Geely’s sub-brand ZEEKR begins production of the 009 MPV. The deliveries are expected to begin soon. This is the automaker’s second EV model. It is a relatively young luxury brand in China, founded in 2021. It was founded under Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, known as Geely.
The company’s flagship EV, the ZEEKR 001, began deliveries overseas over a year ago, ahead of publicly shared plans to eventually expand to new markets in both North America and the EU. Before then however, ZEEKR has been working to deliver its second EV, the 009 which it began teasing last summer. By August, we had our first full look at the MPV, which will feature CATL’s energy dense Qilin batteries, a contributor to the 822 km range the higher-tier version of the ZEEKR 009 is touting now that production is officially underway.
ZEEKR shared images of the first 009 models rolling off its assembly line Ningbo, Zhejiang province of China yesterday. Deliveries will soon follow. The ZEEKR 009 officially launched sales in China this past November, offering two different versions – the WE and ME. The Zeekr 009 comes standard with a dual motor powertrain with 400 kW peak power, plus ternary lithium batteries. The size of those packs does vary alongside starting MSRP. For example, the WE trim starts at RMB 499,000 ($73,680) and includes an 116 kWh battery offering 702 km (436 miles) of range.
Expansion
The higher end model includes an 140 kWh pack that includes the aforementioned Qilin technology, delivering 822 km (~511 miles) of range on a single charge and starts at a price of RMB 588,000 ($86,822). It’s important to note that these range estimates are CLTC and would likely equate to significantly lower distances from the EPA. Still impressive for such a large EV, nonetheless. Even as the lower-end trim, ZEEKR is touting the WE 009 as the first MPV in China to eclipse 700 km CLTC range. In December, ZEEKR announced it had surpassed its output goal of 70,000 units for 2022 and shortly followed up with targeted plans for 140,000 annual units from 2023 onward.
So far, there have been no talks of a third model in the ZEEKR family, nor has the Geely brand shared more details of its expansions into new markets like the US. However, the company did quietly file for a US IPO in December. At the pace EV automakers are moving, the progress is expected to be speed up. However, the challenges will continue to exist. Major automakers like Tesla have already experienced production issues, and the late deliveries, etc.