By Kate Yuan

(JW Insights) Aug 24 -- Zeekr (极氪), the premium EV brand under Chinese auto giant Geely, will meet global investors in the coming weeks to test the appetite for a $1 billion US IPO, Reuters reported on August 23.

An Conghui, president of Geely and CEO of Zeekr, said that they will wait for the right time to go public, adding Zeekr’s vehicles achieved a double-digit gross profit margin in the first half of this year, during Geely's semi-annual earnings meeting held recently. Based on recent business performance, Zeekr’s estimated IPO valuation is expected to exceed $13 billion.

Geely established Zeekr in April 2021 to tap into increasing Chinese demand for high-end EVs. The company launched the first batch of Zeekr 001 European version earlier this month.

On August 1, Zeekr released its performance for January to July 2023. In July, the company delivered a total of 12,039 vehicles, surging 139.7% over the previous and up 13.4% from the previous month, hitting a record high.