Geely Automobile : EV brand Zeekr sells out of deliverable cars for this year

BEIJING (Reuters) - Zeekr, a new premium electric vehicle (EV) brand launched this year by Geely, has sold out of deliveries for this year, Chief Executive An Conghui said on Tuesday.

Geely, the owner of Volvo Cars, in April launched Zeekr to target growing Chinese demand for premium EVs that has boosted sales for Tesla Inc and Chinese peer Nio Inc.

Parent Zhejiang Geely Holding Group and Geely Automobile jointly invested 2 billion yuan ($306 million) in the Zeekr venture.

Executives said that Zeekr would use a direct sales model to manage pricing and inventory. The brand plans to open more than 100 stores this year. Geely is making Zeekr 001 cars in China's eastern city of Ningbo.

(Reporting by Yilei Sun and Tony Munroe, editing by Louise Heavens)