During the Shanghai Motor Show, the president of the Chinese manufacturer Zeekr, owned by the giant Geely, has officially confirmed that they are finalizing their landing on the European market. An arrival that will take place gradually and that will begin this year.
This means the arrival in Europe of a new Chinese manufacturer of electric cars, which during a press conference offered by its top manager has revealed the strategic plan for its implementation in Europe, where it will bring its most interesting proposals.
Zeekr will have a strategy based on pillars such as direct saleswithout a dealer network, as Tesla does, with physical stores that bring together all services (purchase, leasing, financing, repairs, recharging, etc.).
The second part will be an offer located in a premium segment, which will mean quality proposals both in design, manufacturing and performancewith two first models such as the Zeekr X, a compact crossover, and the 001, a very sporty shooting brake that will be in charge of debuting CATL’s new Qilin battery, which reaches 140 kWh and 1,000 km of autonomy under the CLTC cycle. Although as usual, it is to be expected that this figure will be somewhat lower in the WLTP cycle, and that it will not be initially offered in Europe.
At the moment the Zeekr 001 will be offered with a 100 kWh batterywhich according to the technical sheet offer an estimated autonomy of 600km WLTP. A model with an attractive design that will also have a rear-wheel drive version, and also a high-performance all-wheel drive version with 400 kW (543 hp) capable of accelerating to 100 km/h in 3.8 seconds.
But it is to be hoped that the variant with 140 kWh will arrive later, which should become one of the electric cars with the longest range on the European market, with an estimated figure of between 850 and 900 km WLTP.
For its part, the other proposal in the range will be the Zeekr X. The latest addition to the family is based on Geely’s SEA platform, the same one that equips the Smart #1, the new Smart #3 and the future Volvo EX30. It is a compact SUV, which will compete against the Renault Mégane E-Tech, Hyundai Kona or KIA Niro.
It has a 66 kWh battery that allows for a range of 440 km in the rear-wheel drive version, while the most performance version will mount a two-motor system and 350 kW (475 CV) that will catapult it up to 100 km/h in 3.7 seconds.
Sales will begin during the fourth quarter of this year in Sweden and the Netherlands, from where they will begin their expansion to the rest of the markets in a three-year plan that they hope will allow them to have an implementation in practically all the countries of the EU.
