Eventually, it was to become Lynk & Co’s first fully electric model. Still, after reconsideration, it was labeled ‘too good’ to resist the temptation to put it on the market as a new premium brand: the Zeekr 001. Not to be expected this year in Belgium, but ready for Sweden and the Netherlands, we got the opportunity to drive the preproduction model in Gothenburg.

When we blend into the Gothenburg traffic, we notice the 4,97 meter-long, sleek-looking Zeekr 001 shooting brake with similar design clues to the Lynk & Co 001 doesn’t make the Swedes turn their head. It’s not a dazzling sports car at first sight, although the underlying ‘powerhouse’ with 400 kW or a classic 544 horses and 686 Nm of torque is an inviting prospect.

German premium brands

This first Zeekr is not a showy luxury car either, although it offers all the comfort you can dream of, and the ambitions are clearly to be a luxury premium brand. An alternative to other Chinese competitors like NIO or HiPhy, trying to poach part of that market in Europe.

Zeekr hopes to make things hot for German premium brands like Audi, BMW, or Mercedes, and why not Porsche? The man to make this happen as CEO was found in Brussels at Toyota Motor Europe (TME). Spiros Fotinos was director for Lexus Europe and EV planning from 2019 to 2022. He should know the tricks of the trade.

He’s pretty self-confident when we ask him whether Zeekr won’t be hindered by competing in the first place with Geely’s other premium brands, Volvo or Polestar. Unlike a Japanese giant like Toyota, where decisions are made slowly in a strict hierarchy, he says, Chinese Geely encourages its brands to spread their wings independently to grab opportunities.

Inelasticity versus flexibility

It’s one of the reasons why this particular car, designed to become Lynk & Co’s first electric model, was decided to split off as a separate new premium brand, Zeekr. Lynk & Co instead wants to focus on its quite revolutionary subscription and sharing business model in Europe. And for this purpose, CEO Alain Visser believes a PHEV was better suited to start.

The ‘freedom of choice’ is confirmed by another ‘defector‘ from TME, an Italian engineer who still lives in Brussels but works in Gothenburg now. He says the inelasticity of the Japanese car industry made him look for new ‘EV’ challenges elsewhere, passing by Iveco’s electric trucks in Italy to land in Sweden with the new Zeekr.

It’s no secret Toyota, and its luxury brand Lexus weren’t keen on going fully electric as long as Akio Toyoda held the helm. The latter stepped down in April this year, succeeded by Koji Sato, until then COO of the group and president of the Lexus brand and the motorsport subsidiary Gazoo Racing. Sato is convinced the company needs to move faster to compete with the Chinese.

More European than Chinese

At the Geely brands’ headquarters in Gothenburg, the culture is more European than the Chinese ownership would suggest. Lynk & Co and Zeekr share an entirely new campus in the harbor, with joint engineering and design housed in the same buildings.

Now 550 people are working there for the two brands, with two separate design teams of 110 people and 31 nationalities. Swedish are most represented, with Chinese, German, and French following. Mostly young people, with an average age of 34, 55% even under that age. A deliberate choice to add new blood and fresh ideas to the car business.

800 engineers for the development

Next to them, some 800 engineers are working at the CEVT (China Euro Vehicle Technology AB). That was founded in 2013 to provide product development support to car brands within the Geely Holding Group.

They worked on the CMA platform shared by the Volvo XC40, C40, and Lynk & Co 001. Or the new SEA platform the Zeekr 001 and the Zeekr X use, as the Volvo EX30 and the Smart #1 also do within the group. While the underpinnings are the same, the different brands have the freedom to shape the body and add specific technology.

Here in Gothenburg, the cars for Europe are fine-tuned for the Old Continent specifically. Europeans like a more sporty style for chassis tuning, compared to the Chinese, who prefer comfort, as Americans do.

620 km range

So we’re looking forward to trying out what that means in the Zeekr 001. The cars for the press to test are still preproduction models, so fine-tuning isn’t finished yet, and some technologies, like the 21 ADAS driver aid systems, are not activated while awaiting homologation.

The first version we drive is the ‘basic’ Long Range model equipped with a single motor in the rear axle. It’s advertised to be capable of driving 620 km (WLTP) on a single charge. We can’t prove that on a roughly 200 km test drive on winding Swedish country roads.

But the power consumption of 18.2-18.5 kWh/100km is quite feasible without being extremely careful. On Swedish roads with speed limits constantly switching between 40, 50, and 70 km/hour, that’s relatively easy to accomplish.

Digging into menus

It doesn’t mean this basic Zeekr is a snail, with 200 kW (272 hp) and 343 Nm of torque available, an acceleration time of 7,2 seconds from 0-100 km/hour, and a top speed of 200 km/hour. You never feel the car gasping for breath despite its 2,2-ton curb weight. And like most electric cars, the continuous available maximum torque makes it light on its feet, compared to ICE cars.

It takes some digging into menus on the central 15,4-inch touch screen to find the driving modes ‘Normal, ECO and Sport’, as this car has extremely few ‘physical’ buttons. But consumption remains under 22 kWh/100 km on average, even when pushed in the most agile mode.

With the standard 100 kWh lithium-ion NMC battery from CATL, range anxiety disappears like snow in summer. Fast charging up to 200 kW promises 10-80% in 30 minutes. With a 22 kW wall box at home or work, 0-100% should take no longer than five and a half hours.

Tuned for European roads

Underneath this  ‘basic’ version, which will retail at €59 490 (incl. VAT) in the Netherlands, the suspension is a classic double wishbone in the front, integral link in the rear with coil springs and passive dampers.

The engineers in Gothenburg did a fine job tuning it to European taste, as the Zeekr 001 shows to be agile and comfortable simultaneously, ensuring a smooth and very relaxed drive at all times on curvy Swedish roads. Especially when you opt for a ‘one-pedal’ drive, needing only to use the throttle.

The Zeekr 001 Privilege, the top model, is another kind of breed. It combines active air suspension and electronically controlled dampers to deliver a cushion-soft comfort drive upon the sporty agility you might expect on a racing track.

Blazing fast

This one is blazing fast, with its two electric motors generating 200 kW (272 hp) and 343 Nm of instant torque each. Rocket-fast acceleration from 0 to 100 km in merely 3,8 seconds without the need for launch control. It’s not as fast as a Tesla Model S Plaid (2,9 seconds) but quite competitive to today’s classic hypercars with combustion engines and gearboxes.

The Zeekr 001 doesn’t look like a sports car, but with its low-drag profile and sophisticated electronically controlled suspension, it surely drives like one. The ‘penalty’ in the range is reasonable: still 580 km. That’s only 50 km less than the 2WD version if you keep it civilized on the road.

Zeekr claims outstanding driving dynamics, proven by setting four Guinness World Records for EVs, including the fastest drift and slalom. And yes, it can be fun to drive. That suspension also offers up to 83 mm of ride height adjustment and, with the 4WD, some off-road capabilities simultaneously. You don’t expect a sleek shooting brake like this to be able to wade through rivers up to 450 mm deep, like an SUV, for instance. We weren’t allowed to test that, but it is possible.

Spartan interior looks

The modern, Spartan interior does not harm the ambition to be a luxury car. There is little you will miss. When testing your driving skills, we presume you won’t be using the extra massage functions of the – already in a standard version very well supporting –  heated and cooled 12-way electrically powered front seats. In the back, on the rear seats, leg room is exceptional, by the way.