Full-size SUV will be the brand’s first hybrid model as Zeekr shifts to focus on EVs and PHEVs.
Zeekr has revealed teaser images and video of their upcoming flagship SUV, the 9X Grand, ahead of its official debut at the upcoming Shanghai Auto Show in April.
Spyshots of prototypes had revealed that a large SUV was on the way for Zeekr but the teasing of the Grand, the more luxurious special edition of the standard 9X, has now confirmed additional details about the 9X that we didn’t know about before.
One such reveal is that, contrary to previous reports including here at Inside China Auto, the 9X will feature a plug-in hybrid drivetrain (PHEV) rather than the extended-range electric (EREV) drivetrain we had been expecting.
This makes sense given that Zeekr has recently brought Lynk & Co into the Zeekr Group, a brand that has focused primarily on PHEV drivetrains, and while Zeekr hasn’t given us details of the set-up, we can expect at least two motors if not more, plus maybe a two-litre engine, as well as a large battery, similar to how BYD’s PHEVs are set up.
The fact that the 9X will be a PHEV also tells us that chassis modifications are on the way for the SEA platform which Zeekr uses on all models. Previously, the SEA platform’s chief engineer, Kent Bovellan, told us it was capable of supporting EV and EREV drivetrains, but not PHEV, so expect some announcement on platform changes for SEA too.
Zeekr did tell us that the 9X Grand will become the brand’s most expensive model and the first to retail for over one million RMB (£106,600/$137,700) suggesting it will come with luxuries beyond even those in the Zeekr 009 Grand that retails for 789,000 RMB.
That car features highlights like a 43-inch rear screen, 31-speaker sound system, Himalayan stone inlays, and custom perfume created from the world’s most expensive flower.
Perhaps most interesting is that the 9X, rather than continuing Zeekr’s more fluid styling of late, seems to have adopted the bold, upright styling cues of the 009 MPV, with an overall more boxy profile accentuated by crisp lines for a silhouette that is unmistakably reminiscent of a Range Rover.
As well as split-level headlamps, the 9X appears to feature a large bevelled grille similar to that on the 009, rakish A-pillars, a clamshell bonnet, and a lidar unit on top of the roof, as well as flush door handles and sizeable wheels, both in width and diameter.
After its reveal at the Shanghai Auto Show, likely alongside the upcoming 007GT, it will then hit the market in Q3 of this year.
Zeekr has previously described the 9X as a “world-class ultra-luxury flagship SUV”. On this evidence, Zeekr is clearly looking to move the brand further upmarket to create space between itself and sibling Lynk & Co, marking Zeekr out as a premium brand on a par with NIO, Li Auto, and Germany’s big three premium automakers.
Below you can find the teaser video from Zeekr of the 9X Grand drifting in a snowy landscape.
