"Many people don't understand why ZEEKR wants to create more luxurious products when everyone else is rolling up cheaper and cheaper?" said An Conghui, CEO of ZEEKR, at the launch conference of ZEEKR 009 on April 19. Just when a number of car companies rolled down the price, ZEEKR launched a pure electric MPV model with a price of up to 789,000 yuan - ZEEKR 009 Guanghui. Its selling price came directly to 789,000 yuan, which was 200,000 yuan higher than the top price of the old 009.
In China's auto market, there are not many self-owned brand models with a price of 800,000 yuan, and even fewer can sell well. Therefore, the glorious listing of ZEEKR 009 really made the outside world sweat for it. In this regard, An Conghui cited a set of data that in the high-end market with a price of more than 500,000 yuan in 2023, the year-on-year growth rate of MPV sales will be 67%, while the year-on-year growth rate of SUVs will be 2%, and the year-on-year growth rate of sedans will be -9%. Based on this market situation, An Conghui believes that the luxury MPV market is still promising. "ZEEKR wants to build ZEEKR 009 into a Rolls-Royce in the MPV of the intelligent electric era like creating a luxury product. An Conghui said.
In the creation of 009 brilliance, ZEEKR adheres to safety as the first standard for testing luxury, and the world premieres an integrated die-cast C-ring seat. According to reports, 009 Guanghui adopts a one-piece die-casting rear aluminum body, and the two rear seats are rigidly connected and fixed at the C point position with the highest stiffness on the overall large die-casting, and is connected with the entire body-in-white to form a complete C ring to form a full range of structural protection. In the crash test, two 1.4-ton (about 1.5 times the national standard) obstacle avoidance vehicles hit the side at a speed of 50km/h and left and right sides, and the deformation of the Zeekrypton 009 Brilliant C-type body structure was less than 3cm, which was only a quarter of the industry's excellent standard.
The 009 Brilliance is also equipped with the first type of airbag created by ZEEKR. Unlike traditional fixed airbags, the 009 Brilliant Portable Airbag is embedded in the rear seats. Among them, the "seat cushion with the type airbag" under the seat, with the integrated seat belt, can raise the seat cushion in the event of a collision, lift the passenger's legs and hips, with the integrated seat belt, reduce the risk of passengers slipping from the seat, the head and chest in the back of the seat with the shape of the side airbag, according to the passenger's lying angle, from 115 degrees to 155 degrees with the type of deployment, to provide effective protection for the head, neck, shoulders and chest and other important parts of the body.
For high-end travel users, privacy and security are equally important. ZEEKR and BOE jointly developed LC privacy dimming glass in the 009 Brilliant world premiere. The LC dimming glass can achieve the highest shading rate of 99.5% in the darkest state, and can be completely isolated from the outside world, which is the first in the industry. In addition, 009 Guanghui's "private smart curtain wall" can separate the front and rear cabins, the rear cabin camera can also be intelligently lifted, and the industry's only upper and lower double-layer electronic safes can be customized separately, which can be set separately, as well as the only "privacy mode" in the same class and the industry's first "non-marking mode".
At the same time, ZEEKR Brilliant also uses 3 800V to alleviate users' mileage and energy supply anxiety. The 009 Radiance is equipped with a full-stack 800V high-voltage system and a 108-degree ultra-fast charging 5C Kirin battery, with a CLTC range of 702km. Combined with the 800 kW V3 charging pile, the 009 Guanghui SoC can be charged from 10% to 80%, with a range of more than 500km. As of March 31, a total of 462 ZEEKR pole charging stations have been built, and more than 2,500 pole charging piles have been built. According to the plan, by the end of 2024, ZEEKR will form an ultra-fast charging 1,000 station layout, and the total number of pole charging piles will exceed 5,000.
In addition, ZEEKR 009 Brilliance is equipped with ZEEKR magic carpet dual-chamber air suspension. This technology connects the vehicle chassis domain and the intelligent driving domain, and uses the on-board active perception system, as well as perception and decision-making algorithms, to intelligently identify obstacles, realize millisecond-level adjustment of suspension soft and hard, and further optimize the driving experience.
In addition to the above-mentioned hardcore technology, ZEEKR is also carved in the details of 009 brilliance. For example, at the entrance on the right side of the passenger compartment, there is a metal porch vase, in cooperation with the world's top perfume brand IFF, to create an exclusive 009 glorious cabin fragrance, the seat is made of ultra-soft aniline leather, supporting 12-zone support and "massage therapy cart", and the largest door opening size in the class (1241mm) and the lowest floor clearance (792mm), allowing users to maintain elegance every time they enter and exit the cockpit.
Out of confidence in the product strength of 009 Guanghui, An Conghui said: "ZEEKR 009 Guanghui will end the unreasonable status quo of long-term sales of other luxury MPVs of the same level in China. "For a long time in the past, Buick GL8 has been the top seller in the domestic MPV market, and with the increase in the penetration rate of new energy, the MPV pattern in the domestic market has changed. Traditional joint venture MPVs such as Buick GL8 and Honda Odyssey have experienced growth difficulties, but independent new energy MPVs such as Denza D9, ZEEKR 009, and VOYAH Dreamer have started high growth.
Among them, Denza D9, VOYAH Dreamer, Xpeng X9 and other products are different, and the initial goal of ZEEKR 009 is to be a more high-end luxury MPV market of more than 500,000 yuan. Since its launch in November 2022, more than 22,000 units have been delivered in less than 16 months, making it the annual sales champion of all categories of MPVs with more than 500,000 yuan in 2023. Prior to this, the luxury MPV market of more than 500,000 yuan was basically monopolized by Toyota Alpha, Lexus LM and other models. Referring to the fact that MEGA died down immediately after its launch, ZEEKR 009 is not easy to achieve as a luxury pure electric MPV.
In 2023, with the combined efforts of the 001, 009 and X models, the annual sales of ZEEKR will be 118,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 65%. From January to March this year, the cumulative sales of ZEEKR were 33,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 117%. However, considering the limited capacity of the luxury MPV market, the arrival of 009 Glory can bring a limited increase in sales to Zeekr. The more important significance of this model is to set a benchmark and demonstrate the technical strength and product definition ability of ZEEKR. In ZEEKR's product system, 009 Brilliance plays a similar role to 001FR. Before the arrival of luxury MPVs from Huawei, JAC, Weilai and other car companies, ZEEKR has occupied a position advantage with the reputation of 009, and the luxury and advanced 009 brilliance will also become an unavoidable existence in the independent luxury MPV.