Geely’s electric car brand Zeekr files US IPO confidentially

Zeekr, the premium electric car brand under China’s Geely, said Tuesday it has confidentially filed for a U.S. initial public offering. If it goes through, it’ll be the first major Chinese listing in the country in nearly two years, following China’s effective ban of foreign IPOs.

Last week, Zeekr filed with regulators but didn’t provide any details, like the number of shares to be offered, the price range or the listing date. Reuters reported that Zeekr, which will be spun out from Geely, aims to raise more than $1 billion through its debut and is seeking a valuation of more than $10 billion, citing sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

The filing comes a few weeks after Zeekr held a joint event with autonomous vehicle company Waymo in Los Angeles to show off its Autonomous Mobility Platform, an electric minivan-type vehicle that is built with Waymo’s AV stack for future robotaxi and logistics operations. Waymo and Zeekr first announced their partnership to co-develop a purpose-built AV a year ago.

Zeekr has also partnered with Mobileye, a company developing advanced driver assistance systems and AV technology, to build an all-electric autonomous vehicle for consumers. While those vehicles are being developed for the Chinese market, it’s clear Zeekr is pursuing a dual path to commercialization and global expansion — one that involves partnering with AV companies while also producing its own luxury EV model.

The EV maker counts Tesla and Chinese peer Nio as competitors and is currently marketing its 001 crossover, its flagship and only model, in Europe next year.

Zeekr’s filing comes a few months after Washington and Beijing struck a deal that lowers the likelihood of delisting for more than 200 Chinese firms listed on New York exchanges by allowing American officials to review audit documents of Chinese businesses that trade in the U.S.