The Zeekr 009 might be the wildest electric car ever - and it's coming to Australia to take on the Lexus LM and LDV Mifa 9

The Zeekr 009 might well be the wildest electric vehicle to land in Australia this year, with the pricey people mover taking aim not just at Lexus and the German giants of BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi, but also targeting Rolls-Royce and Bentley, with a bonkers BEV that it says will make it a global “luxury benchmark”.

To give you an idea of the clientele the brand is targeting with its 009, Zeekr customers in Hong Kong or China who refer five customers that end up taking delivery of the flagship four-seat model receive free private jet travel across Asia for 12 months for themselves and a friend.

While Zeekr in Australia is yet to confirm the private jet deal here, and is unlikely to do so, the brand says it is investigating similar levels of largesse for its VIP customers Down Under.

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The Zeekr 009 is offered internationally with six or seven seats, or in a tricked-out four-seat flagship that transforms the rear passenger space into something akin to a limousine or a rolling iMAX theatre, with two comfortable recliners, a mini fridge, and a massive high-def TV screen made from the same glass as the latest Apple iPad Pro.

The Australia-bound, right-hand-drive vehicles aren’t without their high-tech inclusions, however. They get a smaller fold-down screen, too, as well as a fridge for drinks and small screens in the doors.

Pricing is yet to be confirmed, but international pricing points to a kick off somewhere between $120k and $150k, making the 009 very much a premium play for the Zeekr brand.

What is Zeekr, you ask? It’s another Geely sub-brand — the Chinese automotive giant already responsible for Volvo, Lotus and Polestar, among others — with the EV-only outfit designed to play a similar role to Audi in the VW Group.

Zeekr 009

"If Geely is Volkswagen, then at Zeekr we at least need to be Audi," says the company's VP of International, Mars Chen. "I think, in the premium segment, top 10 is the minimum ambition for us."

Unfortunately, it does look as though Australia will miss out on the wildest 009 feature – namely its big battery, incredible charging speeds and long-distance range – and we will instead likely take smaller-battery versions with 400-volt electric architecture.

In Asia, the brand has fitted the flagship 009 model with a massive 140kWh CTP 2.0 CATL battery (108kWh and 116kWh models are also available), which pairs with Zeekr's 800-volt electrical architecture.

That means a driving range in excess of 800kms, and because Zeekr has its own 800kW chargers in China, the people mover can accrue power incredible quickly, with the brand promising it will take on one kilometre of range per second, or 500kms in 10mins.

Zeekr 009

In Australia, the fastest DC chargers are limited to 350kW, and while Zeekr hasn’t confirmed specifics for our market, the right-hand-drive models revealed so far are equipped with 400V architectures, and fitted with a 116kWh battery, meaning more sedate charging times and an estimated driving range of 582kms between charges on the WLTP cycle.

Elsewhere, though, the six- or seven-seat 009 is swimming with high-tech features, with Zeekr describing it as a Rolls-Royce-style van. That includes active sound deadening in the cabin, which uses the seat speakers to create a cone of silence around backseat passengers, so the the driver can't overhear important conversations.

There's also feet heating designed to act like a hot-stone massage, a 30-speaker Yamaha sound system with surround sound, and an AI-powered virtual assistant.

The Zeekr 009 will arrive in Australia in the fourth quarter of 2024.