Three years after its establishment, ZEEKR Intelligent Technology knocked on the door of the New York Stock Exchange, not only becoming the fastest IPO car manufacturing force in history, but also paving the way for the global development of the brand.
On the evening of May 10, Beijing time, ZEEKR was listed on the New York Stock Exchange with the stock code "ZK". It is reported that due to oversubscription, ZEEKR expanded the scale of the IPO, issuing a total of 21 million American depositary shares at a price of $21 per share, raising about $441 million, and if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment rights, the issuance scale will be further expanded to 24.15 million ADSs, raising about $507 million.
It is worth mentioning that on the first day of listing, the share price of ZEEKR rose all the way, and the intraday increase once exceeded 38%. As of the close, it was at $28.26 per share, up 34.57% from the issue price, with a market value of nearly 50 billion yuan.
An Conghui, CEO of ZEEKR, said, "In 37 months, ZEEKR has refreshed the record of the fastest new energy vehicle brand from release to IPO. Different from traditional car companies and new forces, ZEEKR empowers Geely Holding Group's car-making heritage and global resources to a new independent brand, which is the third track opened up by ZEEKR for the global new energy transformation, and it is also the long-term value highlighted by ZEEKR in the global capital market. ”
ZEEKR speed: five models in three years, with a total of more than 240,000 units delivered
As we all know, in the era of fuel vehicles, it often takes a long time for a new brand to go through a long time from its establishment to the release of its first model to its market launch. But in the new era of automobiles, this record has been constantly refreshed, and ZEEKR is one of the best.
Born out of traditional car companies, but not following the old logic, with the blessing of pure user thinking, ZEEKR has created the "third track" of the intelligent electric industry, and interpreted the "ZEEKR speed" with actions again and again.
Since the brand was released on April 15, 2021, in the past three years, ZEEKR has launched five new models, the new ZEEKR 001 and the high-performance version of the pure electric hunting supercar ZEEKR 001 FR, ZEEKR 009, and the four-seat flagship MPV ZEEKR 009 Guanghui, ZEEKR X, ZEEKR 007, and the ZEEKR MIX, which has just made its world debut at the Beijing Auto Show.
Boosted by a rich product matrix, as of the end of April 2024, ZEEKR has delivered more than 240,000 vehicles, and from January to April this year, a total of nearly 50,000 new vehicles have been delivered, doubling year-on-year, ranking first in the sales of more than 200,000 Chinese high-end pure electric brands.
While the sales volume is growing steadily, the company's revenue is also growing. Judging from the content of the prospectus, in 2021, 2022 and 2023, the total operating income of ZEEKR will be 6.5 billion yuan, 31.9 billion yuan and 51.7 billion yuan respectively, of which the revenue in 2023 will increase by 62% year-on-year, and the net cash flow from operating activities will reach 2.28 billion yuan.
ZEEKR officially pointed out that the diversified revenue structure composed of vehicle sales, three-electric business, R&D and other services reflects the company's balanced and comprehensive development trend in various business areas.
Not only that, but the gross profit margin of ZEEKR has also ranked among the top new forces in car manufacturing. In 2021, the first year of the brand's release, the gross profit margin of ZEEKR vehicles was positive, reaching 15% in 2023, an increase of 10.3 percentage points year-on-year. In comparison, Xpeng's gross profit margin in 2023 will be -1.6%, NIO will be 11.9%, and Li Auto will be 21.5%.
However, it should be noted that, like most new energy vehicle companies, ZEEKR is currently in a loss-making state. The prospectus disclosed that from 2021 to 2023, ZEEKR will have a cumulative loss of more than 20 billion yuan. From 2021 to the end of 2023, its R&D investment has increased year by year, with a cumulative R&D investment of nearly 17 billion yuan.
ZEEKR said that the funds raised will be mainly used in three aspects: about 45% will be used to develop more advanced pure electric vehicle technology and expand the product portfolio; about 45% is used for sales and marketing and the expansion of the company's service and charging network; Approximately 10% is used for general corporate purposes, including working capital needs.
According to the plan, in 2024, ZEEKR will also launch a new medium and large electric SUV. In 2024, ZEEKR is full of confidence in the annual delivery target of 230,000 units, and strives to achieve the goal of turning losses into profits under the Hong Kong Financial Statement Standards in 2024 under the premise of increasing sales volume and increasing gross profit.
Start a new chapter in your globalization journey
As Geely's luxury pure electric brand, the listing of Zeekr also opens a new chapter in the globalization of the brand, which is expected to further enhance the company's global governance capabilities and bring investors the long-term value of the global development of China's high-end new energy.
At the same time, with the listing of Zeekr, Li Shufu, founder of Geely Holding Group, also ushered in the ninth IPO after Geely Automobile, Volvo Cars, Qianjiang Motorcycle, Polestar, ECARX, Hanma Technology, Lifan Technology and Lotus.
"The ZEEKR IPO is a microcosm of Geely Holding's overall strategic plan." Li Donghui, CEO of Geely Holding Group, said, "ZEEKR's positioning as a luxury intelligent pure electric brand is an important part of Geely's electrification, high-end and globalization. ”
According to reports, as a "born to be a global" enterprise, the design of ZEEKR models fully considers the industry standards and user needs of major markets around the world. Among them, ZEEKR's self-developed electric drive has formed a luxury and high-performance label. The 800-volt gold brick battery has set a new benchmark in the era of ultra-fast charging in terms of safety, experience and cost; High-end intelligent driving assistance system - Haohan Intelligent Driving ranks among the top echelons of intelligence.
The vast architecture is the world's largest bandwidth native pure electric architecture, which greatly improves R&D efficiency and scale efficiency, and ensures the launch of five new vehicles in three years, and the launch rate of no less than two new models per year until 2025. At the same time, it also meets the most stringent five-star safety standards in China, the United States, Europe and other countries in the world.
At present, ZEEKR 001 and ZEEKR X have obtained the safety certification of the European Union and the United Nations, and are the first to start sales and delivery in developed countries in Europe. According to the plan, in 2024, ZEEKR will enter the luxury market of 8 European countries, and then enter the markets of 50 countries and regions such as Southeast Asia, the Middle East, South America, and Australia, and the globalization strategy will be fully accelerated.
In addition, An Conghui also revealed that based on the Haohan-M architecture, the models customized by ZEEKR and Waymo will soon enter the American travel market, which will undoubtedly further boost its globalization process.
"The new energy wave is a change in the global automotive industry that has not been seen in a century. With a global investment structure and a global development path, ZEEKR will become one of the most growing global automotive technology companies today. An Conghui said that ZEEKR will take the listing as an opportunity to further upgrade its governance structure, achieve global compliance, transparent and sustainable development, and create in-depth co-creation with global technology partners with an open and win-win attitude.