Zeekr 7X Reviews

Just what is a “software-defined vehicle”? Why did we start calling electricity “new energy”? And who or what are Xiaomi and Zeekr? A lot of new buzz words and terms have appeared in the car world in 2024 and it’s had all of us scrambling to keep on top of the new lingo. So, that had us thinking: what have been the standout new entries into the car vocabulary in the year that was? Here’s a quick r

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.

The era of the Chinese premium SUV is upon us - but is the Zeekr 7X one worth waiting for in the second half of next year?

The Zeekr 7X mid-size SUV is an electric car that’s set to join the Zeekr X small SUV and 009 luxury people-mover in Australia in 2025.

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.

ANCAP has released a raft of new scores for eight new models which have landed in Australia this year, with some notable new entrants falling short of the maximum five-star rating.

Geely’s premium car brand Zeekr will reportedly launch its first hybrid model in China next year at the Shanghai auto show.

Chinese giant Geely has decided 10 seperate car brands is too many.

Getting out among new car buyers can be a rare occurrence in this line of work, with a focus on new products and the promises of executives filling our regular days. So it was refreshing to man the CarsGuide EV advice stand at the 2024 Sydney International EV show for the weekend and get some insight into how electric car buyers think. Although it was a smaller footprint than Sydney Motor Shows of old, fervent visitors started filling the halls from 9am on all three days. In total, more than 30,000 bodies passed through the doors over the weekend. The overwhelming takeaway from talking to buyers was this sect of Aussies was not at all concerned about brand history, with Toyota and Ford’s stands dramatically quieter than the barely-known start-ups from China such as Xpeng, Zeekr and Deepal.It helps that these new marques dressed their stands to impress. Aside from a wild flying machine, XPeng also had a luxurious seven-seat people mover essentially purpose-built to generate public interest with a huge rear entertainment screen and ‘business class’ reclining rear seats with heating, cooling and foot rests. The G6 is the first retail model from XPeng and it was also well-trafficked, along with the larger G9 the brand is considering for local release. Zeekr turned up with the X small SUV along with a few extra bits of eye-candy like the confirmed-for-oz 009 people mover, a 475kW 007 sedan in a lewd yellow paint colour and a 001 FR the Geely-owned marque’s Polestar 2-related first model. The other new entrant was Deepal, which is being imported by well-known company Inchcape that also handles Subaru, Foton, Peugeot and previously Citroen. Along with the classic Tesla Model Y rival, the S07 electric family SUV, Deepal had some cool stuff. Namely, a Cybertruck-like electric and range-extender compatible E05 electric sedan-pick-up amalgamation that was catching attention. Kia’s front-and-centre placement helped drive plenty of traffic to the brand’s new EV5 while also making Hyundai’s lack of presence quite obvious. With the Tasman due next year and the EV5’s sharp price, it’s a brand that’s sure to go from strength to strength. Tesla’s presence was held up by the Australian owner’s club while BYD was represented by a dealer, with an unfortunate lack of Shark utes on the stand. It was Ford and Toyota that were visibly the lowest traffic OEMs over the weekend, and Australia’s third most-popular brand Mazda didn’t even turn up with its plug-in hybrids. With a pair of bZ4Xs on display and charge-box-on-wheels, Toyota’s wasn’t exactly a dull stand yet it proves that people are more interested in the whizz-bang new models — that’s the point of a motor show, after all. As for Ford, despite having prime real estate among the newcomers, it seemed that not so many punters were interested in the Mach-E and plug-in hybrid Ford Ranger Stormtrak, even with the ute’s vehicle-to-load system that can power a coffee machine, TV, work tools and more.Some other mainstream carmakers present were Audi, BMW, Cupra and Volvo though these stands were notably smaller than the others. As for other brands from China, Chery and GWM proved relatively popular but the Smart stand was quiet. MG’s choice to only bring a Cyberster rather than the affordable MG4 seemed a bit short-sighted — next year, maybe.The most common line of questioning was if we would recommend the XPeng G6 and what the best alternatives to a Tesla Model Y are — we fielded almost no questions about the bZ4X or plug-in hybrid Ford Ranger Stormtrak. Plenty of test drives were taken over the three days and at one point on Sunday, you would have had to queue for four hours to sample XPeng’s new G6. But what does all this tell us about the new car landscape?MG has already proven sharp pricing can drive mega traffic into electric vehicles and that, when EVs reach parity with combustion-engined and hybrid options, they are much more attractive. In this case, customers aren’t cross-shopping, say, a Tesla Model Y with just other EVs, but similarly-priced combustion and hybrid models, too. Electric cars aren’t competing with themselves, but in a battle to bring the other 90.6 per cent of the new car market out of combustion and hybrid-engined choices. Most worrying for big carmakers, though, will be the lack of brand devotion. Despite what the bZ4X advertising campaign suggests, there were very few talking about Toyota’s proven low-cost servicing or reliability. Instead, the long seven- and even ten-year warranties of newcomers seemed enough to allay most fears. Don’t expect Toyota, Ford or Mazda sales to drop off a cliff anytime soon, but the interest and willingness of local buyers to branch out and sample an unknown product will definitely cause a headache.

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