Zeekr Technology Europe Explained

Zeekr Technology Europe AB
Former Name:China Euro Vehicle Technology AB (CEVT)
Foundation:2013
Location City:Gothenburg
Location Country:Sweden
Location:Pumpgatan 1
Key People:Giovanni Lanfranchi (CEO)
Industry:Automotive industry
Parent:Zeekr[1]
Footnotes:[2]

Zeekr Technology Europe AB, formerly China Euro Vehicle Technology AB (CEVT), is the European automotive research and development centre of Zeekr.

The company is located at the Geely Innovation Centre, in a 100,000 square meter building called Uni3 in Lindholmen district of Gothenburg, Sweden.[3] [4]

Business

Developing technologies and cars for the Geely owned brands Volvo Cars, Geely, Lynk & Co, Polestar, Lotus, LEVC (London-taxi), Zeekr and Proton.[5] In 2024, the company had more than a thousand full-time employees and annual revenue of around 4 billion Swedish krona.[6]

Zeekr Technology Europe also does development work for other companies. It developed a platform for Waymo's autonomous taxis.[7]

History

When Geely acquired Volvo, it used platform technology from its previous owner Ford. Volvo hired Mats Fägerhag, previous development manager at the now-defunct Swedish automaker Saab, to find a development partner to Volvo for their smaller cars.[8]

Geely planned to buy a research and development centre in Europe, but instead, CEVT was founded in 2013 with Mats Fägerhag as CEO, in the same Swedish city as Volvo's headquarters and with many engineers with background from Saab.[9] [10]

The first main objective for CEVT was to develop the CMA platform for the smaller Volvo cars, which also was to be used in the Lynk & Co cars.[11] Difference is that for Volvo, CEVT only developed the platform, for Lynk the assignment was to design the entire car including car body and interior and this partnership resulted in the models Lynk & Co 01, 02 and 03.

In 2016 the first Lynk & Co developed by CEVT was presented and the following year Volvo XC40 (using the CMA platform).

CEVT have also developed the modular SEA-platform[12] for electric vehicles, mainly used in the Geely group of car companies and used in cars such as Zeekr 001, Polestar 4, Volvo EX30, Smart #1 and Smart #3.

Besides cars and platform development, CEVT develops common solutions for autonomous driving, automotive electrification, mobility solutions, software development and component development for the Geely group, such as the fully modular automatic 7-speed Dual-Clutch transmission presented in 2019.

September 4, 2023, Giovanni Lanfranchi became the new CEO of CEVT[13] and the company had during the year before this shift in leadership started to describe itself as the "European R&D centre for ZEEKR", but also that their design was to be found in the "Geely family, such as ZEEKR, Geely Auto, Volvo Cars, Lynk & Co and Lotus".[14] In March 2024, CEVT was renamed Zeekr Technology Europe AB, reflecting its role in Zeekr's development and global expansion.[15]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: ZEEKR Intelligent Technology Holding Limited - US SEC FORM F-1 . . 11 May 2024.
  2. Web site: Företagsinformation . China-Euro Vehicle Technology Aktiebolag . 2023-12-23 . sv . 2024-01-14.
  3. Web site: CEVT Locations . CEVT . 2021-01-21 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240114192337/https://career.cevt.se/locations . 2024-01-14 . live . 2024-01-14.
  4. Web site: First tenants move into the Geely Innovation Centre . Invest in Gothenburg . 2020-01-14 . 2024-01-14.
  5. Web site: About – CEVT . 2023-07-01 . cevt.se.
  6. Web site: China-Euro Vehicle Technology Aktiebolag i Göteborg (556922-7639) . Merinfo.se . 2024-01-14 . sv . 2024-01-14.
  7. Web site: Martin . Charlie . Geely reveals SEA-M platform for autonomous Waymo taxi . Autocar . 2022-11-17 . 2024-01-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20240114234958/https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/geely-reveals-sea-m-platform-autonomous-waymo-taxi. 2024-01-14.
  8. Web site: Pröckl . Eddie . 2015-04-29 . Här är Sveriges nya bilbyggare . 2023-07-01 . www.nyteknik.se . sv.
  9. Web site: 2016-01-22 . Cevt växer i raketfart . 2023-07-01 . gp.se . sv.
  10. Web site: Lönnroth . Valdemar . Hemliga fordonschefen lämnar Göteborgsbolaget . Göteborgs-Posten . 2023-09-22 . sv . 2024-01-06.
  11. Web site: CEVT – Ny genre Svensk bilindustri Vi Bilägare . 2023-07-01 . www.vibilagare.se . sv.
  12. News: Wedberg . Erik . 2024 . Polestar 4 Long Range Dual Motor . Teknikens värld . 17 . SV . 18 April 2024 . 9.
  13. Web site: ZEEKR welcomes Giovanni Lanfranchi as new CEO of CEVT . 2023-10-21 . newsroom.notified.com . en.
  14. Web site: About – CEVT . 2023-10-21 . cevt.se.
  15. Web site: CEVT Enters New Era as Zeekr Technology Europe . newsroom.notified.com . 10 May 2024 . en.