The terms of the proposed spin-off, including listing venue, offering size and price range for Zeekr have not been finalised, the company said in a statement.

Geely Automobile and its parent Zhejiang Geely Holding Group launched Zeekr in April 2021 as a premium brand targeting young and trendy customers.

In August last year, Zeekr raised $500 million in its first external funding from investors that included Intel Capital, battery maker CATL and online entertainment firm Bilibili.

An Conghui, Geely's president and Zeekr's chief executive, has said Zeekr is confident of hitting its sales target of 70,000 units this year. The brand aims to sell 650,000 vehicles a year by 2025.

Besides Zeekr, Geely owns other EV brands such as Polestar and Geometry.

ECARX Holdings, a Chinese auto tech startup backed by Geely Holding Group's chairman, went public in May through a merger with a blank-check firm in a deal that valued it at $3.8 billion.

(Reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)