Asian Tech Press (Jan 6) -- Chinese automaker Geely's premium electric car brand Zeekr aims to double its sales in 2023 and expand in Europe.

Zeekr aims to double sales to about 140,000 units by 2023 and plans to expand sales in the European market, said Andy An Conghui, chief executive officer of Zeekr, according to Reuters.

The Chinese brand delivered 7,1941units of the Zeekr 001 in 2022, reigning as the top-selling all-electric model over 300,000 yuan in China. Zeekr's second model, the all-electric luxury MPV Zeekr 009, will go into production this month.

Rivals to the Zeekr 001 include the Tesla Model Y in China, while Tesla has cut the price of its products and reduced production due to stiff competition from local Chinese brands.

In an interview at CES 2023 in Las Vegas, An said Zeekr sees growth opportunities in Europe, adding that Zeekr plans to start selling vehicles in the region later this year, the models featuring Mobileye SuperVision, the next-generation premium driver-assist system from Intel Corp's self-driving tech unit Mobileye Global Inc.

Zeekr and Google's self-driving unit Waymo, showed a prototype of an autonomous ride service vehicle at CES. An revealed that the company plans to build vehicles for Waymo in China, but could also build them in the U.S., "depending on the market situation." However, Zeekr has no plans to enter the U.S. market at this time.

The EV brand filed for an initial public offering (IPO) in the U.S. last month, but did not provide details on the size or timing. Zeekr plans to raise more than $1 billion, seeking a valuation of more than $10 billion, and go public in New York as early as the second quarter of 2023.