Zeekr, an Australian-bound EV brand has just unveiled the new model of its premium sedan 007, featuring industry leading fast charging tech, helping the car charge from 10-80% in 10.5 minutes.
The 2025 Zeekrās 007 sedan will be the first car in the company’s lineup to include this latest battery technology which is based on the Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) chemistry.
This pack is made up of prismatic cells and has faster charging times than Nickel Manganese Cobalt (NMC) chemistry batteries.
The company is calling the speeds achieved by the cell as being at 5.5C, and also shared a video of a charging session in which the 007 sedan reached maximum charging speed of 472 kW at the company’s latest 800 kW fast chargers.
This latest technology is thanks to development done in-house by the company’s e-powertrain R&D team.
@LudicrousFeed @Rizflip https://t.co/tKMARFqTna
— Rahul Prasad (@rahul_prasad74) August 14, 2024
Over in China, Zeekr has opened over 500 ultra-fast charging sites with 2700 DC fast chargers that provide ultrafast charging to 800 V cars like the Zeekr 007.
The company plans to increase that to over 1,000 sites in 2024 and has a goal to operate over 10,000 fast chargers by 2026.
It’s unclear if Zeekr will bring fast charging sites to other markets but if they do, the demand for such infrastructure will be very well received in markets like Australia.
Other new features in the upgraded 007 includes an upgraded autonomous driving package which customers can use from September this year.
Some of the fastest charging cars available in Australia are found in Hyundai and Kia EV lineup. They are capable of charging 10-80% in 18 minutes. The new batteries in the Zeekr 007 are considerably faster at charging than those seen in cars like Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6.
The original Zeekr 007 was launched less than 12 months ago with impressive technology while the new model takes things up a notch.
The 2025 Zeekr 007 will begin customer deliveries in China next week with a starting price of under $A45,000.
While the brand is starting it’s local model line up in Australia with the Zeekr X, technology seen in this 007 sedan is likely to arrive in the form of the newly unveiled Zeekr 7X SUV model.
That model is expected to be launched in both Chinese and international markets over the next 12 months and forms a key shift for the brand to target a more mainstream customer base.
With charging speeds in LFP batteries like the pack found in the 007 sedan coming to models in 2025, weāre likely to see these in models heading to Australia.
This will help reduce range anxiety for some while ensuring quicker charging stops while driving further.
Now to the other side of the world where an undercover Zeekr autonomous vehicle (AV) has been spotted being testing in California.
Photos of the AV were shared by Tesla and EV enthusiast, theklwts on X which shows the vehicle driving on the streets in San Francisco.
It’s believed to be for Google backed AV company who have traditionally used highly modified Jaguar I-pace and other vehicles.
The vehicle is in the people mover style of body with multiple radars and cameras spotted on it.
This very well is under the testing phase and it’s unclear when these official Zeekr supplied vehicles will go in service under the Waymo umbrella.
Oh hi @ZEEKRGlobal/@Waymo pic.twitter.com/nlkSyu45fB
— The Kilowatts šā”ļø (@klwtts) August 12, 2024
RizĀ is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.