China’s Zeekr unveils the Rolls-Royce of people movers

Chinese luxury brand Zeekr has unveiled a top-end people-mover with four ‘business class-style’ reclining seats, a massive 31-speaker infotainment system, and category-first window technology that creates 10 levels of passenger privacy by clouding the glass in 1.5 seconds at the press of a button. 

The electric all-wheel-drive people mover has a claimed 0 to 100km/h time of 3.9 seconds, which would make it almost as quick as a Hyundai Ioniq 5 N hot hatch. 

The Zeekr 009 ‘Grand edition’ was unveiled in China overnight ahead of the 2024 Beijing Motor Show which opens this week. 

Zeekr Australia says the regular version of the Zeekr 009 is due in Australia late this year or early next year, when it will become one of the pioneering models for the brand locally. 

Pricing estimates for the Australian-bound versions of the regular Zeekr 009 are yet to be announced.

The price for the just-released top-end luxury Zeekr 009 Grand, as shown in this story, is listed at RMB 789,000 in China, which equates to $AU168,000 excluding Luxury Car Tax.

By way of comparison, the electric LDV Mifa 9 people mover – the closest rival to the Zeekr 009 Grand – costs close to $100,000. 

Meantime the most expensive people mover in the segment is the petrol-electric hybrid Lexus LM which costs from $160,000 to $220,000 depending on the model. 

For the tech heads, Zeekr says the 009 is equipped with two Qualcomm 8295 chips to operate the infotainment system, silicon-carbide-powered electric motors for instant power delivery, and the 800V electrical system uses CATL’s Qilin batteries.

The company claims a maximum driving range of 702 kilometres, though this is measured against a less stringent criteria (CLTC) than the global standard. Nevertheless it should offer real-world driving range of at least 500km.

Zeekr claims, on a fast charger, the 009 Grand can take in enough power to deliver 500km of range (CLTC standard) in 12 minutes. This would likely translate to about 350km real world driving range.

Check back with EFTM for more Zeekr news as the brand approaches its local launch.