Zeekr Plans Wider European Expansion, Weighs Hybrid Models to Boost Sales

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Premium Chinese electric vehicle brand Zeekr plans to expand into additional European markets in 2026, including France, the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain, and is considering introducing extended-range plug-in hybrid models in the region, a company executive said on Friday.

Lothar Schupet, Zeekr’s acting head of European operations, told Reuters at the Brussels car show that consumer demand in Europe remains strong for plug-in hybrids. “When we look at the European consumer demand, the plug-in hybrid segment still has a high share,” he said.

Schupet said Zeekr, which is a unit of Geely, is currently assessing market demand for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and expects to make a decision within the next few months. Introducing PHEV models would also help the company avoid European Union tariffs on Chinese-made fully electric vehicles.

In December, the EU softened its stance on the effective 2035 ban on fossil-fuel cars, allowing PHEVs — which combine a combustion engine with battery-powered driving — to remain on sale longer than previously anticipated. This policy shift could create additional opportunities for automakers offering hybrid powertrains.

Zeekr currently operates in 12 European markets and entered Germany in December. In some countries, it sells vehicles directly to consumers. Beyond adding new major markets, the company plans to more than triple its European dealer network to around 100 dealerships this year, up from about 30 currently, Schupet said.

Geely took Zeekr private last year, and the brand is widely regarded in China as one of the group’s most valuable assets due to its strong premium EV sales. Zeekr has already launched plug-in hybrid versions of several models in the Chinese market, the world’s largest automotive market.

The brand entered Europe just over two years ago and has so far recorded modest sales. However, Schupet said Zeekr aims to scale up its presence and become “a major player in the premium segment for sustainable mobility” across the continent.

GigaDevice Semiconductor Prices Hong Kong IPO at Top End, Raises $600 Million

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China’s GigaDevice Semiconductor said on Friday it has set the offer price for its Hong Kong listing at HK$162 per H share, the top end of its marketed range, raising HK$4.68 billion ($600.4 million), according to an exchange filing.

The Shanghai-listed chipmaker had earlier marketed the shares within a price range of HK$132 to HK$162 per H share and disclosed last week that it would offer about 28.9 million H shares in the deal. The final pricing reflects strong investor demand for Chinese semiconductor and artificial intelligence-related stocks.

GigaDevice’s Hong Kong debut comes amid a surge in fundraising by Chinese tech companies in the city, as Beijing encourages domestic champions in AI and semiconductors to tap capital markets. Hong Kong has re-emerged as the world’s leading IPO venue, driven by regulatory adjustments and pent-up demand from issuers after years of tighter oversight on the mainland.

According to LSEG data, companies raised around $37.2 billion from 115 new listings in Hong Kong last year, the highest level since 2021. Investor appetite has been underlined by the strong performance of recent debuts, including MiniMax Group, whose shares doubled in value on their first day of trading on Friday.

Another semiconductor firm, OmniVision Integrated Circuits, is also set to begin trading in Hong Kong next week following a secondary offering.

GigaDevice said it expects its H shares to start trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on January 13.

EU Considers Applying Tougher Content Rules to WhatsApp Under Digital Services Act

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The European Union is considering making WhatsApp more accountable for tackling illegal and harmful content after the messaging platform crossed a key user threshold under the bloc’s digital regulations, a European Commission spokesperson said on Friday.

WhatsApp, owned by Meta Platforms, reported about 51.7 million average monthly active users for its WhatsApp Channels service in the European Union during the first six months of 2025. This exceeds the 45 million user threshold set by the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), potentially bringing the service under stricter regulatory oversight.

The DSA imposes tougher obligations on so-called “very large online platforms,” requiring them to take stronger action against illegal and harmful content. Platforms already designated under this category include Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Temu and LinkedIn.

European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said the Commission’s focus is on distinguishing between private messaging, which falls outside the scope of the DSA, and public-facing features such as WhatsApp Channels, which function more like social media platforms.

“The objective for the Commission is to check what is actually private messaging, which doesn’t fall under the scope of the DSA, and what are open channels that act more as a social media platform, which do fall under the scope of the DSA,” Regnier told a daily press briefing. He added that the Commission is actively examining the issue and did not rule out formally designating WhatsApp Channels under the DSA.

WhatsApp was not immediately available for comment.
If designated as a very large online platform, WhatsApp could face fines of up to 6% of its global annual revenue for breaches of the DSA.