LUXURY electric vehicle (EV) brand Zeekr, owned by China automotive giant Geely, is coming to Singapore in 2024, with retail sales to begin in the first half of 2024.

The first deliveries are slated to begin in June or July 2024, according to Premium Automobiles Group, which has been appointed as its authorised distributor.

Premium, which is also the authorised dealer for Audi in Singapore, announced the deal on Friday (Dec 29).

Premium president Hadi Widjaja Tanaga said: “We are confident Zeekr’s technologically advanced car models, which offer customers a new level of convenience and driving experience, will ease Singapore’s transition to an electric mobility that is more environmentally sustainable.”

Zeekr is marketed in Europe as a luxury car brand, in contrast to most Chinese car brands in Singapore that market and price themselves for a mainstream audience.

While pricing details are yet to be confirmed, Premium aims for Zeekr models to “be priced more competitively” than German luxury brands such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz, said a company representative.

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Say Kwee Neng, a car industry consultant and ex-managing director at a car dealership group, said that Zeekr is one of the more coveted Chinese EV brands.

This is because its Geely affiliation gives distributors, dealers and consumers confidence in the long-term viability of the brand, he said.

The brand’s overt luxury segment positioning suits Singapore’s current certificate of entitlement situation, where high certificate prices favour the sales of luxury brands, he added.

Retail sales will begin upon completion of the Zeekr showroom. It will be located at 9 Leng Kee Road, replacing the current Audi pre-owned car showroom.

A new aftersales location for Zeekr will be built in Ubi, likely near Premium’s current Audi service centre at 55 Ubi Road 1.

Given that deliveries are slated to begin in June or July, Singapore could see the global debut of Zeekr’s right-hand drive cars. According to Bloomberg, Zeekr’s right-hand drive models will debut in Hong Kong and Macau in H2 2024.

The company began deliveries of left-hand drive units to Europe earlier in December 2023.

Zeekr currently has four models on sale abroad: the Zeekr 001, a large fastback sedan; the Zeekr 007, an executive sedan pitched as a rival to Tesla’s Model 3; the Zeekr 009, a multi-purpose vehicle (MPV); and the Zeekr X, a small sport utility vehicle (SUV).

In Singapore, the first models available will be the Zeekr 009 and Zeekr X.

The 5.2-metre-long Zeekr 009 is an extra-large MPV with six seats. A 140 kilowatt-hour (kWh) battery pack delivers a quoted range of more than 800 km. Its retail price in China starts from 490,000 yuan (S$93,300).

The Zeekr X is the brand’s least expensive model, with its retail price in China starting from around 190,000 yuan. Its 4.4 m length puts it in the popular compact/small SUV segment, which includes cars such as the BMW X1.

A 69 kWh battery gives a quoted range of more than 400 km.

Geely is the world’s 13th-largest automaker by volume. Zeekr is one of its youngest brands, having been founded in 2021.

In recent years, Geely has expanded its ownership of established brands, buying over Lotus, Polestar and Volvo. It also owns 49.9 per cent of Malaysian carmaker Proton.

Zeekr has been seeking a US initial public offering, but reports said that this has been put on hold due to a mismatch in valuation expectations.

Earlier this year, Geely signed Hong Seh Motors as distributor for its commercial vehicle brand Farizon.