Chinese EV maker Zeekr sees share price surge 35% at NYSE debut

Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer Zeekr Intelligent Technology Holding Ltd (Zeekr) on Friday saw its share price soar 34.57 percent at the close of its opening day on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

The surge came after a report on Friday stating that the Biden administration is planning to levy tariffs on Chinese EVs and other high-tech industries.

The US capital market response suggested that good quality and reasonably priced EVs remain in good demand, a rebuttal of the alleged "overcapacity" narrative targeting Chinese green energy products, observers noted.

Zeekr's stock price finished at $28.26 at Friday's close, $7.26 above its opening price of $21. It was reportedly the largest stock price increase among Chinese companies listing at the NYSE in three years.

Zeekr is a premium brand owned by Chinese automaker Geely which also owns Sweden's Volvo and the UK's Lotus. As of December 31, 2023, Zeekr has shipped a total of 196,633 vehicles, a majority of which are in the Chinese market, the company's file submitted to US Securities and Exchange Commission showed.

In terms of US' potential tariff increase to be imposed on Chinese EVs, Wu Shuocheng, a veteran automobile industry analyst, told the Global Times on Sunday that the export volume of Chinese EVs to US market is "negligible" at present, and the export restriction may cause little impact to Chinese EV industry in short period.

And, multiple Chinese automakers are ramping up their overseas expansions in Europe, Southeast Asia and Latin America.

Chinese EV giant BYD announced in February this year that it had signed a preliminary sales and purchase agreement with the municipality of Szeges in Hungary.

In the first four months of 2024, sales of new vehicles by Chinese EV brands in Brazil market hit 48,000, jumping by eight times from the same period in 2023, according to STAR Market Daily.