Geely’s first premium electric vehicle has just started full-scale production yesterday, with the Zeekr 001 rolling off the production line at a special ceremony.
The Zeekr 001 is also the first vehicle to be manufactured at the new Zeekr Intelligent Factory in Ningbo, China. This new vehicle manufacturing facility is one of the most advanced to date thanks to a 5G+ system that allows for agile and transparent production management. Key areas such as the welding section are fully automated with over 300 robots performing the task with limited human intervention.
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In addition, the Zeekr production process allows for continuous self-optimisation, ensuring the quality of each Zeekr vehicle. Take the welding line as an example, monitoring systems such as glue application visual guidance, online measurement and ultrasonic self-inspection uses intelligent self-adaptation to continually improve the welding process.
Since the initial launch in April 2021, the development team at Geely and Zeekr have also improved the vehicle, now upgraded with better Over The Air (OTA) communications to better improve the Zeekr Assisted Drive system, where the car will keep updating to adapt to the latest software technologies for the best mobility experience.
To recap, the Zeekr 001 is underpinned by Geely’s latest Sustainable Electric Architecture (SEA) platform that promises to be cost-efficient, high performance as well as modular. The Zeekr 001 is not a medium-sized car, in which Geely places it in the larger Sport E-segment, with dimensions similar to the BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class.
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The range-topping Zeekr 001 ‘YOU’ variant features all the technical highlights on the SEA platform such as a dual-motor setup and a large 100 kWh battery pack. Total system output is 400 kW or 544 hp and 768 Nm of torque, capable of sending the sporty fastback from standstill to 100 km/h in just 3.8 seconds. The driving range is circa 600 km under the older NEDC test cycle.
In China, the pricing of the Zeekr 001 starts from around CNY299,000 (approx. RM194k) which is slightly more than a Tesla Model 3 base with has been strategically priced at CNY251,800 (approx. RM163k).
Successful customers who have placed their fees for the Zeekr 001 when the order books first opened at the end of July 2021 will be able to take their new car from this weekend, but Zeekr and Geely have a very long list of orders to fulfil due to strong demand as well as being affected by the semiconductor chip shortage.
Retail expansion is also set to coincide with the deliveries, with Hangzhou and Tianjin Zeekr Space’s opened last month and 10 more to come online within weeks.
GALLERY
Zeekr 001 at Ningbo Intelligent Factory
Zeekr 001
