Chinese EV Maker Zeekr Continues Rising After IPO

Zeekr Intelligent Technology Holding’s (ZK) American depositary shares (ADSs) continued to rise in intraday trading Monday after the Chinese electric vehicle maker’s Friday initial public offering (IPO).

Zeekr on Friday priced its 21 million ADSs at $21 each on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), and they closed at $28.26, a rise of nearly 35%. Each ADS represents 10 ordinary shares.

What Is Zeekr and Why Did It List in the US?

The company is one of several making competition in the Chinese and global EV market increasingly tight, squeezing the margins of larger Chinese companies like BYD (BYDDY), and other international players like Tesla (TSLA). Some of the Chinese companies have expanded abroad, with Zeekr’s IPO bringing some speculation about whether the company could be next.

“The capital markets in New York are very favorable for new energy vehicles. Zeekr is a global brand, and choosing to list in New York further demonstrates its global capabilities,” Zeekr CEO Conghui An said, according to Reuters.

Zeekr is a subsidiary of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, which holds positions in a number of Chinese and international automakers including Geely, Volvo, Polestar, and Lotus, among others.

Zeekr represents the largest U.S. IPO from a Chinese company since ridesharing platform Didi in 2021, according to Bloomberg. Chinese regulators subsequently banned Didi from app stores there, claiming that it broke data privacy laws and posed cybersecurity risks, leading the company to delist from the NYSE just months after its IPO.

After their debut surge Friday, ADSs of Zeekr were up a further 7.2% to $30.28 as of 11:35 a.m. ET Monday.