Zeekr 7X Reviews

Chinese carmaker Zeekr has revealed its flagship 9X SUV at the Shanghai auto show ahead of the car’s official launch in the third quarter of this year.According to the brand’s local operations, the 5.3-metre long model is under active consideration for Australia as it looks to strengthen its two-strong line-up, currently consisting of the X electric SUV and 009 electric people mover.In terms of design, the 9X strongly resembles luxury SUV staples, such as the Rolls-Royce Cullinan or Toyota Century SUV. That said, it borrows its foundations from fellow Geely-owned brand Lynk & Co’s 900, which is slated for release later this month.Underneath, the 9X will carry a Xiaoyao battery pack from CATL that Zeekr claims will deliver 380km of pure-electric range, marking the furthest distance among hybrid SUVs globally.Zeekr hasn’t detailed the exact size of the battery, nor total power and torque outputs, but it will come paired to a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine that delivers 205kW on its own.The entire configuration will see the 9X rocket from 0-100km/h in a claimed 3.0 seconds.Ride comfort will be secured through “industry-first” dual-chamber air suspension and active stabiliser bars, the brand says.Inside, there will be Rolls-Royce-style starlight headlining, while Zeekr’s 'G-Pilot H9' autonomous driving system with five Lidar sensors will also be fitted.The 9X’s twin, the Lynk & Co 900, will launch before the 9X, which the brand says has already attracted some 40,000 pre-orders. The brand is set to launch in Australia next year.It loses the 9X’s large chrome grille and LED headlight clusters for a flat front bumper panel and dual-'fanged' headlights. There are different wheel designs in addition to the 900’s unique rear LED tail-light bar design.Zeekr says the 900’s dual-electric-motor, 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine set-up delivers a total power output of 650kW, while the time it takes to sprint from 0-100km/h rises to 4.3 seconds.Inside, the 900 boasts twin 30-inch 6K displays and six seats with 180-degree rotating functions.Pricing for either model is unclear, although in China, the 9X is anticipated to range from approximately A$110,000 for the base-spec to A$215,000 for the top-spec ‘Grand Edition’.Full pricing and specifications for the 9X are expected to emerge ahead of the car’s official launch later this year.

It’s a name most new-car buyers are only just getting to grips with, but Chinese EV specialist Zeekr continues to make its mark with yet another new model emerging overnight.Featuring a distinctive tapering ‘shooting brake’ profile in the style of Porsche’s Taycan Sport Turismo, the Zeekr 007 GT is the brand’s second electric station wagon, following in the wheel tracks of the slightly larger Zeekr 001.With a claimed range of up to 825km, 475kW on tap in the top-spec dual-motor AWD variant and air suspension standard, it’s set to make a splash in the Chinese market, where wagons aren’t usually a mainstream choice. Despite this, the 001 wagon has proved popular.Offered in single-motor (310kW) rear-wheel drive and dual-motor (475kW) AWD form, the 007 GT wagon rides on the same modular platform as its sedan sibling, measuring just under 4.9m long, 1.9m wide and a little over 1.4m tall with a 2925mm wheelbase.Claimed 0-100km/h acceleration is a supercar-like 2.95 seconds! There are two battery options for RWD and AWD models - a 75kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) and 100kWh nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) pack, with (CLTC) range stretching from 585–825km. An 800V architecture means the 007 GT is claimed to charge from 10 to 80 per cent in just 10.5 minutes on a DC fast charger.The GT features a 90-inch interactive LED screen in its nose able to display text and emojis, which is unlikely to see the light of day outside the domestic market.Retractable door handles, aero roof rails and a rear spoiler enhance the car’s sleek looks, with 20-inch rims filling the wheel arches.Inside, there’s a big 15.4-inch media touchscreen and LCD digital instrument display as well as 35.5-inch augmented reality head-up display.The five seats seats are trimmed in Nappa leather with the fronts featuring 14-way power adjustment as well as heating, cooling and a massage function.Boot capacity is a healthy 645 litres, which expands to a substantial 1737 litres with the split folded second-row seats lowered. Fun fact: An optional 10.2-litre refrigerator can be fitted under the boot floor.Pricing in China starts at ¥202,900 for the RWD 75kWh entry-model, rising to ¥262,900 for the 100kWh AWD version.On a direct currency conversion that’s a spread of around $43,500 to $56,400. Add a roughly 20 per cent bump to cover import and distribution and that jumps to $52,200 to $67,680.Zeekr has confirmed the car will be exported to Europe as the Zeekr 7 GT and CarsGuide has contacted Zeekr Australia to see if it’s in line for a local launch. This story will be updated with any feedback received.

Zeekr has cut up to $7000 off the price of its X small electric SUV as it fights off competition from fellow Chinese brands and other rivals such as Tesla and Volkswagen. 

Zeekr is teasing what will be the flagship SUV in its line-up, with a hybrid twist.

The rapid and seemingly unstoppable expansion of Chinese carmakers is something to behold.But is it too far-fetched to think all cars will be Chinese within the next 20 years? Or is it naive not to see it as a strong possibility?For a long time I’ve thought the emergence of new Chinese cars in Australia and globally was the natural progression of the car industry. New brands morph from alternative fledgling brands to mature and established ones. We saw this with Japanese brands such as Toyota, Mazda, Mitsubishi and Nissan which gained popularity in the 1960s and ’70s before becoming established go-to brands in the 1980s and ’90s as they fought homegrown heroes Ford and Holden for space in Australia's driveways. And it stayed that way until the first decade of the 2000s ticked over.Holden and Ford’s ranges and sales shrank giving way to the Koreans who filled the gap with Hyundai and Kia which have climbed high into the top 10 thanks to an excellent range of SUVs and EVs.They’re now marching towards the only brands that stand in their way - Mitsubishi, Ford, Mazda and Toyota - which, by the way, have about three EVs between them.And given another five years Kia and Hyundai may have been able to topple Toyota from number one. But it might be too late for that. The presence of a large and fast-growing force is creating major uncertainty for the established brands in the Australian market - the rise and rise of Chinese brands. At the end of 2024 there were 12 Chinese brands operating in Australia and this year we’re expecting at least another seven to arrive. To put that in perspective we currently have a total of 50 car brands in Australia and nine are Japanese. By the end of 2025 the Chinese tally could easily be 20 brands or 30 per cent of Australia's brand make up.Several Chinese brands have been in Australia for years and have already done the hard yards. It took MG a couple of attempts to find a foothold but it was the seventh best-selling brand in 2024, while GWM came in at 10th. LDV is further down but still sold more than 16,000 vehicles here last year.The newer Chinese arrivals show huge promise with most of them offering affordable electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids when the established brands have only a handful among them, usually at higher prices.BYD, Zeekr, Leapmotor, Geely, Deepal, XPeng, Smart, JAC, Aion, Chery and Jaecoo will spend 2025 launching a multitude of new vehicles here. BYD will be one to watch having sold more cars here last year than Mercedes-Benz and it will likely enter the top 10 best sellers next year. Geely, which is the ‘Volkswagen of China’ in terms of its size and how many brands it owns, is another to watch.Chinese car manufacturers' speed of production, the development of new platforms and technology, the low cost of batteries, availability of electronics and the breakthroughs being made in charging systems, plus the sheer amount of money and Chinese government support behind them make competition almost impossible for many other brands.It’s almost certain that some established brands will bow out of Australia, unable to compete with Chinese brands. It’s also feasible that within the next decade more than half the Australian market could be made up of Chinese brands. And surely some Chinese brands won’t be able to cut it here and leave, too.Who could survive? Well, time has shown that even the mighty like Holden have fallen if they don’t make the cars people want to buy. The sheer brute force of Chinese brands being able to offer what people want quickly and at a low price, and at an always improving tech level could be too difficult for many other brands to fight off.In an extreme scenario this could lead to a 100 per cent Chinese brand market within 15 years. Sounds far fetched? Well they’re a third of the way there already.  

What is the safest car in Australia?

Lynk & Co has detailed its upcoming flagship 900 three-row SUV with previously unheard-of driving range and an all-new battery type.

Yet another Chinese brand in Australia? Sort of.Zeekr Australia’s General Manager, William Zhou, told CarsGuide that thanks to the change in ownership and Lynk & Co falling under Zeekr’s direction, a launch is very much on the cards for Australia.“Exactly” Zhou said when asked about Lynk & Co now being possible for our market.“It’s something we’re working on right now," he said.“For us here, in a right hand drive market, Lynk & Co previously didn’t have right-hand drive products, so we’re working on that.“Also, because in Australia we know that EVs stand for technology and innovation, but when it comes to daily use plug-in hybrids should be another major choice. So we’re confident the current product from Lynk & Co with petrol and hybrid technology will do really well in Australia, so we’re pushing to have Lynk & Co products, but under one brand, Zeekr.”Zhou explained it would be a full-control type scenario in Australia, with Lynk & Co models being distributed by Zeekr from the same dealer network the premium Chinese marque is currently building out in Australia.Lynk & Co and Zeekr were completely separate entities prior to November 2024, when both brand’s ultimate parent company, Geely, re-organised its shareholdings to place Lynk & Co under the control of Zeekr, divesting Volvo’s share from the business.Zhou wants Lynk & Co hybrids to hit our shores in the near future.“I think we’re trying for next year, but nothing is confirmed yet. There’s a lot of engineering involved.” said Zhou.Zhou said Australia is a priority and could potentially be the first RHD market for Lynk & Co.“We’ll try”, Zhou explained of Australia being a launch-market for right-hand drive. “I think the European market is hard . There are some tariff issues. Maybe the UK. But Australia is an iconic market for right-hand drive, so we’re working on that.”Zhou wasn’t ready to talk exactly what product was high on the right-hand drive priority list, but he said the company was very conscious of not overlapping with Zeekr models in order to make sure both nameplates had a chance to shine.“We should position smartly. With the future coming models from Lynk & Co we should work on how to make it cover the range without cannibalising each other.”Zeekr’s current and future line-up consists of the X small SUV, 009 people mover, and 7X mid-sizer, which leaves room for several products from Lynk & Co.A good place to start would be one of its more recent models, the 08 SUV that would bring a coupe-sized plug-in hybrid alternative to sit underneath the slightly larger, more conventional 7X SUV from Zeekr.The 08 rides on Volvo’s compact modular architecture (CMA) and is available as a plug-in hybrid (EM-P in Lynk & Co language), which pairs a 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine with a dedicated hybrid transmission and massive 39.6kWh battery pack good for a driving range of up to 245km according to the lenient CLTC testing cycle. If it maintains a similar specification, it would be the longest range plug-in hybrid in Australia.Other options include the 07 sedan with a similar PHEV drivetrain, 05 small coupe SUV (essentially a PHEV take on the Volvo C40 electric SUV). Less likely seems to be the XC40-based 01 SUV and 03 sedan, and the now-dated 09 SUV.The 900 six-seat flagship SUV, which sit on the latest SPA Evo architecture complete with next-generation styling, could be a possibility.The 900 features the brand’s next-gen plug-in hybrid tech consisting of either a 530kW model using a 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine and a 43.3kWh battery pack providing up to 185km of EV driving range on the CLTC standard, or a 2.0-litre four-cylinder model providing up to 630kW that has an even larger 50kWh battery pack providing a driving range of up to 220km (CLTC).Zeekr has only just started deliveries in Australia, with a mere 100 units on the road, but Zhou said the brand is happy with the level of demand it is seeing for its existing range of premium electric models, which serve as an alternative to the likes of BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi.The brand also needs to fight off other newcomers such as Xpeng, Chery’s Jaecoo sub-brand, and BYD’s Denza marque, which all have similar ambitious plans for Australia in 2025 and beyond.

A new front has opened up in the battle for the hearts and dollars of electric car buyers.Geely is the latest carmaker to begin rolling out advanced self-driving technology.The tech, dubbed 'G-Pilot', is aimed at Tesla's 'Full Self Driving' and BYD’s new 'God’s Eye' semi-autonomous driving functions.Geely just launched in Australia with its new EX5 electric mid-size SUV.It has been reported that the new technology will be made available in a range of Geely brands going forward, including Zeekr, which launched in Australia in 2024.It is also possible the new tech will feature in other brands under the Geely umbrella such as Volvo, Polestar, Smart and Lotus.The tech is available with a range of capabilities, but the fully-loaded version comes with 12 cameras, multiple Lidars and three radars.This means it is capable of full self driving in the future, but it is not yet allowed or trained to do it.The tech is also AI assisted, which means it is constantly learning and the rollout is likely to be used as broad learning for the tech to help it achieve full self-driving.For now it can navigate on highways and city streets by itself but always needs a human in charge.Autonomous tech isn’t particularly popular in markets such as Australia, but this advanced technology is highly desirable in China where a massive highway system makes the technology more useful.Geely's move follows BYD’s recent announcement its God’s Eye technology would be rolled out to its entire range.Older BYDs are unlikely to be compatible with the new software as they don’t have the necessary hardware — cameras and Lidar systems — to make it work.Recent spy shots of upgraded BYD Atto 3 and Dolphin models in China show new cameras in the bumper that would allow this tech to work.A class action lawsuit has been levelled at Tesla in Australia, with its 'Autopilot' feature one of the main points of contention. It is being organised by law firm JGA Saddler and alleges Tesla sold vehicles that were defective in Australia.It concerns Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles built from 2021 onwards that are equipped with the Autopilot feature.It said the hardware on Tesla vehicles is incapable of supporting fully-autonomous or close to autonomous driving despite claims to the contrary.

Despite a backwards step in 2024, Chinese cars are on-track to bounce back in 2025 as a flood of new brands enter the market.While brands like BYD, MG, GWM and Chery have already established themselves, a new wave is on the way to challenge Japan as Australia’s biggest car importer.By the end of 2024 there were 12 Chinese brands officially in the Australian market and at least two more have announced plans for entry into our market in 2025 with more expected to follow. Japan, by contrast, only has nine brands in our local market but still comfortably leads the overall production with nearly 379,000 vehicles from Japan sold here in 2024.That compares to 272,139 from Thailand and 176,159 from China. Those figures don’t account for a brand’s national base but rather simply where they are built, so it includes certain Tesla, Volvo and other models from different brands.But while Japan and Thailand still lead the way as the most popular countries for new-car production, China appears on-course to overtake them in the not-too-distant future at the current rate.With the likes of Zeekr, Leapmotor, Deepal, XPeng, Geely, Smart, JAC, GAC/Aion, Jaecoo and more set to grow in 2025, plus expanded product lines from BYD, MG, GWM and Chery, the approximate 96,000 sales difference between China and Thailand could shrink dramatically this year.The industry is well aware of the rapid growth of the Chinese car industry in Australia, with Toyota Australia’s Head of Sales, Marketing and Franchise Operations, Sean Hanley, commenting this week: “The Australian new-car market has always been one of the most competitive in the world, and 2025 will be no different. We expect to see more new brands and models, which means more choice and even stronger competition, which, in the end, is great for the consumer.“By all reports, there could be a dozen new Chinese car companies arriving in Australia by the end of next year. In the past five years, they have taken more than 13 percentage points of market share from established brands.”Hanley was quick to point out that while these new brands have taken significant market share, Toyota remains the clear leader.However, that growth must come from somewhere and that will force brands across the market to react to this new array of rivals. This is likely to result in increased competition for Australian buyers at a time when cost-of-living pressures are expected to cool the market after record sales in 2024.