ZEEKR delivered its first car in October 2021, and by the end of 2023 it had delivered 196,633 of them. In October 2022 its ZEEKR 001 became the first premium pure-electric model from a Chinese brand to sell more than 10,000 units in one month. The company was the high-end electric brand of Geely, the Chinese car group that also owns Volvo Cars. When ZEEKR filed to list in New York, China's electric car market was crowded and in a price war.

A Brand Built Inside Geely

ZEEKR was set up in 2021, led by An Conghui, who had already built the Geely and Lynk & Co brands. It leaned on Geely's factories and supply chain to ramp up production fast. The ZEEKR 001, a fast electric shooting brake, came first, and more models followed. Almost all of its deliveries were in China. Its headquarters sat in the Beilun District of Ningbo, in Zhejiang province.

Twenty-One Dollars an ADS

ZEEKR priced its IPO at $21 per American depositary share in May 2024 and listed on the New York Stock Exchange as ZK. Geely Auto bought about 12.9 million of the ADSs itself, and Mobileye and CATL also bought in. The stock closed its first day well above the offer price. In 2025 Geely Auto agreed to buy out the other shareholders. ZEEKR left the NYSE in December 2025.

Cover: The Chariot Races at Santa Maria, from The Caprices, Jacques Callot. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for a chariot race (a fast electric car).