Zeekr 009 News

Zeekr has confirmed its future plans in Australia, outlining an expanded catalogue of hyped-up models, and updated versions of its current cars by 2027.The brand’s local Managing Director Frank Li said Zeekr would have several models coming this year and next year.Read on to see what they are.2026 Zeekr X faceliftThe Zeekr X, which the brand originally launched with in Australia in late 2024, will receive a major update.While the brand no doubt had big hopes for the small SUV as a more keenly priced and tech-heavy alternative to the Volvo EX30 it shares a platform, sales so far have been lacklustre. An update due this year will seek to make the model an even more attractive proposition, according to Mr Li.“We will have the Zeekr X facelift, which will come in the first half of this year. It will score some very good improvements when it comes to battery and interior features, as well as new colours,” he said.An update to the X already exists in China. While it looks identical from the outside, it features an overhauled interior, with a more practical and contemporary raised console design, as well as new seat and door trims. Interestingly the Chinese market model also features fold-up rear seats similar to Honda’s “Magic seat” set-up it uses in the HR-V to transform the second row into a second cargo space.Stay tuned for more details on which features might make it to the Australian market soon.2026 Zeekr 009 GrandThe X won’t be the only current model in the Zeekr line-up to receive an upgrade, with the 009 luxury electric people mover slated to receive a range-topping flagship variant.“In the second half of the year, we will be welcoming a very luxurious model, the 009 four-seater.”“In China this is called the 009 Grand and it will have even better features than the current car,” Li said.The 009 Grand takes aim at the likes of the Lexus LM as an ultra high-end people transporter. With only four seats, the 009 feautres a similar high-end set-up to the top-spec LM, with a giant entertainment screen bulkhead separating the front seats from the rear.It also scores gold badgework in its Chinese home market, with gigantic chrome-style wheels. Whether this fully electric model will undercut the hybrid LM Ultra Luxury’s $223,520 price-tag remains to be seen.2027 Zeekr 8XWhen queried on the topic of future models, Mr Li told CarsGuide: “Three models will be coming across next year, 7GT, 9X, and 8X, but we haven’t had final date for which one will come first, or in which month or what quarter.” he said.This is the big exciting news. While some were probably hoping for the much-hyped new hybrid and electric models to arrive sooner to bolster Zeekr’s range, the confirmation that they will be joining the right-hand drive arsenal alongside the 7X as global models is big.The just-launched-in-China 8X is perhaps the most hyped of the options. A new rival to the likes of the Range Rover Sport, Audi Q6, and Lexus RX, the 8X large SUV looks set to offer buyers a larger format of the same luxury and value on offer in the 7X, but this time with a plug-in hybrid twist.It’s no average plug-in hybrid either, combining a 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine (205kW) paired with electric motors, producing a combined 660kW in dual-motor form, or 1080kW in top-spec tri-motor form, allowing a 0-100km/h sprint time in as low as 3.7 seconds. On top of that, it has the option of two EV-sized batteries, either 55.1kWh or 70kWh with a 900-volt architecture the brand says can charge from 10 - 80 per cent in just 9 minutes on a charger capable of outputting the right speed. Total EV range sits at 256km or 328km according to chinese specs depending on battery size, with combined range landing at 1416km to the same measuring standard.2027 Zeekr 9XThe 9X is also on Mr Li’s hit list for models aiming at our market. This flagship three-row SUV measures in at 5239mm and over two meters wide, making it a similar size to the Audi Q7, Mercedes-Benz GLS, BMW X7, and full-size Range Rover.It offers much of the same style as the 8X, but with a larger, boxier, and more chrome-embossed overall design.It is offered only in an ultra-luxurious six-seat layout for the Chinese market, with the second row ‘captain’s chairs’ able to fully recline and even fully rotate to face the rear seats.It also shares its peak powertrain with the 8X, offering a 2.0-litre plug-in hybrid system with a peak output of 1030kW, mated to a 70kWh battery with a 9 minute charging time and 1250km of combined driving range.Even the most affordable version of the 9X in China costs the equivalent of A$100,000, giving this monster SUV a real shot of being the most expensive Chinese car on sale in Australia when it arrives in 2027.2027 Zeekr 7GTThe Zeekr 7GT has already been shown in Australia (albeit in left-hand drive form) at several EV shows around the country as the brand’s potential next model, although Li’s comments suggest it may now arrive after either the 8X or 9X depending on what HQ back in China decides.Regardless, the 7GT is an unusual and exciting proposition by a Chinese automaker, offering a Euro-styled go-fast wagon in pure electric form.Offering an 800-volt battery, up to 825km of driving range (according to the lenient CTLC cycle on the biggest 100kWh battery pack), and a 0-100km/h sprint time of just 2.95 seconds, the 7GT looks to give some of the European performance metal in our market a run for their money.Like other Zeekr models, expect luxury trims on the inside, swish software and cabin tech, and either a rear-drive 310kW variant, or a 475kW AWD variant.Other performance enhancements include an air suspension system and adaptive damping.Interestingly, the brand has had less to say on the 7GT’s sedan variant (dubbed the 007 in its Chinese home market), making the potentially wagon-only line-up a bit of a statement in the Australian market.

Zeekr has lowered the price of entry to its 009 electric people mover range by $20,000 with the addition of a new model grade.

Why Australia is becoming a battleground for Chinese premium brands.

First we had to get our heads around the multitude of new brands going on sale in Australia, now we’re trying to cope with the massive power outputs of the models as Chinese brand Lynk & Co launches its 900 large SUV with a plug-in hybrid system producing a colossal 540kW.The price is relatively small too with the Range Rover-sized, and also extremely luxurious 900, listing for about $62,000 in China.There is more than a passing resemblance to the Range Rover, with the hulking 900 featuring a set-back cabin, tall windows and rounded rear end. Inside the cabin has a minimal design with a giant media screen spanning most of the dashboard.The 900 has three rows of two seats with the second row able to be turned to face the third. A giant drop-down roof-mounted  30-inch 6K media screen is also available for entertainment. Powering the 900 is a choice of two powertrains. The first is a plug-in hybrid 1.5-litre turbo-petrol four cylinder engine making a 140kW and that in turn is paired to two electric motors: a 160kW unit on the front axle and a 230kW motor at the rear. Total combined output is 530kW.The second is also a plug-in hybrid but it uses a 2.0-litre petrol engine with two electric motors - one at the front making 123kW and a rear motor making 230kW for a combined 540kW.As for battery size the 1.5-litre variant has a 44.85kW unit while the 2.0-litre version has a 52.38kWh pack. According to Lynk & Co both 900 models have a combined range of up to about 1350km (CLTC)The big news really is the price with the 900 listing from $62,000 in China. It's not known if Lynk & Co will launch the 900 in Australia. Currently the company is holding off its arrival into our market until its parent company, Zeekr, establishes itself here.The past two years have seen numerous Chinese car manufacturers enter the Australian market including BYD, Geely, Leapmotor, Deepal and JAC.Zeekr, which is owned by auto giant Geely, recently took control over Lynk & Co and it is expected to arrive in Australia by 2028.Zeekr meanwhile has launched it little X SUV and its 009 people mover and a mid-sized 7X will arrive in 2025, too.  Zeekr's 9X which uses the same foundations as the Lynk & Co 900 may also arrive in Australia.

People movers were never cool in Australia, but that’s changing as our evolving tastes take us out of SUVs and into little buses.

Zeekr is the first Chinese premium brand to launch in Australia, but by the end of 2025 it will be far from the only option.

If you’re lost in a sea of announcements of new Chinese brands in Australia, we don’t blame you.But there could yet another as Lynk & Co now comes under Zeekr management and Geely consolidates its two international premium brands.Last month, as part of a brand-wide attempt to lower overlap and streamline costs, it was announced that the hybrid and combustion focused Lynk & Co would come under the control of EV-only Zeekr.To clarify this a little further, it's easiest to think of Geely as having the same poisiton Volkswagen in the VW Group, with Zeekr more like Audi in the wider Geely group.As it is, the brands already share their premium SEA and CMA platform underpinnings as well as many design elements, but are beginning to form significant overlaps in each model range as Zeekr grows.What do these changes mean for the Australian market where Zeekr has only just launched?Speaking to CarsGuide at an international media event in China, Zeekr’s Australian head of marketing Andrew Haurissa explained.“Right now, it’s hard to say. Based on the way we’re moving into different powertrains right now there could be a chance vehicles might happen — it depends whether there’s an appetite for that in the market, but the acquisition or transfer of ownership is certainly a fruitful one for the brand.”“Zeekr will have its own design language and Lynk & Co will have its own design language — they’ll share platform and technology and handling as well.”“It really depends on the product which is made available in right-hand drive — Lynk & Co right now is left-hand drive only and our main focus is Zeekr, getting that brand up and running — we’re only new in Australia, only next week will we have cars out in the market and in the hands of the press.”When asked whether Geely HQ was flexible around what the Zeekr and Lynk & Co ecosystem might look like in local markets like Australia, Haurissa said this was likely to be the case.“I would say so, there might be a plan up the sleeves not in Australia but from a global perspective. Things are moving so fast, Zeekr is moving fast, but we’re also measured in the way we progress."We wouldn’t want to make a decision based on a flurry or forced into a necessity. It needs to be more thought through. We’ve got an ambition of selling, globally, a million cars by 2027. Is it achievable? Absolutely and there’s a strong chance we’ll get there with more products coming into each market.”Zeekr will be one of the first to test our market’s taste for Chinese premium brands.While mainstream options like GWM and MG are marching up the price-scale now, it is only after years of hard work winning sales at price points now abandoned by Japanese and Korean brands.The market is going to be tough, too, with Aion, Jaecoo, Smart, Leapmotor, XPeng, Zeekr and more all hoping premium vibes and sharp prices will tempt traditional Audi, BMW, Lexus and Mercedes-Benz buyers.Despite this task, access to Lynk & Co’s range of sporty hybrids could help maximise its appeal in a market where the pace of growth of EV sales is slowing while demand for hybrids seems ever increasing.Its primary current export model to Europe is the 01 SUV which rides on the same CMA underpinnings as the Volvo XC40 using a plug-in hybrid drivetrain. It scores a claimed 75km of fully electric driving range and produces 206kW/535Nm from an electric motor paired to a 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine via a three-speed hybrid transmission.As it stands, the Lynk & Co 01 would slot between the fully electric X small SUV and the incoming 7X mid-sizer, as well as offer a plug-in hybrid alternative to its electric or MHEV Volvo XC40 platform-mate.Meanwhile, in the Chinese market Lynk & Co’s expansive range includes everything from the combustion 03 sedan to the Volvo XC90-based 09 SUV, making potential differentiation from Zeekr’s incoming range significant.Regardless, it seems obvious the brand has been re-positioned under Zeekr as a pre-emptive move to be more strategic about each brand’s future products.

Geely’s premium electric brand Zeekr has revealed pricing and specifications for its people mover – the 009.

Incoming Geely-owned brand Zeekr is keen on importing the radical Mix people mover to Australia, but the focus is on building the brand first.

Zeekr is on the cusp of launching its first model in Australia, the X, priced from $56,900 before on-road costs.