Not long ago, a screenshot of the high-speed endurance test result was widely circulated on social media.
This is a horizontal evaluation of the battery life of a product of the same level launched by a media after the official launch of Xiaomi SU7. The conclusion presented in the figure is that the Xiaomi SU7 Max has a range of 643km and a range achievement rate of 79.4%, while the ZEEKR 001 YOU Edition, one of the "control groups", has a range of 406.7km and a range achievement rate of only 62.0%, ranking almost the bottom among many models participating in the test.
Some people ridiculed that ZEEKR fell behind at the beginning of this "battle of the century" with Xiaomi, which is not a good sign; some people questioned that there were many unscientific and rigorous places in the test process, with obvious tendencies, which led to poor test results of ZEEKR.
In this regard, ZEEKR reacted quickly, no longer passively accepting external voices, but taking the initiative to respond to doubts with strength.
On April 9th, an event called "ZEEKR Circle of Friends Visit" attracted widespread attention on the Internet, and the event organized ZEEKR executives and a number of media people to jointly test the battery life, driving two new ZEEKR 001 and ZEEKR 007 from Hangzhou ZEEKR Building, and finally arrived at the headquarters of Hefei University of Science and Technology, and passed the live broadcast of the public test.
This frank and real live broadcast not only played a "positive view" effect on the current mixed tripartite test, but also made the outside world begin to re-examine this car brand that focuses on the forward-looking technology of intelligent electric mobility and creates the ultimate travel experience for users, as well as the strong systematic strength behind it and the "self-cultivation" to cope with the hustle and bustle of the outside world.
01
ZEEKR's "3 x 800V"
In the more than 10 hours of live broadcast, the performance of the new ZEEKR 001 and ZEEKR 007 continued to surprise the outside world. After actual testing, the actual cruising range of the all-new ZEEKR 001 is 586 kilometers, with a range achievement rate of 83%, and the actual cruising range of ZEEKR 007 is 689.8 kilometers, with a range achievement rate of nearly 90%.
Such results fully confirm the strong endurance of 001 and 007, and also "slap in the face" the wrong judgment of the current market for ZEEKR. More importantly, ZEEKR did not step into the trap of "self-proof" when many auto brands clarified negative news, but responded in a smarter and more straightforward way, so that the market's attention was really focused on the outstanding product strength of ZEEKR.
ZEEKR has the capital to do so.
As we all know, 800V is a new technology in the field of electric vehicles in the past two years, and it is also the "highlight" of many new cars on the market. But if you look closely, you will find that the 800V advertised by many car brands is often "isolated", either not reaching the real 800V in terms of actual utility, or does not have the corresponding hardware support.
In contrast, ZEEKR is the only car brand in the world with 800V full ecological solutions, namely 800V large-capacity power batteries, 800V pole charging piles and the largest 800V energy replenishment network, which truly solves users' range and range anxiety.
Taking ZEEKR 007 as an example, under the 800V architecture, the range of ZEEKR 007 equipped with gold brick battery can reach up to 688 km, and the range increased by more than 500 km after 15 minutes of charging, and the maximum range of ZEEKR 007 equipped with Lin battery is 870 km, ranking first in the world in pure electric range among mass-produced mid-level cars.
At the same time, compared with ternary lithium batteries with the same performance, the cost of gold brick batteries can also be reduced by 14.8% per kilowatt-hour, providing users with a better battery life experience at a lower price.
With the battery, the corresponding charging infrastructure naturally has to keep up. From the beginning of the establishment of the brand, ZEEKR has continued to cultivate in extreme charging. In 2021, the Extreme Charge V1 was mass-produced, with a peak power of 360kW per gun, and in 2022, the Extreme Charge V2 was mass-produced, becoming the world's first mass-produced 600kW fully liquid-cooled charging pile. In April this year, the first station of Extreme Charge V3 was officially completed, with a maximum output voltage of 1000V, a maximum output current of 800A, and a peak power of 800kW for a single gun, ranking first in the world.
Up to now, ZEEKR has 900 self-built charging stations and 5,490 piles, of which 2,483 are extremely charged that meet the ultra-fast charging standard (approximately equal to 360kW), which is the largest 800V energy replenishment network and the largest in terms of ownership.
According to the plan, ZEEKR will also hit the layout of 1,000 stations in 2024 and reach the number of ultra-fast charging 10,000 piles in 2026.
02
System empowerment and collaborative innovation
A very important reason why ZEEKR can have such outstanding technology and product strength is also the system strength.
At present, with the intensification of competition and unprecedented involution of smart electric vehicles, rapid evolution and iteration have gradually become the main theme of the market. Mapping to the automotive industry chain, the core proposition of car companies is to build their own comprehensive system strength. Only with comprehensive system strength and a complete industrial chain of vertical integration can we always maintain a dominant position in the forest of competition. From Apple to Tesla, from consumer electronics to car manufacturing, countless cases have proven this.
Specifically, it is reflected in ZEEKR, which has both vertical industrial synergy, horizontal ecological synergy, and the blessing of the global pattern.
Take the 800V gold brick battery as an example. Its birth was not a day's work, but more than 1,000 R&D engineers and nearly 100 industry experts of the ZEEKR battery team, which took 3 years to polish. It is also inseparable from the strong three-dimensional integration of ZEEKR's global strategy, global R&D, and global models, forming a dual cycle at home and abroad. It is understood that the global R&D team of ZEEKR has more than 6,000 people, and through mutual empowerment with global technology partners, in-depth co-creation, and jointly explore the functional form of the next generation of intelligent vehicles.
In addition, ZEEKR is also the first independent brand in China to build its own die-casting workshop, and has established the world's first integrated die-casting L4 intelligent production line for large-scale structural parts.
It can be seen that in the seemingly independent and seemingly single thing of battery supply, there are actually comprehensive considerations such as the synergy of the entire system, standardization, and innovative processes behind it.
Some industry insiders believe that with a strong comprehensive system force, ZEEKR has formed a complete closed loop from the vehicle end to the charging network and then to the battery, realizing the deep empowerment of the whole link of the car and forging a rare full value chain advantage in the industry. The effective collaboration and innovation of internal systems is the key to "stand out" in this round of endurance performance battle.
03
The "next step" of ZEEKR
Looking back, the market performance of ZEEKR 001 and ZEEKR 007 is very good. At present, the monthly and cumulative sales of the two models have successively won the first and second place in the sales list of more than 200,000 Chinese pure electric models, among which ZEEKR 001 dominates the list of more than 250,000 Chinese pure electric vehicles.
In a customer experience value research report released by J.D. Power, a global consumer insight and market research institute in August last year, the ZEEKR brand topped the list of Chinese brands with a high score of 792. Even if we focus on a longer-term range, from 10,000 units, 50,000 units, 100,000 units to 200,000 units, ZEEKR is the fastest car brand.
It can be seen that for products with excellent performance and outstanding quality such as ZEEKR, the market and consumers never hesitate to express their recognition and expectations, and the eyes of the masses are always bright.
If it is said that in the era of fuel vehicles, consumers' choice of vehicles is closely related to the brand, then in the new automobile era, the excellent performance of core technologies and products must be in a higher position. This is precisely the advantage of ZEEKR.
At the same time, up to now, in addition to Chinese mainland, Zeekr has entered a total of 20+ international mainstream markets such as Sweden, the Netherlands, Israel, Kazakhstan, etc., and gradually started operation. This year, ZEEKR will continue to carry out business planning in 50 international mainstream markets around the world, such as Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
It is foreseeable that with the further advancement of ZEEKR's globalization strategy, ZEEKR will also affect a broader market range, so that more people can enjoy the benchmark-level product strength brought by the efficient empowerment of ZEEKR system.