ZEEKR challenges Cullinan

Author | Chai Xuchen

Editor | Wang Xiaojun

On the first day of the Shanghai Auto Show, the ZEEKR brand's full-size flagship SUV "ZEEKR 9X" was officially launched. This luxury SUV, humorously referred to in the industry as the "Cullinan of Hangzhou Bay," challenges Rolls-Royce with its 0-100 km/h acceleration in 3 seconds, L3-level intelligent driving, and a price tag of over one million yuan.

At the outset, ZEEKR Technology Group CEO An Conghui first revealed the "report card": since its launch, the ZEEKR 001 has consistently held the title of the best-selling pure electric vehicle among Chinese brands with sales exceeding 250,000; the ZEEKR 009 has become a dual champion in both the "luxury MPV priced over 400,000" and "luxury pure electric vehicles across all categories priced over 400,000"; since its launch, for every two ultra-luxury MPVs sold in China, one has been a ZEEKR 009.

Among these, the flagship MPV ZEEKR 009 has clearly become a key card for the ZEEKR brand in positioning itself within the high-net-worth demographic. However, ZEEKR's ambitions do not stop there. An Conghui stated that to break the monopoly of traditional luxury, ZEEKR aims not only to enter the MPV market but also to venture into the flagship SUV sector. He stated, "We want to create the most luxurious new energy SUV for the global market—the ZEEKR 9X."

As a key player for domestic cars entering the high-end market, what confidence does the ZEEKR 9X have? Compared to competitors like the BMW X7, Mercedes-Benz GLS, and Land Rover Range Rover, can it rewrite the rules of the luxury SUV game through technological advancements?

According to ZEEKR representatives, the ZEEKR 9X boasts the most elegant posture, the widest doors, and the most dazzling headlights; it features a bold front-end design, creating the largest integrated chrome grille among global SUVs, and has the largest clam-shell hood in the global SUV market, with an area exceeding 2 square meters.

In terms of design details, the bottom of the grille draws inspiration from palace platform designs and has been widened to create a solemn and stable visual effect. Meanwhile, the upward bulge structure in the center of the hood serves as a vertical extension of the integrated grille, conveying a sense of power from the front face throughout the entire front of the vehicle. The ZEEKR 9X measures over 5.2 meters in length, over 2 meters in width, and over 1.8 meters in height, providing an absolute sense of presence and volume.

On the power front, the ZEEKR 9X is the first to utilize a full-stack 900V high-voltage architecture with super electric hybrid technology and a 6C Xiaoyao battery, making it the electric hybrid SUV with the longest pure electric range; it also significantly shortens the energy replenishment time, becoming the fastest charging electric hybrid SUV in the world.

It is understood that based on its advantages in pure electric technology, ZEEKR integrates various new energy power methods such as range extension and hybrid, launching the "Vast Super Electric Hybrid," which achieves the best performance in pure electric, hybrid, and range extension with a single power system.

Notably, as a model that benchmarks against the Cullinan in the new energy era, the 9X debuted the ZEEKR Qianli Haohan intelligent assisted driving H9 solution, featuring an L3-level technical architecture. This solution is globally launched with dual Thor chips and five laser radars, boasting a computing power level of 1400 TOPS, and emphasizes full-link safety redundancy from perception to computing power, and then to the electronic and electrical architecture An Conghui stated that, under future regulatory allowances, this technological architecture can achieve L3-level intelligent assisted driving capabilities for high-speed, urban, and parking-to-parking scenarios.

It can be said that ZEEKR has brought all its cutting-edge technologies to this flagship SUV. From design to technology, after the Aito M9 and the ZunJie S800, the ZEEKR 9X has become another player challenging the "top luxury" segment in the automotive industry, marking the official charge of domestic cars into the ultra-luxury market.

However, users in the million-level market often pay more attention to brand history and scarcity. Whether ZEEKR can break the inherent notion that "luxury equals imported" still requires time to verify