Electric car maker Zeekr to target luxury market to stand apart from other Chinese brands

Zeekr is looking to stay away from a price race to the bottom of the market as a way to distance itself from other Chinese electric car brands such as BYD and GWM.

As the Chinese manufacturer plans to launch its first product – a small electric SUV dubbed the X – in Australia later in the year, Zeekr Australia Head of Marketing Andrew Haurissa told media at the Electric SUV Expo in Melbourne that an upmarket appeal will be a key differentiator, as opposed to chasing sales figures.

“We will be playing in the premium field. I think the number of Chinese vehicles that you’ve seen in the market so far has been volume-related. Our focus is more around [the] future and figuring out the EV landscape together with Australians and with all new schemes and future mandates, we want to be part of that.

“You’ll see once you peruse and play with our models around me that you’ll understand the difference as well in terms of quality and technology.”

However, despite its ambitions to be high-end, Zeekr Australia’s Head of Product, Chris Saltapidas said the brand is looking to offer a competitive price that could undercut other manufacturers in the market.

“I think what we’ll find is being a premium player, we’re positioned quite aggressively, price-wise. We’re looking at not only playing in that premium segment but also being very affordable and on top of that [great] customer service,” he said.

Saltapidas said pricing on the incoming Zeekr X is looking to challenge similar offerings across the Geely family, which includes other manufacturers like Volvo, Polestar, Lotus, and Smart (a joint venture with Mercedes-Benz).

However, if sales volume is not a driver for Zeekr, how does the brand determine success in the domestic market?

“Success is adoption. I think for us, getting the cars, seeing cars on the road, cars parked on the road, that’ll be one [measure of success],” Haurissa told Drive.

“Driving is believing [and] getting people to drive the car and feeling it for themselves, especially a lot of Australians that are still yet to adopt an EV, I think having that selection is a good thing for the market.

“In terms of sales, I think we haven’t really predetermined [targets]. Our ambition [and] our goal is to bring as many of the vehicles that we’ve produced so far to the market. Those who know about Zeekr, know that we’ve released unique cars.

“Once we bring the car, once we get the cars to the market, then we’ll gauge, we’ll figure that out accordingly. Volume is obviously important, but we are very flexible in those things by being a premium player.”