Two years after introducing the brand in its homeland, Sweden, and EV forerunner The Netherlands, and one year later in Norway, Chinese-Swedish Zeekr is targeting Belgium as the next European country for its expansion.
In summer, together with the official launch of its luxury SUV 7X in Europe, the third model to come to the Old Continent, the Zeekr brand should appear in several showrooms in Belgium. Jens van Hambeeck (37) jumps over from Lotus Europe, another Geely daughter, to start as Zeekr Launch Manager for Belgium and Luxemburg.
Small country with big car market
One would say it’s kind of late to start the brand in Belgium, as this tiny country between the big ones, Germany and France, with 11.8 million inhabitants, happens to be the fifth biggest car market in the EU. The car market is more significant than in the Netherlands, but the Dutch were the first to embrace the new electric age.
Now, Belgium is among the top countries in Europe for EV sales growth due to its typical fleet market, which accounts for more than 65% of all new car sales. Belgium was also the first in Europe to make zero emissions for new company cars mandatory from 2026 onwards. So, electric car sales have become the majority in this market pretty soon when it comes to replacing the existing company car fleet.
Why wait so long?
So why did it take Zeekr so long to target that obvious market opportunity? According to Zeekr Europe’s Alessandro Massimino, a former Toyota Europe veteran living in Brussels but working in Amsterdam today, the answer was simple.
“Zeekr was developed in Sweden by the global design based in Gothenburg as a mainly European brand tailored to the European driving style. So it’s logical that homeland Sweden came first. The Netherlands and Norway, two countries with high EV adoption rates, were a logical next step. Once we established the brand in these countries, time was ripe for expansion.”
Next on the wish list for the summer of 2025 were Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland, and—a bit amazingly—also Greece. Big markets like France and Germany, which currently see the biggest dip in EV sales, will be announced later. The UK, currently a larger EV market than Germany, is also high on the wish list, but probably not before 2026.
The guy from Lotus
The guy who will have to make it happen in Belgium is Jens van Hambeeck, who just stepped over from that other European brand under the wings of Geely, Lotus, where he was for the last two years the Lotus
Before that, he served almost eight years at the Belgian Volkswagen importer D’Ieteren, the last two of which were as District Manager Volkswagen.
But he is a ‘car man’ all the way. He started his career with an internship at GM- Chevrolet, where he worked up to District Manager and a short intermezzo at Caterham Cars. He now has to start all over again, finding dealerships and setting up an entirely new team to introduce the Swedish-Chinese premium EV alternative in Belgium.
Interest among dealerships
According to Jens van Hambeeck, who started his new role last week, interest among existing dealerships—which don’t have to be of sister-brand Volvo, by the way—is relatively high, with several valid candidates.
He’s convinced by summer, several showrooms should be available in Belgium to see the Zeekr live. That’s on short notice. It should become a nationwide network, as Zeekr won’t rely on online-only sales only.
The launch in Belgium, which comes at the same time as the introduction of the large D-segment SUV Zeekr 7X in the existing European markets, is no coincidence, as these cars make up 15% of the (premium) market today.
New shooting brake coming
Zeekr, part of the Chinese Geely group, presented its flagship electric SUV in Europe in December 2024. The Zeekr 7X offers a range of up to 615 km, with ultra-fast charging thanks to an 800V architecture and a roomy, premium interior for a starting price of €52,990 in the Netherlands.
The Zeekr 7X is the third electric model from the Chinese premium brand to arrive in Europe, after the 001 shooting brake and the Zeekr X compact SUV. All built on the very flexible SEA platform, the latter one is the twin brother of the Volvo EX30 and half-brother of the Smart #1. The 7X slot is the top of the range, a 4,787 mm long SUV with space for up to five people.
In China, the Zeekr model range is broader, with seven variants. The Zeekr 007 GT will officially launch next week, at the fourth anniversary of the Zeekr brand. It’s the brand’s second shooting brake-style model. In Europe, that one will be rebranded without the James Bond-style number as the Zeekr 7 GT.
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