In the third quarter, the revenue exceeded 30 billion yuan. Geely's Zeekr and Lynk & Co took over the baton, and Geely's new energy vehicles entered a rebalancing cycle.

In 2025, when China's new energy vehicle industry entered the "deep - water zone", the industrial cycle shifted from high - speed expansion to maturity, and the focus of competition also changed from pursuing scale for speed to optimizing structure for quality.

At such a critical juncture, ZEEKR Technology released its third - quarter financial report. With continuous growth in deliveries and steady progress in revenue, behind this, the dual - brand combination of ZEEKR and Lynk & Co. took turns to exert their strength, and the Geely system began to seek a new balance point.

Revenue Growth but Structural Rearrangement: Lynk & Co.'s Surge in Income Shines

The financial report shows that ZEEKR's revenue in the third quarter of 2025 was 31.562 billion yuan (RMB, the same below), a year - on - year increase of 9.1%.

Judging from the delivery volume, ZEEKR Technology's overall performance in the third quarter was acceptable: It delivered 140,195 vehicles, a year - on - year increase of 12.5% and a quarter - on - quarter increase of 7.1%. In the general environment of continuous price wars and a more rational demand side, this growth rate was relatively stable.

Breaking it down, the ZEEKR brand delivered 52,860 vehicles; Lynk & Co. delivered 87,335 vehicles, accounting for more than 60% of the total deliveries and becoming the real growth driver. This means that ZEEKR's growth momentum is no longer the sole standout, and Lynk & Co. has become the main force driving development.

Corresponding to the revenue performance, the ZEEKR brand achieved an income of 11.993 billion yuan; Lynk & Co.'s income increased by 40.8% year - on - year, far exceeding the overall growth rate. This indicates that the growth curve within ZEEKR Technology is being re - arranged, and Lynk & Co. is playing a more crucial role in driving revenue.

Behind the re - ranking of the dual - brand combination, the reason is that as a pure - electric brand, ZEEKR is directly facing the most competitive segment this year. Firstly, the overall growth of the high - end pure - electric market has slowed down this year; coupled with Tesla Model Y's price strategy further squeezing the market space; leading new - energy vehicle startups have also cut prices to maintain scale; and consumers have shifted from pursuing pure - electric premium to focusing on cost - effectiveness.

In this situation, for ZEEKR to maintain high - speed growth, it needs to have stronger product strength, faster product iteration speed, and more aggressive market strategies. However, it has not shown obvious advantages in these three aspects this year.

In contrast, Lynk & Co. has grasped three key variables. Firstly, Lynk & Co. covers multiple powertrain routes such as fuel, hybrid, and range - extender, which can flexibly respond to market changes. Moreover, the hybrid product line is more acceptable in the current energy price environment.

Secondly, mid - to high - end hybrid users are more price - sensitive and practical, and Lynk & Co.'s product pricing range is wider, covering a broader range of needs. Thirdly, ZEEKR's new car and facelift strategies have been relatively concentrated this year, failing to create a "blockbuster - driven" effect; Lynk & Co. has more mature vehicle life - cycle management and a more balanced vehicle series distribution.

It can be seen that Lynk & Co.'s growth is also expected, a "structural necessity" in line with the cycle. This also indicates that the competition in the new energy vehicle market has entered a stage where multiple routes coexist, and hybrids have become the ballast stone for automakers to stabilize cash flow and scale.

When ZEEKR Technology's revenue growth is no longer a single - structure but a two - pronged approach, this readjustment of the dual - brand strength has brought a phased re - balance to Geely's new energy system. However, after stabilizing the scale, a second question arises: Is the quality of growth healthy enough?

Effective Cost Control, but Profit Improvement Remains a Challenge

The increase in Lynk & Co.'s volume and the stable state of ZEEKR have indeed helped the company maintain a steady upward trend in overall revenue and deliveries. However, against the backdrop of profit pressure across the industry and fluctuations in the cost side affected by new product launches, simply relying on scale cannot guarantee a simultaneous improvement in financial performance.

This also leads to another key issue in observing ZEEKR Technology's third - quarter report. Although cost control has achieved results, profit improvement remains a deeper - seated structural problem.

The financial report shows that ZEEKR Technology's operating cost in the third quarter was 25.516 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 4.1% and a 17.2% increase compared with 21.775 billion yuan in the second quarter of 2025.

Although partially offset by the decrease in average selling cost due to cost reduction and product portfolio adjustment, the short - term manufacturing cost pressure brought by the launch of new models is still significant.

In terms of profitability, ZEEKR Technology's gross profit in the third quarter was 6.046 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 37.1% and a quarter - on - quarter increase of 6.9%. The gross profit margin in the third quarter was 19.2%, higher than 15.2% in the third quarter of 2024 but lower than 20.6% in the second quarter of 2025.

This also reveals two deeper signals. Firstly, the year - on - year growth rate of operating cost is lower than that of revenue, indicating that ZEEKR Technology's scale effect has begun to take effect, and cost control has achieved results.

Secondly, profit improvement is still restricted by the industry's price war. Although the average selling cost decreased in the third quarter, the gross profit margin did not improve significantly. The reasons are the widespread price cuts in the industry, the compressed profit margin in the high - end pure - electric segment, and the incomplete establishment of ZEEKR's own brand premium.

That is to say, although ZEEKR Technology has achieved considerable sales growth, it may not be of high quality. After all, "high - quality growth" means higher gross profit, a clearer business model, and stronger pricing power, which still need to be verified at the current stage.

Therefore, for ZEEKR Technology, the key in the next few quarters is not only sales volume but also whether new models can form a higher gross - profit structure and whether Lynk & Co.'s high growth can be converted into stronger cash - flow contributions. These factors will determine whether ZEEKR Technology can withstand a more intense competition cycle.

Conclusion

For ZEEKR Technology now, ZEEKR is no longer the only growth engine, and Lynk & Co. also plays a key role in stabilizing scale and revenue. The previous high - speed narrative of high - end pure - electric vehicles needs to shift from speed to quality.

In the next few quarters, the core question that ZEEKR Technology needs to answer is whether it can prove that its brand strength, product strength, and profitability are sufficient to support the continuous and healthy growth of a high - end new energy brand in the new cycle of slowing growth and intensifying competition. This not only concerns ZEEKR but also whether Geely's new energy system can stand firm in the long - term narrative.

This article is from the WeChat official account "US Stock Research Society" (ID: meigushe), author: US Stock Research Society. It is published by 36Kr with permission.