A Zeekr 001 electric vehicle (EV) from Geely is seen at the Zeekr stand during a media day for the Auto Shanghai Show in Shanghai, China, 19 April 2021.
Aly song | Reuters
Chinese electric vehicle maker Zeekr priced its IPO on Thursday at $21 per share, at the high end of its range.
The company will sell 21 million American depositary shares to raise $441 million when it begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday under the ticker symbol ZK. The offering is at the top of Zeekr's expected range of $18 to $21 per share, according to an F-1 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this month.
Zeekr, which is backed by Chinese automaker Geely, offers several luxury vehicle models, including a luxury sedan that began deliveries in January. Geely will have more than 50% of the company's voting rights after the IPO is completed.
“By developing and offering next-generation premium BEVs and technology-driven solutions, we aim to lead the electrification, intelligence and innovation of the automotive industry,” the company said in its SEC filing.
Zeekr could pose major competition Tesla, which reportedly topped car sales in Zhejiang Province, China, in the first three weeks of April. The province is the headquarters of the parent company.
“Our sales gap with Tesla is narrowing,” Zeekr CEO Andy An told CNBC in an interview translated from Mandarin last month. He said the company plans to expand in Europe and Latin America this year and is already selling vehicles in Sweden and the Netherlands.
According to regulatory filings, Zeekr had revenue of $7.28 billion and a loss of $1.16 billion in 2023. The company also said it shipped 16,089 units in April.
Zeekr has said it will use proceeds from the offering to develop more advanced battery-electric vehicle technologies. The funds will also be used for sales and marketing purposes, such as increasing fees, as well as general corporate needs.
The deal's underwriters include Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch and China International Capital.