Geely brand presents its first electric car as Zeekr 001
Geely’s premium electric brand Zeekr has officially unveiled its first model, the Zero Concept presented last year and now in the production version. Geely considers the Zeekr 001 an all-electric “shooting brake” ready to hit the markets in China this autumn.
Geely envisions deliveries in other countries by 2022. The Zeekr electric car uses Geely’s SEA (Sustainable Experience Architecture) electric platform and, in the case of the 001, features electric motors on the front and rear axles. These offer a maximum output of 400 kW.
Zeekr will offer battery variants with 86 kWh and 100 kWh capacity at launch. The latter is said to enable a range of 700 kilometres, although this is presumably still the NEDC value as is customary in China. This is unconfirmed.
The car’s size at 4.97 meters long, 1.99 meters wide and 1.56 meters high also makes it more of a crossover coupe than a sedan. The Zero Concept that serves as the base had been introduced by another Geely subsidiary, Lynk & Co, last September.
Geely further specifies the Zeekr 001 should top out at more than 200 km/h and accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.8 seconds. The manufacturer puts the trunk volume at 2,144 litres, presumably with the rear seats folded. Geely also highlights special air suspension that can automatically raise the vehicle floor from 11.7 to 20.5 centimetres depending on the surface. The EV also features automatic doors and facial recognition software that identifies the approaching owner and then calls up his or her personal settings. According to Geely, the 001 is also expected to receive over-the-air updates four to six times a year to keep the vehicle at the cutting edge of technology.
Zeekr also announces its own fast-charging network in China, offering charging capacities of up to 360 kW. Plans include a total of 2,200 locations with over 20,000 stations by the end of 2023. The brand also plans to open two ‘Zeekr Experience Centers’ and 60 smaller ‘Zeekr Spaces’ this year in shopping malls and other high-traffic locations across China. There will also be 36 delivery centres and 60 service centres.
Geely had confirmed the dedicated EV brand Zeekr in China in March. It aims for the premium segment in the Chinese market – cue in Tesla – and otherwise follows a “light asset strategy”. In other words, Zeekr serves as a brand with production through contract manufacturers or at other Geely plants being likely, for example, through the new joint venture between Geely and Foxconn. Zeekr says it plans to launch one new model in each of the next five years, with the electric cars all based on the SEA platform only unveiled in September 2020.
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