Zeekr is currently aiming for its 007 to surpass Tesla Model 3 sales in China by the end of this year.
Now while there is probably no one in this world that would dismiss the industrial might of China currently, it is nevertheless still somewhat amazing to learn from time to time to be reminded of the sheer scale of it. And handily, Zeekr has just showed off exactly that, as this subsidiary of Geely has recently announced that the 10,000th example of its 007 has rolled off the production line… in just 56 days since it first made its debut.
Yes, in just a month and a half, Zeekr has already churned out more examples of just one model of its new all-electric sedan, than what Lamborghini makes in a year. And while that comparison is perhaps a tad patronising to the raging bull to the raging bull supercar marque, it nevertheless does quite the good job in showcasing the sheer scale of manufacturing going on in China.
Though perhaps even more impressive than that is for this sheer rate at which Zeekr is churning out the 007 to highlight the sheer demand that is currently out there for its all-electric sedan. A feat which is only made all the more impressive when considering that this model is currently just sold in its home market of China, where there is also incidentally some seriously strong competition right now that is clamouring for the buyer’s attention.
In fact, while Zeekr has yet to publish its sales data for the 007 thus far, it had previously claimed to have received more than 51,000 orders in the 40 days before its global unveiling in December. And just while on the topic of bold claims, the Chinese automaker has been touting that it believes with its current sales trajectory, this particular model of theirs will be capable of outselling the rather popular Tesla Model 3 in China this year.
Delving a little bit now as to why Zeekr can be so confident in the popularity of its 007, a large part of that comes from just how reasonably it costs, especially when considering the size and spec of the car. Entry level variants of it starts over there from 209,900 yuan (RM 140,000), and for that buyers net an almost BMW 5-Series-sized sleek sedan with 310 kW (416 hp) being sent to its rear wheels.
What more is that if buyers fork out a little bit more, the dual-motored trims of the 007 sees for it to pack a combined power output of 475 kW (637 hp), which in turn is sufficient to rocket this sedan to the century sprint in a Veyron-rivalling 2.84 seconds.
Add to that too for this Zeekr to feature other cool (albeit slightly gimmicky) tech toys like a full width dot matrix-esque LED light bar that can be programmed to spell out letters, a full Lidar-aided adaptive cruise control system, as well as a 35.5-inch augmented reality heads up display to complement its 15-inch central floating touchscreen, and it really shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that the 007 isn’t to be staying on dealership forecourts for long.
Having said that however, where the 007 really tempts buyers is with the thing that supplies the energy all that tech and generates all that horsepower. Such is because when equipped with Zeekr’s own in-house developed 75 kWh Golden Battery, this all-electric sedan could peak charging of up to 500 kW, meaning 500 km of range can be added in just 15 minutes. This lithium phosphate unit also is capable of providing up to 688 km of range on a single charge, but those who want the ultimate long-distance cruiser from their 007 can go with the 100 kWh CATL alternative that touts 870 km between charges.
So just putting it out there to Proton, if you are to be considering bringing in a Geely-based EV as hinted just recently, this might be a rather good candidate to sell right here.
