Reported by Pulsestacks on May 14th, on October 26th last year, Stellantis Group acquired a stake in Zeekr and announced the establishment of a joint venture between the two parties.
200 days later, the joint venture Zeekr International was swiftly established.
On May 14th, Stellantis Group and Zeekr jointly announced the official establishment of Zeekr International. Stellantis Group holds 51% of the shares, while Zeekr Motors holds 49%, with headquarters located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. At the same time, the joint venture has internal development capabilities and is committed to redefining electric vehicles through cutting-edge technology and innovation, with Xintianshu serving as the CEO of Zeekr International.
(Left: Carlos Tavares, Global CEO of Stellantis Group; Right: Zhu Jiangming, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Zeekr Technology)
Zeekr International will first launch two models, T03 and C10, and will introduce at least one new model each year over the next three years.
The T03 is a compact five-door A00-class urban premium commuter car with the interior space of an A0-class vehicle, offering a WLTP range of up to 265 kilometers. The C10 is positioned as a B-class family car, based on Zeekr's self-developed LEAP 3.0 technology architecture, featuring industry-leading intelligent electric technology such as central integrated electronic and electrical architecture, CTC battery chassis integration, flagship intelligent cockpit, a WLTP range of 420 kilometers, and a five-star E-NCAP safety standard.
Zhu Jiangming, Chairman of Zeekr, explained the reason for launching these two models first, stating, "For a new market, China has also gone through a similar phase, which we call a dumbbell-shaped structure, where products are either for commuting or at the lowest price, or as flagship products to enhance the brand. Therefore, we promote the C10 as Zeekr's flagship and the T03 as our entry-level model, targeting overseas markets with these two models first."
"We will also complete the entire segment in the future, and ultimately, the distribution of car sales will become spindle-shaped, with vehicles priced around 100,000 RMB being the best-selling."
Subsequently, starting in the fourth quarter of 2024, these two models will also be launched in India and the Asia-Pacific region (excluding Greater China), the Middle East, Africa, and South America.
(Zero Run International Product Planning Map)
Advance in Europe, then expand globally
Zero Run International will leverage Stellantis Group's global distribution channels to expand market coverage.
In September 2024, Zero Run International will commence sales in 9 European countries, including France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Greece, and Romania. By the end of the year, they aim to expand to 200 sales outlets, with plans to grow the sales network to 500 by 2026.
By the end of 2024, Zero Run International will also launch products in the Middle East and Africa regions in Turkey, Israel, and French overseas territories, in India and the Asia-Pacific region in Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Malaysia, and in South America in Brazil and Chile.
Since its inception in 2015, Zero Run Motors has sold a cumulative total of 350,000 vehicles, ranking third in the sales volume of new car forces in 2023. At the press conference, Zhu Jiangming stated that Zero Run Motors is focusing on elevating the C-series products to an industry-leading level. "In the 150,000 price range, we hope to achieve a higher market share. In the future, we will introduce 2-3 new products annually to cover the 100,000 and 200,000 price segments. By 2027, the entire product lineup will span the 60,000-250,000 price range."
The joint venture established by both parties can further accelerate the globalization process of Zero Run Motors. Zhu mentioned, "By leveraging our competitive products, along with Stellantis' overseas dealer network, excellent parts distribution system, and global factories, we are well-positioned. The uncertainties in future regions determine the challenges faced by the global development of Chinese new energy vehicle brands. Relying on Stellantis, combined with our technological barriers and product accumulation, '1+1' will definitely be greater than 2."
Stellantis Group CEO Carlos Tavares also stated, "If we cannot directly export from Zero Run International, we can utilize Stellantis to produce and export locally to mitigate risks." "Different countries have different customs duties, so how to avoid them depends on how we find solutions within our global network."
He particularly emphasized that although Stellantis Group is large in scale, it can also act swiftly, make decisions quickly, and not slow down Zero Run's pace. "Zero Run has exceptional execution capabilities, and we are very satisfied that they have not been hindered. We are all racers, we are all runners."
