Geely Auto announced on Thursday that its premium electric brand Zeekr will be taking over control of its sister brand Lynk & Co. The major restructuring move is said to be the first in a series of planned reorganisation exercises by Geely, as part of the company’s ongoing efforts to streamline its sprawling automotive empire.
The merger aims to “accelerate technology synergies between the two brands, streamline product portfolios, and boost talent development, ultimately leading to greater global sales volume,” the company said in a statement.
As part of the reorganisation, Zeekr will acquire Volvo Cars’ entire 30% stake in Lynk & Co, alongside another 20% from Geely Auto. Zeekr will then bring its stake up to 51% via a capital injection, giving it a controlling ownership of the company, while the remaining 49% will continue to be held by Geely Auto.
The Chinese-Swedish brand is valued at approximately CNY18 billion (approx. RM11 billion), with the deal expected to close by June 2025, Reuters reports.
RELATED: Zeekr X and 009 now open for booking in Malaysia from RM180k
Following the restructuring, Zeekr is expected to take the lead in research and development of electric and connected vehicles within the group, and will share that research with other group brands including Lynk & Co and Polestar.
Sources close to the matter have revealed that Lynk & Co’s product team are now reporting directly to Zeekr CEO Andy An as of last week, and discussions on parts and technology sharing between the two brands have also already taken place.
The restructuring move was first signalled by Geely Chairman Li Shifu back in September this year, as the company aims to enhance efficiency and minimise redundancy across the group’s brands.
Speaking to analysts in a conference call following the announcement, Andy An said that resource sharing between the two brands would reduce R&D costs by 10-20%, while also lowering the bill for materials by 5-8% and improving utilisation of its production capacity.
ALSO READ: Lynk & Co enters Vietnam, Philippines next – Coming to Malaysia soon?
There are no plans for Lynk & Co to be integrated into the Zeekr brand moving forward, but the merger will help the newer Zeekr brand sell its cars into markets with an existing Lynk & Co sales network.
Lynk & Co have only recently unveiled its first fully electric models, the Z10 and Z20, both of which already share the same EV architecture (and styling) used by Zeekr’s cars. The brand also offers ICE and hybrid models, built on different platforms developed by Geely and Volvo Cars, although it’s unclear if these will continued to be offered moving forward.
