The luxury electric vehicle market is charging up, with Chinese car maker Geely launching new brand Zeekr – and in the words of one expert, "Tesla should be concerned."

David Bailey is professor of business economics at the UK's University of Birmingham and he is confident Zeekr is capable of mounting a serious challenge to the incumbent electric car champion Tesla.

Tesla's Model 3 is the best-selling premium electric vehicle in China, where Bailey says homegrown brands have done well in the budget market but have yet to make a dent in the luxury sector.

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However, Zeekr could be about to do just that.

Geely is not nearly as well-known in Western markets as Tesla, although it does own several big name brands – Sweden's Volvo, the iconic British brand Lotus and the London Electric Vehicle Company (the supplier of electric London black cabs) all come under the Geely umbrella.

It also own a minority share in Mercedes-Benz owner Daimler. 

Moreover, Bailey says Geely's brands strategy puts it in a position to mount a credible challenge to Tesla.

He says that, like Volkswagen, Geely uses the same underlying technology across all its brands. This allows it to bring down costs significantly, while still taking advantage of buyers' familiarity of those brands.

Zeekr's challenge will begin in China, which Bailey points out is the market Tesla sees as the most important. If Zeekr can win the battle there, it will have gone a long way position itself as a major player in this rapidly growing sector.