ZEEKR is once again fully fired up

ZEEKR, which has always relied on the 001 to support its sales scale, plans to create the next explosive model.

On August 30th, at the 2024 Chengdu International Auto Show, ZEEKR unveiled its key model for this year's sales push, the ZEEKR 7X. This is a mid-to-large-sized SUV that focuses on extreme material stacking while keeping the price below 250,000 RMB, starting at 239,900 RMB for pre-sale. ZEEKR hopes the 7X will become a popular model like the 001.

In today's increasingly competitive new energy vehicle market, ZEEKR has been lacking a main practical household SUV.

Therefore, ZEEKR has put a lot of effort into the 7X. In terms of configuration, it features an 800V high-voltage architecture, dual-chamber air suspension + CCD, 8295 intelligent cockpit chip, dual Orin-X intelligent driving chips, LiDAR, the vast intelligent driving 2.0 system with end-to-end large models, and is equipped with a battery with a maximum 5.5C charge rate. It even comes with a Rolls-Royce-style small table board + folding tablet in the rear row.

It is worth mentioning that this time ZEEKR CEO An Conghui did not anchor the 7X to mainstream SUVs like the MODEL Y on the market. In his view, when the 7X is introduced, it should disrupt the market for large five-seater SUVs, rather than conforming to it. ZEEKR Vice President Lin Jinwen mentioned, "Some competing products, including the Model Y, are pixel-level replicas, but we are taking a different path."

To highlight differentiation, ZEEKR has designed two scenarios for the 7X: a large space for family cars comparable to MPVs, and a hardcore off-road sports experience.

An Conghui stated that most current pure electric SUVs often sacrifice longitudinal space in order to save energy by considering extreme aerodynamics. However, the ZEEKR 7X, with its non-sloping design and pure electric chassis advantage, maximizes space utilization, providing a rear seat experience comparable to an MPV.

On the other hand, against the backdrop of increasingly homogenized mainstream SUVs, ZEEKR has decided to enhance its off-road performance and escape capabilities. The 7X can compete head-to-head with hardcore off-road vehicles in terms of performance. An Conghui boldly stated, "Whether it's a cross-axis, an S slope, or a 45-degree hard soil climb, the 7X can handle it like walking on flat ground and easily escape."

On-paper specifications are not enough to unleash ZEEKR's ambitions. The ZEEKR 7X specifically went to the "Desert Everest" for testing, a challenge that only hardcore off-road vehicles dared to participate in before. "We hope the 7X will be like the Cayenne, with performance, safety, luxury, off-road capability, and passability," An Conghui said.

It is clear that ZEEKR is still the ZEEKR that likes to stand out on different tracks. The 7X is also exploring new demand scenarios to leverage or even create a niche market for SUVs. It will join the 007 and 001 to provide comprehensive coverage for ZEEKR in the 200,000-300,000 RMB market.

Good news quickly followed, as An Conghui revealed that after the ZEEKR 7X launch event, pre-orders broke a thousand units in just a few minutes, which slightly relieved him.

This year is a big year for this new force, with both the flagship ZEEKR 001 and niche two-door ZEEKR X, sedan ZEEKR 007 undergoing significant updates, and the flagship MPV ZEEKR 009 also having a right-hand drive version and entering the Hong Kong market From January to July this year, ZEEKR completed the delivery of 103,000 vehicles, averaging 14,700 vehicles per month. However, based on its annual target of 230,000 vehicles promised to investors this year, in order to smoothly meet the target, at least 25,400 vehicles need to be sold each month in the future.

Even with the upcoming launch of the household five-seater MPV model ZEEKR MIX, it may still be challenging for ZEEKR MIX to shoulder the heavy burden of sales in the MPV market in terms of market size. This puts a considerable pressure on the ZEEKR 7X model.

"I believe that the competition this year and next year may be the most intense. Everyone is trying to survive now. This market stage tests the ability of companies very strongly, and there is no room for error, otherwise we won't be able to survive the next stage," said An Conghui. He also mentioned that the sales target of 230,000 vehicles this year has not been adjusted.

Facing a KPI of over 100,000 vehicles in the second half of the year, and the ambitious goal of 650,000 vehicles by 2025 promised to the capital market, An Conghui and ZEEKR under his leadership still have many challenges ahead