Geely establishes 4th sub-brand, reveals Zeekr 001 EV

Having founded Geometry, Lifan and Maple sub-brands, Geely still felt like having another carmaker name around. Meet Zeekr Smart Technology Co. and its first creation, a liftback named Zeekr 001.

The reasoning behind the badge is as follows. The first two letters stand for ‘Zero Emission’, the third one means ‘Electric Evolution Era’ all at once, and ‘kr’ stands for ‘krypton’ for whatever marketing-dictated reason. Here, the imagination power of whoever made this up must have run out, because the first model is laconically named ‘001’.

The production car is a direct descendant of the Lynk & Co Zero Concept that debuted last September (see video). It sports only minimal changes, such as slide-out door handles. The liftback is 4,950 mm (16.24 feet) long with 2,999 mm (9.84 feet) between the axles.

Interior highlights include a heads-up display, an 8.8-inch digital dash screen, and a 15.4-inch touch-enabled multimedia screen. Hardware controls are few and far between: even the steering wheel boasts sensor buttons.

Technical specifications remain largely unknown. The EV uses a platform known as the Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA). Designed by Geely specifically for battery cars, it is fast enough to reach 100 km/h (60 mph) in under four seconds. The battery should be good enough for 700 kilometers (435 miles) of range according to an admittedly liberal and outdated NEDC measurement standard. Suspension should be adjustable within the limits of 150–220 mm of ground clearance (5.9 – 8.6 inches).

Zeekr will bring the 001 to the Auto Shanghai show scheduled for mid-April and will start production in the third quarter of the year. Later on, the marque expects to introduce one new model every year.