Earlier today, IFR reported that Zeekr had put its planned US IPO on hold amid weak market sentiment.

(Zeekr said its planned US IPO is moving forward orderly, in response to a report that the effort was on hold because of weak market sentiment. Image credit: CnEVPost)

Zeekr, the premium electric vehicle (EV) maker owned by Geely Auto, said it is continuing to move forward with its US initial public offering (IPO) after a report surfaced that the effort was being on hold.

Zeekr has publicly filed a prospectus with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and preparations for the IPO are moving forward in an orderly manner, the company said in a response shared with CnEVPost.

Earlier today, IFR cited people familiar with the matter as saying that Zeekr has put its planned US IPO on hold amid weak market sentiment.

Zeekr will continue to monitor market conditions and decide when to revive the float, according to the IFR report.

Zeekr was formally incorporated as a standalone company in March 2021. On December 13, 2022, Geely said Zeekr filed a draft registration statement with the SEC on a confidential basis for a possible IPO.

On November 9 this year, Zeekr publicly filed an application to go public in the US and plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol ZK.

Zeekr's revenue for 2020 through 2022 was RMB 3.185 billion ($447 million), RMB 6.528 billion, and RMB 31.9 billion, respectively, its prospectus from earlier this month showed.

Zeekr's revenue for the first half of this year was RMB 21.27 billion, up 136.07 percent from RMB 9.01 billion in the same period last year.

It had gross margins of 15.9 percent and 7.7 percent in 2021 and 2022, respectively. In the first half of the year, the figure was 10.5 percent, higher than 9.7 percent in the same period last year.

Last week, Zeekr updated its prospectus with financials for the first three quarters of this year.

Zeekr's revenue for the first three quarters of 2023 was RMB 35.32 billion yuan, up 91.22 percent year-on-year. Of this, revenue from vehicle sales amounted to RMB 23.32 billion yuan, accounting for about 66 percent of the overall revenue.

Zeekr's revenue is more diversified than many of its local peers that rely on revenues from selling vehicles.

Zeekr's revenue comes mainly from vehicle sales, core parts business, research and development and other services, according to its latest prospectus.

From 2021 to the first three quarters of 2023, Zeekr's revenue outside of vehicle sales boosted to RMB 12 billion from RMB 4.98 billion, while its contribution to operating revenue shrank to 34 percent from 76.3 percent.

There's no information on Zeekr's valuation, and on September 19, local media outlet Jiemian reported that Zeekr was seeking an $18 billion valuation in its planned US IPO, which would be comparable to the market capitalization of Nio (NYSE: NIO).

It's worth noting that shares of US-listed Chinese companies have been weak over the past few months, with Nio's latest market capitalization having been reduced to just under $13 billion.

Zeekr seeks valuation comparable to Nio in planned US IPO, report says