Tag Archives: ZEEKR

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Zeekr 7GT: Sleek Chinese EV Estate Eyes Europe with Aggressive Pricing

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Zeekr, the Geely-owned electric brand, is making its European ambitions clear with the launch of the 7GT, a sleek, high-tech estate designed to challenge established EVs like the Volkswagen ID.7 and Hyundai Ioniq 6. Officially unveiled today at the Brussels Motor Show, the 7GT will eventually make its way to the UK later this year.

Originally revealed in China last year as the 007 GT, the 7GT wears its European intentions on its sleeve. Measuring 4,817 mm long, 2,070 mm wide, and 1,456 mm tall, it offers a commanding presence on the road. Yet Zeekr undercuts its rivals aggressively: prices start at €45,990 (£40,000) and peak at €57,490 (£50,000), a fraction of the cost of comparable German and Korean EV estates.

The car is built in Hangzhou, China, but designed in Europe with European roads in mind, says Zeekr, highlighting the brand’s focus on styling and driving dynamics. Underpinning the 7GT is Geely’s PMA2+ platform, and buyers can choose from three configurations: Core rear-wheel drive, Long Range rear-wheel drive, and Privilege all-wheel drive.

Power comes from either a 75-kWh or 100-kWh battery pack, delivering a claimed range of up to 413 miles on the WLTP cycle. An 800-volt electrical architecture allows blistering charging speeds, with a compatible charger topping the battery from 10% to 80% in just 13 minutes. The range-topping AWD model produces 637 bhp, hitting 62 mph in a mere 3.3 seconds, though top speed is electronically limited to 130 mph.

Inside, the 7GT blends technology with minimalism. A 16-inch infotainment screen dominates the center stack, flanked by a 13-inch digital instrument cluster and a sprawling 35-inch head-up display. Despite its sleek profile, the estate offers 456 liters of luggage space—enough for weekend getaways or the occasional IKEA run.

While exact UK arrival dates are pending, Zeekr expects the 7GT to land in late summer, marking the next step in its European offensive. With competitive pricing, cutting-edge tech, and European-focused engineering, the 7GT could be a compelling alternative for buyers looking beyond traditional EV brands.

Source: Zeekr

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Geely Signals Serious U.S. Intentions for Its Premium Brands

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The United States remains the automotive world’s most tempting prize—and one of its most difficult. For Geely Holding Group, the sprawling Chinese conglomerate that already owns Volvo, Polestar, and Lotus, the next act may finally involve putting its own newer brands on American roads. If the plan comes together, Zeekr and Lynk & Co could be built and sold in the U.S. before the end of the decade.

That’s the message coming from Geely insiders, who are now openly discussing America not as a hypothetical but as a question of timing and execution. And crucially, Geely may already have the infrastructure to pull it off without tripping over tariffs: Volvo’s factory in South Carolina.

Speaking with Autoline, Ash Sutcliffe, Geely Holding Group’s head of global communications, made it clear that the U.S. is very much on the company’s strategic radar—even if no firm commitments have been signed in ink yet.

“Right now, we’re looking at all global markets where we can expand,” Sutcliffe said. “We’re currently very strong in China. We’re developing strong in Southeast Asia. Europe is very stable. But the big question for us is when and where will we go to the USA?”

That hesitation isn’t surprising. The U.S. market has become increasingly hostile territory for Chinese-built vehicles, thanks to steep tariffs, political scrutiny, and tightening regulations. But Geely’s ownership of Volvo gives it a potential workaround: local production. Building vehicles in South Carolina would allow Geely to sidestep import penalties while presenting its products as “American-built,” at least in the regulatory sense.

Sutcliffe pointed specifically to Zeekr and Lynk & Co as brands that could resonate stateside. Both sit above mass-market offerings, aiming squarely at the premium space—an area where American buyers have shown a growing appetite, particularly for tech-heavy electrified vehicles.

And that appetite matters. While Geely declined to lock in a production timeline, Sutcliffe suggested that clarity may not be far off. An official announcement, he said, could arrive within the next two to three years.

That window aligns neatly with broader industry shifts. By the late 2020s, EV adoption in the U.S. is expected to be deeper, charging infrastructure more mature, and consumers more comfortable with brands that didn’t exist on American soil a decade earlier. Tesla cracked that psychological barrier. Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis blew it wide open. The door isn’t closed—it’s just guarded.

“From what we’re seeing so far, there’s strong demand for affordable, premium, and luxury vehicles,” Sutcliffe said. “So I think we’re in a good place to offer the American consumer something very different.”

“Different” is doing a lot of work there. Zeekr, for example, leans heavily into minimalist design, high-end materials, and aggressive electrification—think Scandinavian restraint with Chinese tech ambition. Lynk & Co plays a slightly funkier card, blending youthful styling with subscription-friendly ownership concepts that could either feel refreshing or confusing in a market still wedded to traditional buying habits.

Still, Geely isn’t coming in cold. Volvo has spent years rebuilding trust and prestige in the U.S., while Polestar has already tested American waters with mixed—but instructive—results. If Geely applies those lessons, Zeekr and Lynk & Co could arrive better prepared than most newcomers.

For now, everything remains conditional. No production lines have been assigned, no dealer networks announced, and no vehicles confirmed. But for the first time, Geely isn’t asking if it should come to America—it’s asking how.

And in today’s auto industry, that shift alone is worth paying attention to.

Source: Autoline

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Toyota Shaken as BYD Redefines EV Development Speed and Culture

It once took four to five years to bring a new car from sketch to showroom. In the new electric age, that timeline has collapsed—particularly in China, where automakers like BYD are reshaping the rules of the game. Now, vehicles can go from concept to production in just two years. For legacy manufacturers like Toyota, the pace is not just dizzying—it’s deeply unsettling.

In China’s high-stakes electric vehicle (EV) market, speed and adaptability have become the new currency. Giants like BYD, Xpeng, Zeekr, and Chery are locked in a fierce struggle for dominance, turning the world’s largest automotive market into a proving ground for innovation, risk-taking, and relentless iteration.

Even Toyota—the world’s top-selling automaker—has found itself on the back foot. A recent Reuters report sheds light on Toyota’s eye-opening experience co-developing the bZ3 electric sedan with BYD, revealing a cultural and strategic divide that goes far beyond engineering.

Clash of Cultures: Toyota vs. BYD

Toyota was reportedly “appalled” by BYD’s engineering methods. In contrast to Toyota’s famously meticulous and conservative development process, BYD showed a remarkable willingness to approve major design changes even in the final stages of development. This agile approach is part of a broader philosophy borrowed from Silicon Valley: move fast, break things, fix later.

BYD and its Chinese counterparts have embraced a development style that prioritizes speed over perfection. Vehicles may debut with rough edges, but improvements—often through over-the-air software updates—follow swiftly. It’s a strategy that trades initial polish for accelerated innovation and market responsiveness.

Toyota, on the other hand, has built its reputation on methodical precision and unshakeable reliability. Traditionally, the Japanese automaker develops as many as six prototypes per model, each subjected to tens of thousands of kilometers of real-world testing before a car hits the market. It’s a cautious approach—one that may now be a liability in a market where agility is king.

The BYD Playbook: Work Fast, Iterate Faster

What enables BYD to move at lightning speed? Long hours, leaner prototyping, and a willingness to embrace failure. Engineers reportedly work 12-hour days, six days a week. Real-world testing is minimized in favor of computer simulations and AI-driven modeling. Development teams work in parallel, rather than the traditional sequential method used in the West.

The result? Vehicles like the Toyota bZ3, built on BYD’s Blade LFP battery, offering up to 600 km of range on China’s CLTC cycle—equivalent to around 400 km on the U.S. EPA standard. Perhaps even more impressive is the price: just $27,000 (around €25,000) before incentives. For a spacious, modern electric sedan, that’s an astonishing figure—and a clear threat to rivals like Tesla’s Model 3.

BYD isn’t just moving fast—it’s going global. With 4.3 million vehicles sold in 2024, the brand is now the seventh-largest automaker in the world. It employs an estimated 900,000 people, nearly as many as Toyota and Volkswagen combined. Unlike Tesla, BYD offers a broad, ever-evolving lineup, appealing to a wide demographic both in China and abroad.

Learning from the Competition

Toyota executives, while shocked by BYD’s methods, acknowledged their admiration. There is, it seems, a grudging respect for the speed and adaptability of their Chinese counterparts. The bZ3 collaboration was more than a joint venture—it was a wake-up call.

And Toyota is not alone. Traditional automakers across Europe, North America, and Japan are increasingly under pressure to rethink decades-old development cycles. The question isn’t just whether they can build great EVs—it’s whether they can build them fast enough.

In a world where first-to-market increasingly trumps perfectly finished, the race has changed. And companies like BYD are setting the pace.

Source: Reuters