Chinese car manufacturer Zeekr is contemplating an initial public offering in the United States and is expected to start meeting with global investors to see if such a move is viable.
Unnamed sources with intel on the matter report that Zeekr is meeting with investors in London, New York, Hong Kong, Singapore, California, Boston, and the Middle East with the intent of a $1 billion IPO in the U.S. Such a move would come after Zeekr secured $750 million in a private funding round in February and could give it a valuation of over $13 billion.
Zeekr quietly filed for a U.S. IPO back in December 2022 but little has been heard about its plans since. If it does raise $1 billion in an IPO, it would be the biggest U.S. debut of a Chinese company since Didi, a ride-hailing juggernaut, managed to raise $4.4 billion in mid-2021, Reuters notes.
The Geely-owned company is still in its infancy but in 2022, was able to sell an impressive 72,000 vehicles, most of which were sold in China. In January it asserted that it would sell upwards of 140,000 vehicles this year but through the first half of 2023, it was tracking well behind that target having delivered 42,633 vehicles. It did have a particularly strong June, however, selling a total of 10,620 vehicles.
Read: Zeekr Wants To Double Its Sales This Year But Won’t Enter The U.S.
The car manufacturer isn’t letting a slow first half of 2023 dampen its spirits. Shortly after Geely released its financial results for H1 2023, Zeekr chief executive Andy An said that the brand wants to sell a remarkable 650,000 vehicles in 2025. In its bid to do so, it will launch two new models every year catering to different market segments. Before the end of 2023, a new sedan will be released and in 2024, two new Zeekr SUVs will hit the market.
