Zeekr launches in third European country: Norway

After Sweden and the Netherlands, Chinese-Swedish EV brand Zeekr – sister brand to Volvo and Lynk & Co – is opening sales in Norway, a European forerunner and one of the world’s most developed EV markets. In September, 96.4% of all new car registrations in the country were fully electric vehicles.

The Zeekr 001 shooting brake and Zeekr X compact SUV will be available to order later this month. The 001 starts at 579,900 kroner (€49,160), and the X at 424,900 kroner (€36,024). The first customer deliveries will take place by the end of this year.

Zeekr had also announced earlier in September 2023 the start of pre-sales of the Zeekr 001 and Zeekr X in Germany and the opening of the first Zeekr store by mid-2024, when vehicle deliveries would begin. But no further word or move in Germany since then.

Three flavors

Like in Sweden and the Netherlands, Zeekr will offer the 001 in Norway in three flavors: the 400kW (544 hp), dual-motor all-wheel drive Performance, and Privilege models with a 100 kWh battery pack and a range of up to 620 km (WLTP). There is also the single-motor rear-wheel drive Long Range version, which can travel up to 620 km (WLTP).

The Zeekr X has dual motors, an all-wheel drive, and a Privilege version featuring 315kW (428 hp) and 543 Nm of torque. Its 69 kWh lithium-ion battery gives it an average range of around 400 km. The rear-wheel drive version with a single 200 kW (272 hp) motor gets 446 km out of the same battery pack.

Key EV market

For Zeekr, Norway is a crucial EV market where more than 96% of new car sales are electric. “For this, Zeekr has developed a hand-picked retailer network across the country, ensuring a seamless experience for customers from test drives and configuration to orders and services,” the company states.

“Partners in the network, opening in October, will start with Premium Cars Store-Oslo, followed by dealerships in other major cities. A network of Zeekr-authorized service centers and workshops will complement these.”

In December 2023, Zeekr delivered its first electric car in Europe, an Electric Blue Zeekr 001 AWD Privilege, to a Dutch client in Amsterdam, where the company has its headquarters. European boss Spiros Fotinos handed over the keys.

Pre-orders opened in the Netherlands and Sweden on 28 June 2023, and at that time, the company said it intended to extend its European presence to six other countries in 2024 and eight countries by 2025.

No movement in Germany?

The first markets to follow were Norway, Germany, Denmark, and France. But only Norway came into the picture. Meanwhile, the EU has added import tariffs for Chinese EVs, with Geely’s daughter brands eligible for 18.8% on top of the 10% import tax applied before. That might have tempered Zeekr’s expansion drive in the EU-27.

According to Chinese media, Zeekr delivered 142,873 vehicles worldwide in January-September 2024, up 80.79 percent year-on-year. Since Zeekr began delivering vehicles in October 2021 in China, the brand had sold over 170,000 cars by the end of 2023 of three currently available models: the Zeekr 001, the Zeekr X urban SUV, and the Zeekr 009 MPV.

Zeekr launched its flagship electric SUV, the 7X, in China last September. That one inherits the 007 sedan’s and the Smart #5’s optimized PMA2+ platform, which gives it an extremely high range of 780 km and ultra-quick charging times.