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Electric vehicle newcomer Zeekr plans to challenge the top five brands for Aussie EV market share, as it rolls out a range of models in the coming years.
Electric Cars
New electric car brand Zeekr aims to outsell the likes of Hyundai, Kia, BMW and Mercedes-Benz for electric car sales in Australia, through a growing portfolio of EVs.
Speaking to Drive, Zeekr managing director Connal Yan said while this fledgling brand wants to be a major player in the electric space, Zeekr’s focus will be on the premium end of the mainstream market.
“(It’s) where no other Chinese brands that have tried to penetrate into…” Yan began.
“...Not directly into the luxury space against the German trios or whatever, but definitely into the premium space of the mass market.”
Zeekr’s first model will be the X small SUV, which is priced from $56,900 before on-road costs.
This will be followed by the 009 people mover (pictured above) in Australia, with pricing expected to be announced before the end of the year.
In Australia, the Zeekr X will be competing against other EVs like the Volvo EX30, Smart #3 and Polestar 2 in Australia, all of which come under the same ownership umbrella of Geely.
“We’re not here to cannibalise other brands within the group, that’s not our purpose.” Yan said.
“So a lot of people would naturally benchmark us against Volvo and all these other brands, or even the Smart… I think each brand has its own space, so I don’t see that cannibalising.” Yan continued.
The Zeekr 7X – a mid-sized SUV aimed to take on the popular Tesla Model Y – is slated to arrive in the second half of 2024.
The 7X will be a crucial model for Zeekr, especially if it aims to become one of the most prolific EV brands in the Australian market.
When asked about targeted sales volumes for Zeekr in Australia, head of marketing Andrew Haurissa told Drive that ‘top three or top five’ is a goal for the brand:
“You currently have a top two I suppose, Tesla and BYD. Then there’s no cemented third position.” Haurissa explains.
“We want to be in the top three, top five (brands of electric car sales in Australia).” Haurissa said.
Zeekr is currently expanding to other global markets, and is eyeing further expansion of its model range for the Australian market.
The brand recently showed examples of its high-performance 001 FR, at the Sydney International EV Show, which is a liftback-style sedan with a staggering 930kW quad-motor powertrain.
Zeekr also showed the 007 ‘luxury performance sedan’, in Australia which could be a direct competitor to Telsa’s popular Model 3.
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Sam Purcell has been writing about cars, four-wheel driving and camping since 2013, and obsessed with anything that goes brum-brum longer than he can remember. Sam joined the team at CarAdvice/Drive as the off-road Editor in 2018, after cutting his teeth at Unsealed 4X4 and Pat Callinan’s 4X4 Adventures.
