Less than three months after announcing entry into a new market of Israel, Chinese EV automaker ZEEKR is continuing its expansion in the Middle East (and around the globe for that matter) and doing so quickly. The young automaker has announced four new partnerships that will see EV deliveries coming quite quickly.
Although ZEEKR remains a relatively new brand to the EV space, it garners consistent coverage on Electrek because, well… it is consistently growing its lineup of “futuristic” EVs and the territories in which they are sold.
After producing over 100,000 electric vehicles in a mere 18 months of existence, the Geely-owned EV brand has been off and running in the global market, sharing expansion plans to Europe beginning with the opening of pre-orders in its first two markets – Sweden and the Netherlands.
However, while first shipments of its flagship 001 sedan and brand-new X SUV make their way over from China, we already know ZEEKR is expanding to at least six EU markets by 2024, including Germany, and most of the markets in Western Europe by 2026. The automaker has also confirmed incoming EV sales in Kazakhstan.
This past July, ZEEKR confirmed plans to enter its first market in the Middle East – Israel – as early as Q4 of this year. Now however, ZEEKR is expanding partnerships in four additional countries in the Middle East with deliveries following closely behind Israel.
ZEEKR expands to four additional countries in Middle East
According to ZEEKR, it has signed four new partnerships to sell its EVs in the Middle East: AW Rostamani Holdings in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Wallan Trading Company in Saudi Arabia, Blue Lake Motors in Qatar, and Y.K. Almoayyed & Sons in Bahrain.
The Geely subsidiary said it will begin by selling the two aforementioned models – the ZEEKR 001 and ZEEKR X. ZEEKR vice president Chen Yu spoke to the decision to expand to the new territories following its partnership with Union Group in Israel:
Customer demand for premium vehicles with new technologies is strong in the Middle East. All ZEEKR models are built on SEA architecture and developed for the global market.
What’s wilder, is that ZEEKR plans to begin first deliveries in the Middle East in Q1 of 2024. Remember, the X SUV only began deliveries in China in mid-June and its first EVs for Europe are just starting to make their way overseas – so this brand is moving lightning fast.
Yu followed up by relaying that ZEEKR intends to collaborate with future partners to bolster its local sales network and provide consumers around the globe with a more “immersive experience.” We are sure to hear about more expansions to new markets around Europe and beyond soon. Stay tuned.