Image: Zeekr
Zeekr, a premium Chinese SUV brand, has launched a new EV which has some of the most innovative features yet seen in an electric car – including super fast charging, swivel seats, the removal of the traditional B pillars, and a new way of thinking about transport.
The new model, called the Mix, is derived from a Robotaxi vehicle the company has been working on for Google’s Waymo program, and hence the big leap in design concepts.
The Mix is a cross between an SUV and a people mover, with fast-charging technology that can charge the car from 10-80% in just 10.5 minutes. That’s faster than any car in Australia and is targeted towards families on the road.
It’s shorter than the Tesla Model Y, coming in at 4.69 metres, and yet it has a considerable amount of practical space on the inside. And it has a starting price equivalent to just under $A59,300 in its local market of China.
Getting into the Zeekr Mix is through an industry-first 1.48-metre wide entrance made possible with a dual sliding door and the removal of the traditional B-pillar.
This removal of the B-pillar can be perceived to compromise safety during side-impact tests but Zeekr insists it’s the opposite. It says the overall safety has been enhanced thanks to the hidden dual B-pillar design which is part of the sliding doors.
There are two ultra-high-strength steel pillars made from 2000 megapascal hot-formed steel and fortified with a unique manufacturing process before being integrated into doors. This process adds 30% more strength than the conventional hot-formed steel.
Featuring a cabin that allows you to face your passengers and turn it into an EV designed for families on the road and when they get to the destination. Thanks to the front row seat design, which can swivel 270 degrees.
Looking at the variants, the Zeekr Mix will be available in just two. Both will feature a rear-wheel drive powertrain with 310 kW of power and 440 Nm of torque. This helps get the Mix from 0–100 km/h in just 6.8 seconds.
That’s the base model with a 76 kWh Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) that can deliver up to 550 km of CLTC range. This is the same pack that’s been designed by Zeekr to fast charge at 10-80%.
Recent tests of this battery, which has been developed in-house by the company’s e-powertrain R&D team, have seen speeds of up to 472 kW at the company’s latest 800 kW fast chargers in China.
The second battery is the larger 102 kWh Nickel Manganese Cobalt (NMC) battery pack, offering a range of over 700 km on the CLTC cycle. This is likely to be closer to 500 km on the WLTP cycle.
Earlier this week, the first round of Zeekr Mix EVs rolled off the production line, and deliveries will start today.
Last week, the company launched the brand in Australia with the offer of test rides in Sydney of its Zeekr X SUV and a sneak peek into the upcoming luxury people mover that’s next to be coming to our market.
It would be interesting to see if the local arm has plans to bring the new Zeekr Mix in 2025 as we’re yet to see a vehicle as practically innovative as this one.
Riz 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.
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Zeekr 7X is the one I find exciting
It's exciting that people find the CONCEPT of EVs exciting. It makes me think that fossil fuels are rightly for the shit-can (the hazardous/highly-polluting shit-can) where they actually belong.
Make this AWD, and it would have to about perfect for Australian families.
I'd never buy a Zeeker.
Their CEO has a political opinion .
How terrible. What is it?
fight, fight, fight, vote, vote, vote?
Is it that one, or the other?
I know … “F the Colony!”
Buy more Teslas!
Make China Great Again?
Yeah people who link their car buying habits to the beliefs of the CEO are bonkers.
I never even knew or cared about who the CEO of the brand of my car was before I bought a Tesla anyway.
lol!!!
weird attempt at humour
Weird is actually trending.
Opinions are free and welcome. Active promotion and spending money earned from your customers pushing that opinion is a very different thing. It may not reflect the opinions of the customers. So therefore voting with your spending is very wise and in support of ones values. It is literally a form of freedom of expression. It is the most pure form of actions beyond words.
I don’t disagree
I agree as to the principles of it. As to the effectiveness of it, not so much!
I believe TSLA should be at least $100 higher than what it currently is!
Imagine buying a product from a company whose CEO is paying people to help that product fail! Sounds crazy doesn't it!
Yes, but is he a supreme narcissist with a strong authoritarian streak and an insane belief in his own BS?
Trumo?
(sorry) Trump?
When you're a CEO you'll know that a a political opinion = a sales strategy.
Armed with this knowledge you won't get fooled ever again (and hey that's one less barrier to you becoming a CEO).
It would be great if the range was more considering the battery size (same goes for many EV SUVs).
Also the range given is CLTC - which is about as good as NEDC (Not Even Darned Close) range.
You'd probably expect about 450km in real life.
I find that the most useful range figures are in the https://ev-database.org/ website, and you only need to see the Highway - Mild Weather range. Every other range figure is not as important as that.
Brilliant design for the select few who'll want that layout and will pay about AUD$80-100K for it. At least the range is getting close to the what Australians will want. Hope someone out there will buy the Canoe design...
I had a Renault Espace in the late 1980s which was a 3-row 7-seater with swivel front seats and all the other seats removable. No EV has come close to that level of practicality but the Zeekr Mix seems to be the nearest candidate yet.
They (the Chinese) have invented the "new reality" of mass transport. They don't have to invade Taiwan, they don't have to worry about Trump or his high US inflation risk tariffs. It's all over and done and dusted - they both produce and consume EVs like breakfast cereal!
Get ready for your next EV people, because that is THE future of transport. If you don't agree then ignore this new reality by getting completely drunk and having an affair with your PA like Barnaby did!