Newly merged Zeekr, Lynk&Co brands set fresh 2025 sales goal

Zeekr Group, the new entity that now houses Zhejiang Geely Holding Group’s electric vehicle brand Zeekr and smart car marque Lynk&, aims to sell 710,000 units this year and make a renewed push into overseas markets.

Chinese billionaire Li Shufu put plans in place last November to bring the two brands together and that transaction has now been completed, according to a Zeekr statement Friday. Lynk&Co was initially set up as a joint venture between Volvo Car AB and Zhejiang Geely. Under the deal, Zeekr acquired 30 percent of Lynk&Co’s shares from Volvo Car and a 20 percent stake from Geely.

Hong Kong-listed Geely Automobile (0175) retains a minority stake of 49 percent in Lynk&Co and recorded a gain of 6.47 billion yuan (HK$6.9 billion) from the change in Lynk&Co’s status, according to a separate stock exchange filing on Friday.

As well as a single global sales network that will cover most regions except Europe, where Lynk&Co has a more established presence, Zeekr Group hopes to save as much as 20 percent on research and development, sales and marketing and other administrative costs over the coming two years.

The company also plans to reduce raw material and component expenses by up to 8 percent and raise capacity utilization rates by up to 5 percent, according to Zeekr.

The reorganization comes after Li released a new strategy in September in a document called the Taizhou Declaration. Geely is seeking to consolidate resources and eliminate cross-competition from its various brands. Zeekr will focus on the premium category of EVs that cost 300,000 yuan and above while Lynk&Co’s positioning is in the 200,000 yuan and up segment.

Bloomberg