Zeekr is continuing its Asia-Pacific push with an upcoming expansion into the Australian market. Geely’s premium electric vehicle brand is launching its Zeekr X SUV there in October and has already released estimated pricing and initial specs, with pre-orders starting next month.
The car will be offered Down Under in rear- and all-wheel-drive forms, set to retail at under AU$60,000 (RM177,200) and AU$70,000 (RM206,800) respectively before on-the-road costs according to CarExpert. This means it should undercut the Volvo EX30, built on the same Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA) – that car is priced at AU$59,990 (RM177,000) for the Single Motor Extended Range and AU$71,290 (RM210,400) for the Twin Motor Performance.
Mechanically, the cars destined for Australia will mirror those in other markets, with the RWD model getting a single motor producing 272 PS (200 kW) and 343 Nm of torque – getting it from zero to 100 km/h in 5.6 seconds. Buyers opting for the AWD model get a second motor that pushes outputs to 428 PS (315 kW) and 543 Nm of torque, slashing the century sprint time to 3.8 seconds. If those figures sound familiar to you, that’s because the motors are shared with both the EX30 and the smart #1 and #3.
Also shared with those cars is a 66 kWh nickel manganese cobalt battery that provides a WLTP-rated range of 440 km on the RWD model and 420 km with AWD. All variants will support up to 150 kW of DC fast charging, topping up the battery from 10 to 80% in around 30 minutes. The RWD model also accepts up to 7.2 kW of AC charging that takes 11.5 hours for a full charge, while the AWD’s 11 kW on-board charger shortens that figure to 7.5 hours.
Standard equipment in Australia includes a black panoramic glass roof, heated mirrors, 19-inch alloy wheels, a smartphone digital key, dual-zone climate control, a power-adjustable driver’s seat, two-tone faux leather upholstery, an 8.8-inch digital instrument display, a 14.6-inch infotainment touchscreen, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, seven speakers and a 360-degree camera system.
The AWD model adds a powered passenger seat, driver’s side memory and heating and ventilation functions for both front seats, as well as a heated steering wheel, a 24.3-inch augmented reality head-up display, “Ice Block” ambient lighting, a 13-speaker Yamaha sound system and an “intelligent” B-pillar display for showing information such as charging status.
Safety-wise, all models get seven airbags and a full complement of driver assistance systems. The latter includes autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control with stop and go, lane centring assist, lane change assist, evasive steering assist, blind spot monitoring, front and rear cross traffic alert, reverse and parking AEB, park assist, a driver attention monitor and a door opening warning.
With Thailand and Singapore already receiving the X, and Hong Kong getting the revised 009 MPV (the latter will also be sold in Australia by the end of the year), Zeekr appears to be well on its way to ticking off all its planned right-hand-drive APAC markets. This even includes Japan, where showrooms will be built in the fourth quarter ahead of an official launch in early 2025, CnEVPost reports.
Malaysia should be next on the list – the company has already held private previews of the X here and appointed Sentinel Automotive as its distributor, while test units of the 009 have been sighted out and about in public. The brand is set to debut some time this year, probably around the same time as Australia.
GALLERY: Zeekr X at BIMS 2024
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On road cost plus insurance is approx additional AUD5k = RM15k.
The price is not competitive enough.
Sodium ion -Yes
MNC – No
in a world of electrification, 11kW AC charging should be the standard especially for larger capacity batteries.