China's Geely to launch new EV brand to take on Tesla

China’s Geely plans to sell its electric vehicles under a new brand named “Zeekr" for the premium segment and as it prepares to compete with Tesla.

The brand would be launched under an EV entity Lingling Technologies.
Geely, which owns Volvo Cars and 9.7 percent of Daimler AG, will roll out models on its open-source EV chassis called Sustainable Experience Architecture.

According to Alan Kang, an analyst at auto consultancy LMC Automotive, since Geely does not have a clear advantage in electric vehicles, it apparently wants to be innovative by creating a new brand.

Geely founder and Chairman Li Shufu’s ambition was to create premium cars like Mercedes-Benz while taking on Tesla Inc.

Its strategy following marketing tactics pioneered by Tesla is to open showrooms or hubs in city centers to sell cars at a fixed price, instead of selling cars through dealerships.

The plan follows a flurry of tie-ups by Geely earlier this year as the automaker pursues its goal of becoming a leading EV contract manufacturer and engineering service provider.

Hangzhou-based Geely also plans a broad array of sales and marketing strategies to seek deeper relationships with EV buyers. It will open lifestyle lines for clothing and accessories and launch a car owner’s club, tactics used by Nio, sources said.

Zeekr is also considering rolling out a share ownership plan that allows customers to become shareholders of Lingling, which management hopes will boost sales and the relationship between brand and customers.

China forecasts new energy vehicles will make up 20 percent of its annual auto sales by 2025 from around five percent in 2020.