ZEEKR has no plans to make hybrid models: ZEEKR's CEO

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- On August 22, Geely Auto held its performance briefing for the first half of 2023. Speaking about the "ZEEKR" brand, An Conghui, Chairman of Geely Auto Group and CEO of ZEEKR Intelligent Technology, announced that ZEEKR has no plans to venture into hybrid vehicle model area (hereby referring to plug-in hybrid electric vehicles). The brand will maintain its emphasis on battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and targets achieving annual sales of 650,000 units by 2025.

ZEEKR 009; photo credit: ZEEKR

An Conghui emphasized that ZEEKR, Geely's flagship premium BEV brand, has remained committed to the realm of pure electric vehicles since its inception. Starting this year, ZEEKR intends to introduce a minimum of two all-new models annually to cater to diverse market segments, thus fulfilling the brand's initial five-year plan. By 2025, ZEEKR aims to have eight models available for sale in the market.

Notably, ZEEKR also announced the upcoming "ZEEKR Evolution Day" event scheduled for September 1. Prior to this, the brand had already revealed that the ZEEKR 001 FR million-yuan hypercar will debut during the "Evolution Day." Moreover, the latest in-car system, ZEEKR OS 5.0, is poised to be rolled out by the end of this month or early next month, and is currently undergoing the final testing phase. Based on available information, it is anticipated that the latest system will be unveiled on the "ZEEKR Evolution Day."

Geely's transformation towards electrification and intelligentization is accelerating. Currently, Geely has multiple new energy vehicle brands under its umbrella. In the first half of this year, the group’s new energy vehicle sales (including Geely, Lynk & Co, ZEEKR, and Livan Auto) reached 158,000 units, marking a year-on-year increase of 43.9%.

The ZEEKR brand has demonstrated strong overall performance. Data shows that ZEEKR delivered a cumulative total of 42,633 new vehicles in the first half of this year, reflecting a 124% year-on-year growth. Among these, the average order value for the ZEEKR 001 exceeded 336,000 yuan, and the flagship model, ZEEKR 009, achieved an average order value of 527,000 yuan.

In addition to its aggressive domestic strategy, ZEEKR is also actively expanding into overseas markets. In June of this year, ZEEKR entered the European market, with initial sales launches in the Netherlands, Sweden, and other countries. The brand plans to further expand its global presence to six countries by next year, with ambitions to reach eight countries by 2025.