Geely launches pure-electric Zeekr brand

Volvo and Lotus Cars parent, Geely, has launched a new electric premium car brand called Zeekr that will sell cars globally.

Designed to sit on Geely's latest dedicated SEA architecture created for battery-powered vehicles, the first models from the Zeekr family of EVs are set to be introduced in China before the end of 2021.

Once its maiden model has made its debut, the fledgling EV brand will introduce a new electric vehicle every year for the next five years, with the car-maker set to launch in other markets after declaring it intended to "serve growing global demand for premium electric vehicles".

Initially, Zeekr's primary interest will be establishing a foothold in the Chinese market before expanding.

As well as selling just cars, Zeekr promises to develop an "ecosystem" for electric cars, promising an innovative approach to both sales and servicing.

Since the new SEA platform will be used for upcoming Volvo, Polestar, Lynk & Co, Smart and even potentially Lotus vehicles, it's safe to say Zeekr will also share powertrains, batteries and electronic architecture to save costs.

As well as the launch of the new brand, Geely has announced that last year it sold an incredible 1.3 million cars in China alone, making it the country's best-selling brand.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Geely also reported it exported 73,000 additional cars, a year-on-year increase of 25 per cent.

Chinese-Swedish brand Lynk & Co, which was only founded back in 2016, reported it had sold 175,000 cars in 2020 – an increase of 37 per cent over 2019's results.