Following in the footsteps of NIO and XPeng, Zeekr is a relatively new and hot EV startup from China. It was formed in March 2021 as a premium electric vehicle brand from Geely, one of China’s largest automotive groups. Deliveries began in the 4th quarter of last year, 2021, and then were quite flat for several quarters. In the past few months, though, Zeekr’s sales have risen quite steeply. From around 5,000 in July it got to more than 10,000 in October.
Zeekr’s sales growth in China is a positive sign for the company as it gets ready to also enter the European market. Sales of the premium electric car brand will begin in Europe in 2023. That was the plan from the beginning, and being a cousin of Polestar, Lynk & Co, and Volvo Cars (also primarily owned by Geely), it should have decent avenues for entry into Europe. Though, following closely in the footsteps of Chinese EV automakers NIO, XPeng, and BYD — which have just started sales in Europe — should also provide a little guidance on what to expect.
Zeekr 001. Image courtesy of Geely.
Zeekr 001. Image courtesy of Geely.
Zeekr 001 interior. Image courtesy of Geely.
Zeekr plans to release one new electric model each year for the next 5 years. After that? We’ll see how these 5 years go.
While I’m a big fan of its first model, the Zeekr 001, I have to say that the Zeekr 009 MPV (just released) is a beast of a vehicle and I’m never very keen on giant vehicles that tower over normal cars on city streets. But I imagine it will sell quite well — in China and in the West when it is brought here. I’ll be covering the 009 MPV in a moment, but the key highlight is that it has a whopping 150 kWh battery and a range rating of 822 km (511 miles). Everything is supersized in this thing, apparently. And is it fancy? Oh yes it is. Just look at how it sits on shallow water in the middle of this extravagant property:
Zeekr 001 interior. Image courtesy of Geely.
Zeekr 001 interior. Image courtesy of Geely.
Zeekr 001 interior. Image courtesy of Geely.
Of the 5 most notable electric car startups from China (NIO, XPeng, Neta, Li Auto, and Zeekr), Zeekr has been doing the best as of late. It’s the only brand of those 5 that saw sales growth in October relative to September. (It’s been a bit of a tough period for Chinese sales lately — well, within the context of the Chinese EV market smashing records and accounting for more than half of global EV sales.)
In the first 13 months (or really slightly more than 12 months) of Zeekr’s young life, the company has racked up 55,600 cumulative sales. Not a bad start. Not bad at all. I’m very curious to see what total Zeekr rises to in China in 2023, as well as how it does in its launch year in Europe. But we shouldn’t jump ahead too soon — we’ve still got the final two months of 2022, and the end of the year is often the best for EVs.
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