Geely, China’s Biggest Car Brand, Set To Launch Rival to Tesla

In a bid to delve into China’s increasing demand for electric vehicles, China’s carmaker; Geely Auto, has announced a premium electric vehicle brand known as ‘Zeekr’.  This is likely to be a major competition for Tesla.

Geely, the owner of Volvo Cars and Lotus, announced this recent development on Tuesday, March 23, 2021. Geely hopes that the shift into China’s electric vehicle market will help restore the company’s sales momentum.

In an interview with Bloomberg Television, Geely Vice President— Andy Conghui An, said that the recent development would give the company an edge against potential competitors. He further stated that Zeekr would be run independently.

However, Zeekr is likely to face tough competition from Tesla, whose Model 3 was the top-selling vehicle in China last year. And not only Tesla, but other Chinese carmakers such as Xpeng, Nio, and Li Auto have a good record of sales.

Geely further revealed that the company would develop and produce high-end electric cars under the Zeekr brand, and would commence deliveries in the third quarter of 2021.

Yae Zhang, founder of Automotive Foresight, said; “This venture will likely be costly for Geely in the near term, but it is a necessary move for the automaker as it seeks to take on Tesla”.

Zhang also stated that being able to innovate is more important than cost control.  This is because the demand from young Chinese buyers for technology-driven electric cars is on the increase.

However, this may be because the Chinese government previously revealed that it wants more than a fifth of vehicles sold in China to be electric by 2025. Hence, Geely has ambitions to position itself as China’s first global automaker.