It's not entirely new. We have talked in the past about the Zeekr 001. Soon, this electric car will go on sale in our region, and for a segment that is constantly changing, the car adds, among its many new features, a new battery capable of instant recharging. In fact, the video we showed reveals what's coming… a power record!
Chinese electric cars are developing rapidly and improving at an incredible pace. The latest example is the Zeekr 001, a large electric sedan sold in China and several European countries, which recently received a major update.
On the program: improved driving aids, a new panoramic roof, and new batteries that can be recharged in the blink of an eye. A video clip posted by Zeekr on Weibo It confirms the theory and seizes the opportunity to break the power record, overthrowing... another Chinese electric car, the Li Auto Mega.
Peak 546.4 kW
Let's get to the point: The Geely Zeekr 001 recharged from 10 to 80% in 11 minutes and 28 seconds. It's exceptional, however, that the Li Auto Mega is still (slightly) ahead in several parameters.
In fact, charging takes less time (10 minutes and 36 seconds), while at the same time recovering more capacity: + 66.5 kWh for the Zeekr compared to + 72 kWh for the Li Auto. Finally, the load curve is more controlled: at 80%, the Zeekr is able to accept 250 kilowatts, compared to 309 kilowatts in the Li Auto.
Where the Zeekr 001 outperforms the Li Auto Mega is in maximum power. While the Li Auto has a power of 521 kilowatts, the Zeekr has a power of (very precisely) 546.4 kilowatts. This is enough to recover 2047 km per hour from charging with this power!
Let's face it, these two electric cars offer values that almost everyone else in this segment can only dream of, and the differences are only marginal.
Thanks to the battery...and the charging network
There are two factors responsible for this result: the battery and the charging point to which the Zeekr 001 is connected.
As for the battery, we are talking about the Shenxing battery from CATL, the world's leading battery company – which is also equipped with an improved version of the Xiaomi SU7.
Unlike Xiaomi Zeekr is entitled to an 800V build with this batteryWhich explains these very good results - with Shenxing, but at 400V, the Xiaomi SU7 should be satisfied with 10 to 80% in 30 minutes.
The other responsible party is of course the station. Zeekr used its own 800 kilowatt charging point. The brand is installing charging points across China, similar to Tesla Superchargers: its goal is to have 1,000 stations in China by the end of 2024.
When will this electric car arrive in Portugal?
Portugal is still unknown. What is already known is that the “old” version of this Zeekr 001 is already available in several European countries, and a brand manager told us that the Zeekr will arrive in France at the end of 2024.
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