dozens of new models will hit the world’s largest EV market this year amid rosy sales forecast. Last week, Dongfeng Motor, the Chinese partner of Japan’s Nissan Motor and PSA Peugeot Citroen of France, said cars under its new EV brand Voyah could be delivered to Chinese customers in July. The premium SUV, to be priced at about 400,000 yuan, will be fitted with a 60 kilowatt-hour ­battery with a range of up to 500km on a single charge, the Chinese carmaker said. Beijing hopes 20 per cent of the country’s new cars to be new-energy vehicles (NEV) – pure electric, plug-in hybrid and fuel cell cars – by 2025, or more than 4 million units. UBS predicts NEV sales on the mainland could top 6.6 million that year.

This data comes from MediaIntel.Asia's Media Intelligence and Media Monitoring Platform.