AUTOS
Geely-backed luxury EV brand Zeekr says it’s
already beating Tesla in parts of China
PUBLISHED
WED, APR 24 20248:43 PM EDT
Evelyn
Cheng
KEY POINTS
EV brand Zeekr is selling more cars than Tesla in
parts of China, and plans to expand in Europe and Latin America this year,
Zeekr CEO Andy An told CNBC.
This year, Zeekr expects its overseas sales to boost
overall revenue, An said.
Zeekr has filed for a public offering on the New York
Stock Exchange, but hasn’t yet shared a listing date.
BEIJING —
Chinese electric car brand Zeekr is selling more vehicles than Tesla
in parts of China, and plans to expand in
Europe and Latin America this year, Zeekr CEO Andy An told CNBC on Wednesday.
The sales
momentum comes as Elon Musk’s automaker reported its biggest drop in global
quarterly revenue since 2012.
“We’ve
already outsold Tesla in some areas. Our sales gap with Tesla keeps on
narrowing,” An said in Mandarin, translated by CNBC.
For the
first three weeks of April, Zeekr sold 500 more cars than Tesla in the province
of Zhejiang, where Zeekr and its parent company Geely are based. Zeekr also
slightly outsold Tesla in the province of Anhui, near Shanghai, and Guangxi, an
autonomous region in southern China.
That’s
according to data shared by Zeekr. Tesla did not immediately respond to a
request for comment.
Tesla’s
Model Y still held the bestseller spot in China for the first three months of
the year, when looking at purely battery-powered electric cars with a price tag
of at least 200,000 yuan ($28,169), according to consumer information site
Autohome.
BYD
models held the second and third spots, while
Tesla’s Model 3 ranked fourth, the data showed. Zeekr’s 001 and 007 sedans
ranked 11th and 12th, respectively, according to the data. The company’s 009
multi-purpose electric vehicle is also one of the top five bestsellers in the
500,000 yuan and above price category.
Xiaomi
’s new SU7
electric sedan starts at 215,900 yuan, slightly more than Zeekr’s 007 but less
than Tesla’s Model 3.
When asked
about Xiaomi’s car launch, An declined to comment on the competitor. But he
said the two companies differ in strategy, culture and resources.
At the
Beijing auto show kicking off Thursday, Zeekr is revealing a new car structure
that gives consumers 10% to 20% more space inside versus a similar vehicle, An
said.
“The car of
the future is not a simple transportation tool, but a center for smart mobility
experience,” he said, noting that in the new space families could play games or
enjoy a meal.
He
indicated production of such a car would begin by the end of this year.
Expanding
outside China
This year,
Zeekr expects its overseas sales to boost overall revenue, An said. The company
sells in Sweden and the Netherlands, he said, and plans to begin sales to six
to eight more countries in Europe this year.
In Latin
America, Zeekr is “actively deploying,” An said, without elaborating.
The company
is also developing right-hand drive cars, he said, with plans to start sales in
Hong Kong and Macao soon this year, and subsequently Singapore.
Many
Chinese companies riding the growth of electric cars in the fiercely
competitive market at home are looking overseas as major countries encourage a
shift away from traditional, fuel-powered vehicles. The rapid rise of Chinese
electric car companies, however, has also prompted the EU and U.S. to consider
measures for protecting their own auto industries.
When asked
about plans to build factories in overseas markets, An said Zeekr is “actively
exploring” but could not share details. “Right now it’s a period of
exploration, because, seeing all kinds of future uncertainties, we all need to
make full preparations in advance,” he said.
in 2021,
allowing the brand to draw on the auto group’s resources. Geely owns several
brands, including Swedish car brand Volvo, which previously belonged to Ford
Motor.
In order
for an automaker to succeed in the long term, talent, technology and capital
must be intertwined, said An, who is also president of Geely Holding Group and
chairman of Geely Auto Group. He said that lone advantages in marketing, design
or financing isn’t enough to enable a company to remain competitive.
On the
sustainability front, Zeekr said it has a number of initiatives from factory
solar power to car recycling, with long-term relationships with
re-manufacturers and raw materials companies.
Zeekr has
filed for a public offering on the New York Stock Exchange, but hasn’t yet
shared a listing date. The latest update to its prospectus is dated April 12,
according to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission website.
When asked
about IPO plans, An declined to share specifics and said the company would go
public for strategic purposes when market conditions were favorable.
“It’s not
just for financing,” An said. “More importantly, it’s a form of corporate
governance for Zeekr’s global development and globalization.”
He pointed
out that while Zeekr still operates at a loss, the company has sufficient cash
flow and its parent Geely is making money.
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