Chinese EV Brand Zeekr to Enter the Korean Market This Year

[The Financial News, Beijing, China =
] Zeekr, China's luxury electric vehicle brand, will officially enter the Korean market within this year.
Yang Xueliang, vice president in charge of public relations and communications at Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, met with reporters at the Geely Auto Night Banquet held on the 23rd at NUO Hotel Beijing in Beijing, China. He said, "Zeekr has already signed a partnership agreement with a well-known local dealer in Korea" and added, "We expect the official launch to take place within this year."
He said, "If the right infrastructure is in place and great products are offered, Korean consumers will also come to deeply love electric vehicles." He added, "Rather than chasing short-term market share, the right approach is to let customers naturally recognize the brand's value first through excellent products and services." He continued, "Strategically, Zeekr stands for a firmly established premium segment," and said, "To that end, we plan to introduce a range of premium-luxury models to the Korean market, including the well-received Zeekr 7X."
Regarding domestic infrastructure investment, he added, "If infrastructure suited to premium services, such as charging facilities and Battery Swapping Station (BSS), is in place, Korean consumers will also come to deeply trust Zeekr's electric vehicles."
At this year's Beijing International Automotive Exhibition (Auto China), the Zeekr booth drew the largest crowds among Geely's brands. Zeekr unveiled the seven-seat version of its flagship multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), the Zeekr 009, which has improved ride comfort and convenience, as well as the Zeekr 8X, a high-performance sport utility vehicle (SUV) with a peak output of 1,030 kW, or about 1,400 horsepower.
The global growth of Geely-affiliated brands, including Zeekr, is also accelerating. Vice President Yang said, "We have raised this year's global sales target from 640,000 units to 750,000 units." He added, "Monthly sales, which were around 30,000 units in the first quarter of last year, surpassed 60,000 units per month in the first two months of this year, and exceeded 80,000 units in March."
Meanwhile, Geely Auto Group unveiled its first robotaxi prototype, the EVA Cab, for the first time in the world at this year's Beijing International Automotive Exhibition, ahead of commercialization next year. The EVA Cab is a fully autonomous vehicle with no steering wheel or accelerator and brake pedals inside, and its cabin seats are arranged face-to-face. Through its subsidiary Caroh Mobility, Geely Auto Group has entered the shared mobility market and has been running pilot operations for more than a year in local cities such as Hangzhou and Suzhou.
Gan Jiaye, CEO of Geely Auto Group, said, "Over the past five years, through the Smart Geely 2025 strategy, we have built an intelligent science and technology ecosystem that encompasses large models, powerful computing capabilities and big data." He added, "Based on an all-around intelligent architecture and an open cooperative ecosystem, we will present China's smart solutions to the world."Kim Dongchan