Zeekr is offering a 140-kWh Qilin Battery option for the single-motor version of the Zeekr 001, but it is limited to just 1,000 units and will cost consumers an additional RMB 103,000.
(Image credit: Zeekr)
Zeekr, Geely's premium electric vehicle brand, today officially makes the 2023 Zeekr 001 available, with the same exterior but with many detail updates and CATL's Qilin Battery available as an option.
Zeekr continues to offer four base versions of the Zeekr 001, including two WE Editions, one ME Edition and one YOU Edition.
The two WE Editions are powered by 100 kWh and 86 kWh battery packs with CLTC ranges of 741 km and 546 km, respectively. The former is a single-motor rear-wheel drive version and the latter is a dual-motor all-wheel drive version with 0-100 km/h acceleration times of 6.9 seconds and 3.8 seconds, respectively.
Both the ME and YOU Editions are equipped with a 100-kWh battery pack and are both two-motor all-wheel drive versions with a CLTC range of 656 km and a 0-100 km/h acceleration time of 3.8 seconds.
It is worth noting that the 2023 Zeekr 001 has gone up in price for the two lower-priced versions, despite a Zeekr executive saying in a November interview with local media that the brand would not be making price adjustments.
The starting price for both WE Editions of the Zeekr 001 is now RMB 300,000 ($43,500), slightly higher than the previous RMB 299,000.
Prices for the ME and YOU Editions remain unchanged at RMB 349,000 and 386,000 respectively.
China previously offered subsidies for new energy vehicle (NEV) purchases, but only if the vehicle cost less than RMB 300,000 or if the vehicle supported battery swap. The policy expired on December 31.
The Zeekr 001 was previously priced with the subsidy in mind, allowing consumers to purchase the WE Editions of the vehicle with a subsidy of more than RMB 10,000.
Zeekr has added orange, black and blue exterior color options for the 2023 Zeekr 001, as well as a sport package option.
The optional Z-Sport package costs RMB 35,000, but is only available for the YOU Edition with the 100 kWh battery pack.
Zeekr also offers a performance wheelset package for the ME Edition with the 100-kWh battery pack and the YOU Edition with the 100 kWh battery pack for RMB 19,000.
In addition to these options, Zeekr offers a 140-kWh Qilin Battery option for the single-motor WE version with the 100-kWh pack, which allows the CLTC to reach a range of 1,032 km.
However, the Qilin Battery option is limited to only 1,000 units, and consumers will have to pay an additional RMB 103,000.
This means that the Zeekr 001 with a range of over 1,000 km will start at RMB 403,000.
On December 19, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released several documents in which the Zeekr 001 with a range of 1,032 kilometers was included.
The information shows that the battery pack has an energy density of 200 Wh/kg and weighs 727±21 kg. The vehicle weighs 2,345 kg and consumes 14.9 kWh per 100 km in CLTC conditions.
CATL unveiled the Qilin Battery, or CTP (cell to pack) 3.0 battery, on June 23, claiming to bring a new level of battery system integration.
The Qilin Battery allows volume utilization to exceed 72 percent and energy density to reach 255Wh/kg, supporting a vehicle range of 1,000km, the company said at the time.
On August 27, CATL announced that Zeekr will be the first vehicle brand in the world to use CATL's Qilin Battery and that the Zeekr 009 MPV will be the first vehicle in the world to be powered by the Qilin Battery.
The Zeekr 001 will use an ultra-long-range version of the Qilin Battery and will be the world's first production model to carry the 1,000-kilometer range Qilin Battery, CATL said at the time.
Deliveries of the Zeekr 009 with the Qilin Battery are expected to begin in the first quarter of 2023, while the Zeekr 001 with the battery will be available in the second quarter of 2023, Zeekr said later.
Zeekr delivered a record 11,337 vehicles in December, bringing full-year 2022 deliveries to 71,941 vehicles, data released earlier today showed.
