Zeekr, Geel’s premium electric vehicle sub-brand, plans to sell electric vehicles for the European market next year, Zeekr’s CEO said according to a Reuters report.
Zeekr will join other Chinese manufacturers who have entered the electric vehicle market in Europe including BYD, NIO, Xpeng and Great Wall Motors.
Zeekr itself was launched by Geely as a premium electric vehicle brand in 2021 targeting young customers. Geely is an auto giant from China, owner of Volvo, Polestar and investor in Mercedes Benz.
Geely said earlier this week that it plans to release Zeekr as an independent brand. Geely has created Zeekr with the goal of meeting standards in Europe and the United States since its inception, said An Conghui, CEO of Zeekr and president of Geely.
Currently Zeekr has a portfolio of the best-selling electric crossover 001 in the market. For the European market, Zeekr will market the 001 electric crossover in Europe next year. An Conghui did not provide sales targets or consider Zeekr’s overseas production base.
Zeekr launched the 001 in China late 2021 with sales reaching 39,474 units in the first nine months. The base model Zeekr 001 sells for the equivalent of $41,000 in China.
On November 1st, the Zeekr 009 was officially launched with the SEA electric vehicle platform and is the first production car to receive the CATL new third-generation cell-to-pack Qilin battery.
CATL new third-generation cell-to-pack Qilin battery with a capacity of 140kWh is claimed to give the 009 a range of up to 822km. This makes the Zeekr 009 the world first electric MPV with a range of over 700 km, and its range performance exceeds 99 percent of currently available internal combustion engine vehicles, according to Zeekr CEO An Chunghui.
