After the 001 and 009, Zeekr is working on the development of a new electric car, the Zeekr 003. This then takes the form of a still heavily camouflaged compact SUV designed for launch in Europe. Expected for the next few months, this should excite the Renault Mégane E-Tech and other Volkswagen ID.3.
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If you haven’t heard of Zeekr before, that should change soon. Because the Chinese firm, which is part of the Geely group along with Volvo, Lotus and Lynk & Co, is on its way to becoming essential in the automotive market. If for the moment it is only marketed in its native country, it should not take longer for it to invade Europe as well, in the same way as BYD, Nio or even Xpeng. This does not stop worrying specialists.
A model designed for Europe
Last November, the company created in 2021 formalized its 009, a large high-end van that will soon be available in a version designed in collaboration with Volvo for the Chinese market. A few months later, in early January, it was the turn of the Zeekr 001, a large electric sedan rival to Tesla’s Model 3, to unveil its detailed and very promising technical specifications in a new version with a 1,000 km range.
But the manufacturer obviously does not intend to stop there, especially since it plans to develop on the European market. For that, you need more than a sedan and a huge truck, which probably won’t make the trip to us. This is how Zeekr has just published a series of fake spy photos broadcast by the site mobile home showing off his next model. This one takes the name 003 and is still heavily camouflaged.currently in the testing phase on European roads.
With a colorful body that makes it difficult to read lines, this new compact SUV seems to show a front quite close to 001, reminiscent of what Lynk & Co. already offers. Logical when we know that both brands belong to the same group. Therefore, we find similar upright optics, topping a thin light band at the front. The design of the car seems to have been worked on to ensure optimal aerodynamics, with, among other things, handles integrated into the body.
Note, however, that theThe SUV has real mirrors, not cameras.. At the rear, it is distinguished by lights with a very particular and modern design, later taking the form of a simple light strip. Anyway, we notice what looks like vertical reflectors a bit further down. This new Zeekr 003 should have a length of about 4.38 meters, 11 centimeters more than the Smart #1, one of its main rivals.
Up to 1,000 kilometers?
The wheelbase should measure 2.75 meters, which should comfortably accommodate passengers. No photo of the cockpit has been revealed yet, but it could look like the one on the Zeekr 001 with its 14.7-inch touch screen and 8.8-inch digital phone. However, we will have to wait before we know more about this.
No data has been revealed on the technical sheet of this future Zeekr 003, which could very well take over from the engine of its older sister. As a reminder, it is available in several versions, including autonomy varies between 546 and 1,032 kilometers on a single charge according to the Chinese CLTC cycle. The latter is then much more optimistic than our WLTP, and you have to take around 15% from it, which gives a maximum of about 850 to 900 kilometres.
The electric SUV could then be equipped with the Qilin CTP 3.0 battery developed by the Chinese giant CATL. using technology cell to packet with cells integrated into the chassis, the 001 has a capacity of 100 kWh to 140 kWh. A rival to Tesla’s 4680 battery, it could be recharged in 10 minutes at a fast terminal delivering far more than the 360 kW currently available in France. Perhaps this is possible with Nio’s 500 kW terminals currently under development.
This new Zeekr 003 should see the light of day in the coming months, after being unveiled at the Shanghai Auto Show next April. It will first be sold in China before coming to Europe a bit later. Thus, it should compete head-on with the Renault Mégane E-Tech and the Volkswagen ID.3, but also with the MG 4 and its unbeatable price in the segment.
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