China's cut-price Volvo? 2025 Zeekr X to undercut its Volvo EX30 relation as Chinese premium sporty brand looks to offer 'extremely competitive' alternative

Zeekr Australia's Managing Director Connel Yan confirmed the incoming 2024 Zeekr X small SUV will undercut its Volvo EX30 sibling as it looks to shake up Australia’s premium hierarchy.

The brand stopped short of revealing exact prices, but it confirmed the two trim levels will be a base rear-wheel drive priced under $60,000 before on-roads, and a top-spec all-wheel drive, priced under $70,000 before on-roads.

As it will undercut the Volvo EX30, which shares the same underpinnings, expect the entry price to be more specifically less than $59,990 for the base car, while the twin-motor Volvo starts from $71,290.

The brand also confirmed specs for the Australian market, which as expected are largely shared with the EX30. This means the RWD variant will use a 200kW/343Nm motor enabling it to sprint from 0-100km/h in 5.6 seconds, and the AWD version scores a 315kW/543Nm twin-motor set-up helping it sprint from 0-100km/h in 3.8 seconds.

Base specs on the RWD model include 19-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, a 14.6-inch central touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and online connectivity, an 8.8-inch digital instrument cluster, two-tone exterior paint, a panoramic sunroof, six-way power adjust for the driver’s seat, and a wireless phone charger.

It will also feature some Tesla-like features, including a sentry mode and a pet mode, as well as a companion app and vehicle-to-load capability at around 3kW.

There is also an optional Convenience Package available on the RWD variant, but its price has yet to be confirmed. The pack includes memory settings for the driver’s seat, power adjust for the front passenger, heated and ventilated front seats, a heated steering wheel, a 13-speaker Yamaha audio system, and ambient interior lighting.

The top-spec AWD adds 20-inch forged alloy wheels on top of its additional power outputs, as well as an intelligent B-pillar display and a 23.4-inch head-up display with augmented reality features.

The X will be able to be chosen in five colours: two greys, white, beige, and green, with three interiors: black/grey, blue/white, and ‘mulberry and rose’.

Zeekr, unlike Tesla or its sister brand Polestar, will use a traditional franchise-style dealer model, expecting to have nine locations from the get-go. These locations will fulfil both orders and servicing.

The first Zeekr Xs will land in customer hands in mid-October, so expect exact pricing before then.

Like many other Chinese newcomers, the EV-only Zeekr faces an expansive array of competition, both from existing brands like Audi, BMW and Mini, as well as new players like BYD, Cupra and Xpeng.

The brand says it is committed to the Australian market despite how competitive it is, saying it will follow the X up with the 009 performance people mover before the end of 2024, and then an as-yet-unreleased model, the 7X large SUV in 2025.