Group 1 - Zeekr has initiated the process of privatization following a proposal from its controlling shareholder, Geely Automobile, marking its return to the Geely system [1] - Geely currently holds 65.7% of Zeekr's shares, and if the acquisition of the remaining shares is completed, Zeekr will become a wholly-owned subsidiary and delist from the stock market [1][4] - The return of Zeekr aligns with Geely's historical strategic logic, as the company previously unified its sub-brands to enhance competitiveness [1][4] Group 2 - Zeekr's sales performance has been declining, with the flagship model Zeekr 001's sales dropping from 4,359 units in January to 2,976 units in March 2024 [3] - In April 2024, Zeekr's total deliveries fell to 13,727 units, a year-on-year decrease of 15% and a month-on-month decrease of 11% [3] - The company aims to achieve a sales target of 320,000 units for the year but has only completed 17.22% of this target by April [3] Group 3 - Following its listing on the New York Stock Exchange, Zeekr's stock price fluctuated between $20 and $30, with a low of $13 per share, resulting in a market capitalization of $3.3 billion [4] - The company has faced significant net losses from 2021 to 2024, totaling over 26 billion yuan, which has led to a cycle of financial constraints [5] - Geely's cash flow was reported at 43.6 billion yuan by the end of 2024, indicating its capacity to finance the acquisition of Zeekr [6] Group 4 - The integration of Zeekr and Lynk & Co has led to a reduction in product offerings by 20% and aims to streamline operations and reduce costs [10] - The first quarter of 2025 saw Zeekr's costs decrease to 17.8 billion yuan, down 2.4% year-on-year and 38.6% quarter-on-quarter [11] - The merger is seen as a critical step for Geely to enhance its competitiveness in the rapidly evolving electric vehicle market [12]

Core Viewpoint - The article discusses the recent restructuring within Geely Group, focusing on the integration of its smart cockpit and autonomous driving teams to enhance internal collaboration and efficiency in response to increasing industry competition [3][9][10]. Group 1: Integration of Teams - Geely Group has announced the merger of the ZEEKR smart cockpit team into the central research institute, with the new head being Jiang Jun, who has a background in Huawei's autonomous driving division [3][6]. - The smart cockpit development resources of Geely are being consolidated, with ZEEKR continuing to use its ZEEKR AI OS system for the time being due to the complexity of switching systems across multiple models [4][5]. - The autonomous driving team of ZEEKR has also effectively merged into Geely's central research institute, led by Chen Qi, who has a significant background in autonomous driving from Huawei [4][8]. Group 2: Historical Context and Changes - The restructuring follows a period of internal competition within Geely, where multiple teams were working on similar technologies, leading to redundancy and inefficiency [9][12]. - The expansion of Geely's R&D system can be traced back to 2020, when the CTO position was vacant for four years, allowing various sub-brands to grow their own R&D teams [8][9]. - The article highlights that the integration of teams is a response to the competitive landscape, with other companies like BYD also consolidating their teams to streamline operations [9][10]. Group 3: Future Directions - Geely aims to maximize resource sharing in the smart cockpit domain, with plans to unify software and hardware resources across its brands [14][15]. - The newly integrated "Qianli Haohan" autonomous driving system will feature multiple versions, with advancements in AI models being implemented [15][16]. - The ongoing integration efforts are seen as a critical step towards achieving a more cohesive and efficient R&D strategy within Geely Group [16].