Might Kiwi contentment with China-made electrics spur Geely’s third Sino-Swede to check us out?

SO far it’s all been about Volvo, Polestar and Lotus, but the vast Geely Group’s aspiration goes beyond those well-known international brands – export push with a bullish home-grown luxury marque is now under way.

With the Kiwi electric passenger car market already being well fed by China – it’s the source point for Tesla Model 3 and Model Y, Volvo C40 and XC40 Recharge, Polestar 2, plus cars from Haval, MG and BYD, whose Atto 3 is the first China-sourced winner of New Zealand Car of the Year – it might be of interest that Zeekr has confirmed intent to represent beyond home turf.

An announcement tied to this week’s Shanghai auto show explains a brand that has so far specialised in electric sports utilities will start its march in the European market but is also looking to right-hand-drive potentials.

What that means in respect to New Zealand potential has yet to be fully unwrapped. The Geely Group product that already sells here is represented by Giltrap Group, Volvo NZ being a joint venture with Fairhall Family Trust. But whether Giltrap Group can automatically assume rights to all Geely product is not clear.

One element that might encourage interest is Zeekr cars have European input.

That’s proven to be an ace card used to good effect by Lynk and Co, another Geely brand thought to be quietly exploring RHD opportunities in this part of the world, though it has yet to go into full electric cars. It has hybrid and plug-in hybrid technology.

Like Lynk and Co, Zeekr draws off Volvo hardware, but it can also claim stronger Swedish DNA.  

Development and design of Zeekr product was undertaken at Volvo’s base in Gothenburg in Sweden. Also, in addition to the co-sharing of platforms with Volvo and Polestar models - as well as Smart cars, thanks to a tie-up between Geely and Mercedes-Benz.

The first models for global involvement are the Zeekr 001 Shooting Brake, which was the make’s first car and arrived two years ago, and the more recent Zeekr X 'urban SUV'.

The latter describes as a chunky crossover rival to the likes of the Volkswagen ID.3 and MG 4 while the first portrays as a cross between a Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo and Audi Q5.

Both promise around 600 kilometres’ range. The Zeekr 001 draws from an 86kWh battery. There’s another version, with a 140kWh battery and a potential 1000km range, but that’s being kept in China at the moment. 

China’s appetite for electric – aka ‘new energy’ in domestic parlance - cars has been hugely beneficial for Zeekr. The 001 has found 93,000 domestic sales already.

The addition of the Zeekr 009, which at this point seems set to remain as a purely domestic choice, and Zeekr X are expected to further unlock its growth potential. The marque has strong backing and after the last round of A-Series funding, which raised $US750 million, was valued at $US13 billion.  

At the Shanghai auto show this week, Zeekr said Sweden and the Netherlands will be the first countries on its launch plan in quarter four of this year – but others ‘will quickly follow’. Intent is to cover all of western Europe by 2026.

The brand has already built a European team some 1500 people strong with many of the engineers and designers having worked on Geely’s other brands.

In China, Zeekr has built a public charging network – similar to Tesla’s – which is now 396 stations strong and available in 64 cities.

Spiros Fotinos, chief executive for Zeekr Europe, said: “European consumers are increasingly ready to make the shift to EVs and are more open than ever to new technology brands - especially ones purely focused on electric vehicles.

“With the resources, knowledge and experience we've got behind us, Zeekr is well positioned to offer world-class EVs, innovative services and an exceptional experience that will make the transition to electric easier than ever, allowing us to contribute to a more sustainable future.”