Speaking About Li Shufu in My Heart | Final Chapter (2021-2026)

March 23, 2021, Ningbo Hangzhou Bay.

March 23, 2021, the ZEEKR brand global launch event was held in Ningbo Hangzhou Bay

The big screen flashed two words—ZEEKR. I didn't go to the scene that day. I was at home in Chongqing, watching the livestream on my computer. It was my third year doing independent media. I had no media credentials, no invitation, no front-row seat. I was just someone watching from behind the screen.

But at that moment, I sat up straight.

Because just a few months earlier, Geely had just launched the SEA Super Architecture. Everyone thought it was just a technology launch, a "bottom-level layout" facing electrification. No one expected this card to be played as an independent brand.

September 2020, Geely launched the SEA Super Architecture in Beijing, laying the groundwork for the birth of ZEEKR.

And it was a brand new card. Not hanging under Geely, not hanging under Lynk & Co. Clean and simple, starting from zero.

2

ZEEKR's first car is called ZEEKR 001.

The thing Li Shufu is best at is laying out a clean slate when others think it's impossible.

In 1997, with no catalog, he laid out a clean slate. In 2001, without market recognition, he laid out a clean slate. In 2010, no one believed he could digest Volvo, he laid out a clean slate. In 2021, everyone was racing on price, range, and specs, he laid out a clean slate and said: I won't race you on these. I want to create something different.

ZEEKR 001 became a hit upon launch. The Shooting Brake Coupe styling, pricing starting from 279,000 yuan, and the technical endorsement of the SEA Super Architecture. On the day of the launch, the order numbers jumped quickly.

I watched those numbers at home. What I thought of wasn't "this car sells well". I thought: This person, bet right again.

3

From 2022 to 2025, my days of doing independent media were actually hard to endure.

Traffic became more expensive, platform algorithms became more unpredictable, more peers joined, and readers became less patient. You write a 3,000-word in-depth article, and the views might not even be as high as a 15-second short video.

I began to doubt myself. Doubting if the decision to quit was right. Doubting if I should go back and find a job.

During that time, I rarely wrote about Li Shufu. Not because I didn't want to, but because I felt I couldn't write. His story was too big, my voice too small. An independent media person without media credentials, writing about the boss of a global automotive empire, the act itself was like a joke.

But on May 10, 2024, ZEEKR rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange and went public.

May 10, 2024, ZEEKR rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange, stock code ZK.

In 2001, Geely got the sedan production catalog, taking two years. In 2010, acquiring Volvo, from negotiation to signing, took two years. In 2024, ZEEKR went from establishment to ringing the bell at the New York Stock Exchange, taking three years.

This person's pace in doing things hasn't changed in over twenty years. Not fast, but continuous. Not flamboyant, but every step lands solidly.

4

In 2024, Geely did several big things.

ZEEKR and Lynk & Co integrated. ZEEKR holds 51% of Lynk & Co shares, becoming the controlling shareholder. The two brands changed from "siblings" to "father and son".

November 2024, ZEEKR and Lynk & Co integrated, ZEEKR Technology Group established, ZEEKR holds 51% of Lynk & Co shares.

Lotus listed on NASDAQ. That British brand that used to sell only a few hundred sports cars a year, under Geely's manipulation, returned to the market in the posture of a pure electric supercar SUV.

February 23, 2024, Lotus listed on NASDAQ, returning to the market in the posture of a pure electric supercar SUV.

Galaxy Series launched. Geely's main brand filled the gap in the mid-range new energy market.

In 2024, Geely Galaxy Series launched, Galaxy E8 filled the main brand's mid-range new energy market gap.

If you arrange these names together—Geely, Galaxy, Lynk & Co, ZEEKR, Volvo, Lotus, Proton, Daimler Shares—you will find this is a complete, three-dimensional, automotive map covering from mass market to ultra-luxury, from China to the globe.

He is not conquering. He is growing.

Like a tree. Roots planted in Taizhou, branches reaching Sweden, UK, Malaysia, Germany, USA. Every branch has its own direction, but they share the same root system.

5

Starting from August 18, 2026, Li Shufu resigned as Chairman of the Board and Executive Director, succeeded by An Conghui as Chairman of the Board. Li Shufu was appointed Lifetime Honorary Chairman, continuing to serve as Chairman of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group.

August 17, 2026, Li Shufu announced his resignation as Chairman of the Board and transition to Lifetime Honorary Chairman at Geely Auto's Interim Performance Meeting.

When the news came, I was in Hangzhou on a business trip. I opened my phone, staring at that news for a long time.

No shock. No surprise. Even not too many emotions. Just a very quiet feeling, like a rain that has been falling for a long time finally stopped.

He is 63 years old.

From taking 120 yuan to take photos around the streets in 1982, he has worked for 44 years. From deciding to make cars in 1997, he has worked for 29 years. From the rain at Tiandou Temple in 2001, he has walked 25 years.

25 years.

I have known him for 25 years. Although he doesn't know me.

In 2001, I was a college student about to graduate, watching him overturn the soccer table on TV. In 2010, I was a car journalist who had been in the industry for a few years, writing about his acquisition of Volvo at the office. In 2018, I quit. He invested in Daimler. We each took a road no one cheered for. In 2021, he launched ZEEKR. I watched from behind the screen and sat up straight. In 2024, ZEEKR rang the bell at the New York Stock Exchange. I wrote an article no one read. In 2026, he stepped down. I sat in front of a blank document, not knowing what to write.

6

I don't know what to write.

Not because there's nothing to say. Because there's too much.

Twenty-five years is enough for a person to walk from youth to middle age. Enough for an enterprise to walk from hammering car bodies to ringing the bell at the New York Stock Exchange. Enough for an industry to walk from the dominance of joint venture brands to self-owned brands occupying half the territory.

In these twenty-five years, I changed three identities. Student, journalist, independent media person. He changed one identity. From the person making cars, to becoming the owner of a car group.

But the things deep inside haven't changed.

He is always that person wearing a cheap shirt. The person playing the Guzheng. The person writing slogan-style modern poetry. The person who took apart and reassembled a Mercedes. The person who kowtowed outside Tiandou Temple. The person who said "Please give me a chance to fail".

In 2009 at the Dao Nong Conference, Li Shufu went on stage to play the Guzheng.

"The Wall Street Journal" said he "has a natural farmer wisdom in his body, and his personality is complex".

7

Writing to here, this series should end.

From the name "Geely" on the League B field in 2001 to the news arriving in 2026. Four articles, twenty-five years.

I wrote about him overturning the soccer table, wrote about him asking for a chance to fail, wrote about the rain at Tiandou Temple, wrote about him swallowing Volvo, wrote about him buying Lotus, wrote about him sitting in Daimler's shareholder seat, wrote about him playing the ZEEKR card.

But what I most wanted to write, actually wasn't these. I remembered the last chapter of "Those Days of the Ming Dynasty". Everyone thought the author would continue to describe, the decline of Great Ming, or the change of things after the Qing troops entered the pass, but he didn't, he wrote about Xu Xiake. While others in the same court fought for power and profit, Xu Xiake sat on the peak of Mount Huang, listening to the sound of snow melting all day.

That closing remark was: The reason I wrote about Xu Xiake, was to tell you, so-called hundred-year fame, thousand-year dominance, and everlasting glory, compared to one thing, actually count for nothing. This thing is to spend your life in the way you like!

He took photos, made refrigerators, made motorcycles, made cars, bought Volvo, bought Lotus, invested in Mercedes-Benz, made ZEEKR. Every step wasn't taught by others. Every step was chosen by himself.

He lived this life according to his own way.

Not according to industry rules, not according to capital logic, not according to "what a Taizhou farmer should look like". But according to his own way.

8

In 1963, Li Shufu was born in Luqiao, Taizhou, Zhejiang.

If there had been no decision to make cars in 1997, no sentence "Please give me a chance to fail" in 1999, no rain at Tiandou Temple in 2001—perhaps there would be no acquisition of Volvo, no birth of Lynk & Co, no bell ringing at the New York Stock Exchange by ZEEKR.

Perhaps there would be a 63-year-old retired old man living in Luqiao, Taizhou. On a weekend afternoon, he would probably ride an e-bike to the old city for a stroll, find a familiar restaurant, order a bowl of Maixia, drink a bottle of yellow wine. After eating full go home, sit in the yard and play the Guzheng for a while. Fingers thick and short, but pressing the strings is very steady.

In 1998, Li Shufu's work photo in Luqiao, Taizhou.

If you happen to sit opposite him, when he looks up, please smile and say hello to him.

In this world, nothing makes people feel warmer than greetings between ordinary people.