Following "Wei Xiaoli", another new Chinese car-making force landed on the U.S. stock market.
On the evening of May 10, ZEEKR Intelligent Technology Holdings Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "ZEEKR") was officially listed on the New York Stock Exchange with the stock code "ZK". ZEEKR issued a total of 21 million American Depositary Shares (ADSs) at an issue price of $21 per share. The opening price was US$26 per share and closed at US$28.26 per share, an increase of 34.57% compared with the issue price of US$21, and the intraday increase once exceeded 40%, with a market value of US$7.16 billion (about 51.729 billion yuan).
It is worth mentioning that this is also the ninth listed company harvested by Geely founder Li Shufu. Previously, listed companies with Li Shufu or Geely Automobile backgrounds included Geely Automobile, Volvo, Polestar Automobile, Lotus, ECARX, Qianjiang Motorcycle, Hanma Technology, Lifan Technology and other 8 companies.
Set a new record for the fastest IPO
From the brand release to the overseas listing, ZEEKR took only 37 months, setting a new record for the fastest listing in the history of new energy vehicle companies. On the same path, Wei Xiaoli has walked for 4, 7 and 5 years respectively. Some people may ask: why can ZEEKR become the fastest IPO new energy vehicle company?
"In 37 months, ZEEKR has set a new record for the fastest new energy vehicle brand from release to IPO. Behind this is the accumulation of our parent company, Geely Holding Group, for 37 years and the exploration of the third track of the new energy vehicle industry. An Conghui, President of Geely Holding Group and CEO of Zeekr Intelligent Technology, said.
Compared with many century-old car companies listed on the U.S. stock market, ZEEKR Motors is very young. In April 2021, Zeekr, which is positioned as a luxury intelligent pure electric vehicle, was jointly invested and established by Geely Automobile and Geely Holding Group in Ningbo. At the time of the establishment of the brand, An Conghui said, "It is indeed difficult for an elephant to turn around, and the historical burden is also very heavy. Our transformation has disadvantages and advantages, we can use Geely Automobile's resources, and we also have traditional manufacturing experience, and we can get out of the third track. ”
Compared with a number of new EV manufacturers, ZEEKR can be said to be born with a "golden spoon", which can integrate various assets and technologies under Geely Holding, including electric vehicle model technology, the right to use the vast intelligent evolution experience architecture (SEA), brand licensing, three-electric technology, supply chain system construction and user ecological construction. Among them, the vast architecture is the world's first pure electric architecture, with the world's largest bandwidth, realizing full-size coverage from A-class cars to E-class cars, which can meet all the styling needs of cars, SUVs, MPVs, small city cars, sports cars, pickup trucks and future travel vehicles, and break the shackles of traditional cars in six major fields such as space, three electrics, intelligence, automatic driving, safety, and performance, which makes ZEEKR have the ability to "hold high and fight high".
Thanks to the advantages of SEA's vast architecture, ZEEKR has lived up to expectations and launched 5 models in 3 years: the new luxury hunting coupe new ZEEKR 001 and its high-performance version of the pure electric hunting supercar ZEEKR 001 FR, the original pure electric luxury MPV ZEEKR 009 and the four-seat ultra-luxury flagship MPV ZEEKR 009 Guanghui, the new luxury all-round SUV ZEEKR X, the pure electric luxury sedan ZEEKR 007, and the family full-scene large five-seat ZEEKR MIX, which made its world debut at the Beijing Auto Show. Although these products are not volume models in the traditional sense, ZEEKR has gained a firm foothold in the high-end market through differentiated layout.
According to the data, in April 2024, ZEEKR achieved a record high in monthly sales, delivering 16,089 vehicles that month, a year-on-year increase of 99% and a month-on-month increase of 24%. As of the end of April 2024, ZEEKR has delivered more than 240,000 vehicles. Among them, a total of 49,100 units were delivered in the first four months of 2024, a year-on-year increase of 111%.
The mass production and delivery performance is the best proof of the competitiveness of an auto company. According to the official statistics of ZEEKR, ZEEKR 001 ranks first in sales of more than 300,000 pure electric models, and ZEEKR 001 FR has become the fastest mass-produced electric vehicle; ZEEKR 009 has become the champion of MPV sales of more than 500,000; ZEEKR X is the only Chinese brand in the top 10 in the compact car market with sales of more than 200,000 units.
With the frequent release of popular models, ZEEKR's revenue has also risen all the way. According to the prospectus, from 2020 to 2023, ZEEKR's revenue will be 3.185 billion yuan, 6.528 billion yuan, 31.899 billion yuan and 51.7 billion yuan respectively, of which the revenue in 2023 will increase by 62% year-on-year.
Not only that, in terms of gross profit margin indicators that measure the company's operating health, ZEEKR's performance is also remarkable. In terms of gross profit margin, ZEEKR has ranked among the first echelon of gross profit margin of new car-making forces. The gross profit margin of ZEEKR vehicles has increased from 1.8% in 2021 to 15% in 2023, which is in stark contrast to Tesla's declining gross profit margin. Looking at the industry, in 2023, the gross profit margin of ZEEKR vehicles will be higher than that of NIO (10%) and Xpeng (-2%), second only to Ideal (21%) and Tesla (19%).
It is worth noting that the revenue composition of ZEEKR is diversified. Unlike traditional automobile companies and new car manufacturers, more than ninety percent of their revenue depends on the sales revenue from selling cars, and ZEEKR has also maintained a good revenue capacity in the three-electric business, R&D and other services. Data shows that in the first half of this year, the revenue outside of ZEEKR vehicles accounted for 38% of the total revenue.
It has to be said that backed by Geely Holding Group, ZEEKR has a more stable supply chain and premium capacity than many "Genesis" new car-making forces, and links upstream and downstream resources to accelerate product launches, reduce costs and increase efficiency.
Globalization accelerates
Some industry insiders pointed out that ZEEKR seeks to go public, mainly to open up the global market and financing channels. ZEEKR has a number of core technical teams all over the world, and from the recent series of actions, globalization is the core strategy of ZEEKR Automobile. After listing on the New York Stock Exchange, ZEEKR will become a global public company, making the company's governance structure more healthy and transparent. At the same time, ZEEKR can better display its image and products to global users, and open a broader capital channel.
At the IPO site, An Conghui emphasized: "As a luxury pure electric brand under Geely, ZEEKR was born in the world. ”
In fact, in addition to the layout of the domestic market, ZEEKR is also vigorously exploring overseas markets. At present, ZEEKR has a layout in markets such as Stockholm, Sweden and Amsterdam, the Netherlands. In the second half of 2023, the first batch of European versions of ZEEKR 001 and ZEEKR X will roll off the assembly line from Ningbo Hangzhou Bay ZEEKR Smart Factory and be shipped to Europe. It is understood that the chassis of the European version of the Zeekr model is tuned by the European team, supporting map navigation in 32 European countries and 9 Chinese languages. In addition, ZEEKR's trailer control interface, roof rack, and EDR event data recording system are all in line with European laws and regulations, and further consider the local culture and car habits, and the vehicle has European OTA capabilities.
It is worth mentioning that overseas, the starting price of ZEEKR 001 is 59,490 euros (about 467,100 yuan), and the starting price of ZEEKR X is 44,990 euros (about 353,300 yuan), which is about 170,000 yuan higher than the starting price of the domestic version. This also reflects the higher premium power of Chinese brand models overseas.
Compared with traditional European automakers, ZEEKR not only has the advantage of product strength, but also has the advantage of first-mover scale, with overseas sales of more than 4 000 units in 2023.
According to the plan, the European territory of ZEEKR will increase to 8 countries in 2024, and it will enter most of Western Europe in 2026. ZEEKR also brings one-stop services to European users from four aspects: financial policy, energy replenishment system, after-sales guarantee and Internet of Vehicles. In addition, ZEEKR also plans to enter emerging markets such as Southeast Asia, the Middle East, South America, and Australia, and will operate in 50 countries by the end of this year.
These core competitiveness have also made ZEEKR gain the favor of capital. Since its establishment, ZEEKR has been supported by industrial capital and well-known institutions such as CATL, Intel, Intel, etc. In this listing, the old shareholders continued to subscribe firmly, once again reflecting the capital's recognition of the long-term value of ZEEKR.
In the eyes of industry insiders, for the capital market, now may not be the best capital window, but for ZEEKR Automobile, now is the best time to complete the established strategy, ZEEKR may not value the short-term market value, but the long-term value of the company in the capital market.
An Conghui proudly said: "With a global investment structure and a global development path, ZEEKR will become one of the most growing global automotive technology companies today. ”
Under the current fierce market competition, for start-up car companies, only with stable cash flow can they have sufficient ammunition to meet the elimination of new energy vehicles. ZEEKR said that about 45% of the funds raised in the IPO will be used to develop more advanced pure electric vehicle technology and expand its product portfolio; About 45% will be used for sales, marketing and expansion of the service and charging network; Approximately 10% will be used for general corporate purposes, including working capital needs, to support business operations.
It is foreseeable that with the injection of funds, ZEEKR's advantages in technology and services will be further enhanced to help it break through in the fierce market competition.