Geely’s premium electric vehicle brand hits production landmark in just 44 months, celebrating with a limited-edition luxury MPV as Chinese EV makers continue rapid expansion.
Zeekr’s 500,000th car has rolled off the production line just three and a half years after the brand was formed in 2021.
The landmark vehicle, a top-specification Zeekr 009 Grand luxury MPV, came off the line at the brand’s advanced 5G Smart Factory in Ningbo, marking a production ramp-up that saw Geely’s premium electric brand achieve its first 400,000 units in 37 months before adding another 100,000 in just seven months.
Since beginning production of its first model, the Zeekr 001 shooting brake, in October 2021, the brand has expanded to seven models spanning an ambitious price range from 149,000 yuan (£15,300 / $20,750) to nearly 900,000 yuan (£92,350 / $125,300) for its most exclusive variants.
The brand is preparing to launch their eighth model, the 9X luxury SUV, its first hybrid, on July 9th.
Zeekr’s manufacturing footprint has expanded rapidly to meet demand, supplementing its flagship Ningbo facility – capable of producing 300,000 vehicles annually – with additional production lines at Geely plants in Chengdu and Chunxiao.
The brand’s production acceleration is particularly notable given the challenging economic climate for premium EVs.
Market analysts note that while Zeekr’s cumulative sales officially stand at 488,637 units in China according to China EV DataTracker, the brand is making inroads internationally.
Recent expansions into European markets including Sweden and the Netherlands complement its growing presence across the Middle East and Central Asia.
Sales of Zeekrs had a fairly slow start to the year but came to life in May, the brand racking up 18,908 deliveries, their best month of the year so far.
That places them comfortably above premium rival NIO but some way short of XPeng and Leapmotor.
The brand certainly finds itself in a confusing position at the moment, often competing with XPeng on price but marketed as a more premium offering, while also facing considerable overlap with sister brand Lynk & Co, which was brought under the Zeekr Group umbrella this year.
It’s expected that Zeekr will steadily move further upmarket in the months ahead to differentiate itself more from its mainstream sibling, meaning models like the 009 and upcoming 9X might be more representative of the brand’s future line-up.
The 500,000th car was an appropriate choice for the milestone, the 009 Grand representing Zeekr’s push into a premium segment that Chinese brands could once only aspire of competing in.
Like all other Zeekrs so far, it’s built on Geely’s Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA), the platform that has underpinned much of the success of the brand by virtue of its safety and flexibility, capable of supporting models as small as the X, as large as the 009, and of every kind of genre.
Packing cutting-edge technology including an 800V electrical architecture, the 009 is equipped with dual motors generating 777 horsepower for a 0-100kph sprint of 3.9 seconds, while the 108kWh CATL Qilin battery delivers 702km of CLTC-rated range.
The lavish four-seat cabin features a partition wall with integrated 43-inch entertainment screen, 30 Yamaha speakers, and 20-way adjustable rear seats with full heating, ventilation, and hot-stone massage functionality.
