Today another electrical vehicle maker is going public in the United States. However, the EV maker isn’t an American automotive company, but rather a Chinese one. Here’s what you need to know about Zeekr Intelligent Technology Holding Limited, a China-based rival to Tesla, and its initial public offering.

What is Zeekr?

Zeekr (officially Zhejiang Zeekr Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd.) is an electric vehicle maker based in Ningbo, Zhejiang, China. It was founded in 2021 as a subsidiary of the Chinese automotive giant Geely. Though it is headquartered in China, Zeekr’s global design center is based in Gothenburg, Sweden.

In late 2023, the company opened its first European showroom in Stockholm, followed by one in Amsterdam. And this year, the company says it will expand to other European cities. Zeekr does not currently sell vehicles in America.

Zeekr offers several models of EVs, including the ZEEKR 001 luxury shooting break, the ZEEKR 009 luxury MVP, and the ZEEKR X urban SUV. 

When is Zeekr’s IPO?

Zeekr’s share price was announced today (Friday, May 10, 2024) and its stock is expected to begin trading today.

What is Zeekr’s stock ticker?

Zeekr’s stock will trade under the ticker ZK.

Which exchange will Zeekr shares trade on?

Zeekr shares will trade on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

How many ZK shares are available in its IPO?

According to a press release, 21,000,000 American Depositary Shares (“ADSs”) of ZK will be available in Zeekr’s IPO.

What is an American Depositary Share?

According to Investopedia, an American Depositary Share (ADS) is a security that allows shares in foreign companies to be easily traded on U.S. exchanges since the ADS’s are issued by U.S. banks.

A single ADS can represent multiple foreign shares in the company.

Zeekr says one ADS will represent 10 ordinary shares in the company.

What is the IPO share price of ZK?

Zeekr’s IPO share price is $21 for ADS, which is at the high end of the company’s initial target range of $18-21, notes CNBC.

How much will Zeekr raise in its IPO?

Zeekr says it expects to raise $441 million from the 21 million ADSs it is offering. However, the company is giving its IPO underwriters the chance to purchase, in aggregate, up to another 3,150,000 additional ADSs at the IPO price. If the underwriters opt to do this, Zeekr expects to raise up to $507.2 million in its IPO.

Zeekr’s underwriters include Goldman Sachs (Asia) L.L.C., Morgan Stanley Asia Limited, Merrill Lynch (Asia Pacific) Limited, China International Capital Corporation Hong Kong Securities Limited, and more.

How worried should Tesla be about Zeekr?

That depends. In the United States, not at all, because Zeekr currently has no public plans to launch its cars here. But last month, Zeekr CEO Andy An told CNBC that when it comes to sales in China—a key market for Tesla—Zeekr has “already outsold Tesla in some areas. Our sales gap with Tesla keeps on narrowing.”

And given that Zeekr is expanding into Europe, another important market for Tesla, Elon Musk will likely be keeping a close eye on one of his company’s newest competitors.