ZEEKR "confronts" Cullinan

Author | Chai Xuchen

Editor | Zhou Zhiyu

ZEEKR's "million-level flagship SUV" showcased its muscle before its official debut. This may be the most important product for ZEEKR in the next three years and will become a key player in leading ZEEKR Group and even Geely to new heights.

On July 9th, the ZEEKR 9X, humorously referred to by the industry as the "Cullinan of Hangzhou Bay," made its debut at a technology launch event, comparing its handling and quality to Rolls-Royce and Land Rover, and its speed to Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Porsche.

As a "flagship SUV of the new energy era," ZEEKR set a high tone for the 9X right from the start. It showcased four major technological highlights: the Haohan luxury electric hybrid S architecture, AI digital chassis, safety armor, and intelligent driving.

Firstly, ZEEKR believes that the biggest pain point to be addressed in the high-end luxury segment is the contradiction between the growing "pure electric demand" of users and the generally outdated "400V architecture." "Once you've experienced electric power, you won't want to add a drop of fuel," said Xu Yun, Vice President of ZEEKR Technology. ZEEKR's weapon to attract wealthy customers is the Haohan super electric hybrid.

It is understood that the Haohan-S fully inherits the pure electric advantages of the SEA Haohan architecture, relying on a full-stack 900-volt high-voltage architecture that boasts 6C ultra-fast charging capability and features the world's first hybrid megawatt electric drive, with a total power exceeding 1000 kilowatts. It also achieves the longest pure electric range for hybrid SUVs globally, with a CLTC range of 380 kilometers. The vehicle enhances the hybrid experience from three dimensions: performance, range, and refueling.

Enhancing the hybrid experience is just the beginning; how to harness such great horsepower and translate it into top-notch driving quality is a significant challenge for ZEEKR. ZEEKR's solution is its self-developed AI digital chassis, which aims to "simultaneously achieve the stability and comfort of the Rolls-Royce Cullinan and the all-terrain capability of the Land Rover Range Rover."

This time, the ZEEKR 9X is equipped with a "closed double-chamber air suspension + dual-valve CCD electromagnetic damper system," along with 48V active anti-roll bar technology. The hardware is just the foundation; the real revolution lies in giving the chassis a "central intelligence hub," which can call upon the computing power and perception capabilities of the assisted driving system in real-time to predict and command vehicle dynamics.

With the support of a set of black technology, the 9X demonstrated impressive posture control during the slalom test segment at the launch event, able to hold its own against the Cullinan. After tearing a crack in the traditional comfort zone of "old money" in terms of handling and quality, the 9X attempts to build a moat with advanced intelligent driving.

As a model that benchmarks the Cullinan in the new energy era, the 9X debuted with the ZEEKR Qianli Haohan intelligent 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. ZEEKR also emphasizes full-link safety redundancy from perception to computing power, and then to the electronic and electrical architecture.

Geely Holding CEO An Conghui stated that, under future regulatory allowances, this technical architecture could achieve L3-level intelligent driving capabilities for highways, urban areas, and from parking space to parking space It can be said that ZEEKR has equipped almost all of its technological "assets" into this car, transforming into a player challenging the "top luxury" track in the automotive industry.

In fact, ZEEKR has already secured a place in the luxury MPV market with the 009, but ZEEKR's ambitions go beyond this. An Conghui has stated that to break the monopoly of traditional luxury, ZEEKR aims not only to enter the MPV market but also the flagship SUV segment.

Currently, mainstream Chinese automakers have reached a consensus that their product matrix must include a capable full-size large SUV. This segment, once defined by the million-level SUVs from BBA, has quickly become the focus of the entire industry after the Aito M9 proved to be a rich mine. With the debut of the 9X, ZEEKR has officially joined the fray.

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. For ZEEKR, the more significant meaning of the 9X lies in "showing muscle" and demonstrating confidence.

An Conghui told Wall Street Insight that many technologies used in performance cars can be widely applied to ordinary models in the future, allowing more users to enjoy a better driving experience and more extreme safety.

In other words, the ZEEKR 9X aims to become a stabilizing force that elevates brand tone, and the "black technology" on the 9X is expected to be "delegated" to affordable models in the future, serving as leverage to stir the market. It can be said that the 9X is a rehearsal and advertisement for future ZEEKR models.

Behind this is ZEEKR's desire for sales.

According to ZEEKR Group's plan, its annual sales target is 790,000 units, with the ZEEKR brand responsible for 320,000 units. However, half a year has passed, and the total sales of ZEEKR at 90,000 units are still less than one-third of the established plan, far behind Lynk & Co.

In this context, the demonstration and traction role of the 9X becomes particularly important; this "million ZEEKR" is more like a complete depiction of the next stage of energy release for the market.

Below is the transcript of the conversation between Wall Street Insight and ZEEKR Technology Vice President Lin Jie, Vice President Xu Yun, and Vice President Chen Qi (edited):

Q: ZEEKR started as purely electric, and the 9X is beginning to enter the hybrid field. What considerations are behind this?

Xu Yun: I never hide that I pursue pure electric, but there are many reasons behind this hybrid approach, including technical aspects and user psychology. Users have clear demands for pure electric range, especially in large SUV scenarios.

If I made the ZEEKR 9X purely electric, there would be many concerns, so I simply decided to go hybrid. Once I put the engine in, I found that all constraints of the car were released. So the 9X you see today is also because this super hybrid technology has made it what it is today; otherwise, many aspects would change. This is a rational and restrained choice.

It is precisely from this perspective that we have made the pure electric experience of this car so extreme, allowing everyone to forget that this car has an engine when using it. As long as users want it, I will develop it for you; it's that simple and pure.

Q: What is the most desired memory point or label you want to create for the 9X? Lin Jie: If we talk about the biggest differentiating factor of the ZEEKR 9X, it must be the vast super electric hybrid. It has the fastest charging speed, the longest pure electric range, and the fastest acceleration capability among plug-in hybrid SUVs to date. These three points completely crush competitors in the same class. ZEEKR is committed to creating technological luxury; we are not classical luxury, but rather using the power of technology to support the growth of the brand.

Q: With such a great product and technology in the 9X, how will you make consumers aware of it?

Lin Jie: As everyone knows, Geely is returning to a big Geely. After the integration of ZEEKR and Lynk & Co, ZEEKR's mission is to continue to develop upwards, while Lynk & Co expands horizontally, so the 9X is also a key part of our overall strategic implementation.

It used to be said that good wine does not fear the deep alley, but now good wine also fears the deep alley. The way of communication is completely different from before, so how to market such a good product is crucial. We believe that the first step is to interact with users, rather than just one-sided output; we need to let users understand and experience our products.

The "First Enjoyment Plan" released today is core to interacting with users; building connections is very important. Moving forward, we will interact with users to more accurately understand their needs. Interaction is key to the next step in marketing.

Q: Does the ZEEKR 9X come with a standard configuration for the entire series, or will there be more configurations?

Lin Jie: The ZEEKR 9X's Glory version will not be launched in the near future; it will take a long time. The ZEEKR 9X will not have just one configuration.

Q: What considerations led to ZEEKR's self-research model for intelligent driving, and how is ZEEKR's solution better than that of suppliers?

Chen Qi: Positioning is key; you need to think about whether you want to be a manufacturing company or a high-tech company in the future.

I believe that the current capabilities of the main engine manufacturers are sufficient, including future developments in large models of robots or industries extending from intelligent driving. Intelligent driving itself is also a high-tech technology, and I believe many high-tech companies will emerge from current main engine manufacturers.

Second, the capability of the company itself. Main engine manufacturers generally want to conduct self-research, but it depends on whether they have the strength or capability at their current stage. If they are not quite ready at this stage, they may rely more on supplier models.

Third, the importance placed by users. Many times, there may be new demands, and whether these demands can be customized by the supplier model, along with various future service-oriented actions, are significant considerations. Self-research certainly has a much greater advantage in terms of rapid response to user needs and other aspects, as well as broader vision and flexibility, higher innovation ceilings, and faster iterations.

Q: What new strategies does ZEEKR have for increasing volume?

Lin Jie: We believe that the entire sales issue is a matter of short cycles versus long cycles. To enter the luxury market, you must be a friend of time. There are many ranking lists now, and weekly sales rankings cause many marketing actions to fluctuate with sales. Therefore, we now require the team not to focus too much on weekly or even monthly fluctuations, but to look at issues from a long-term perspective.

If we simply use price to increase volume, I believe we definitely have incremental potential, but we do not want to do that; we want to look at the long term. In fact, ZEEKR's orders are very good; many ZEEKR 9X customers decided to order without even seeing the car We need to pay more attention to user rights; users are very important, especially when building a luxury brand. Without user support, even the best products will encounter resistance, and everyone must be clear about this. For ZEEKR, what we need now is quality.

9X is very important, and we must move upward. Today, when Chinese consumers go to buy a luxury new energy vehicle, they find that if it has intelligence, it lacks performance, and if it has performance, it lacks intelligence. Therefore, I believe we have a significant market. We have the successful experience of ZEEKR 009 and resources, so short-term fluctuations in sales will not affect our direction of progress.

Q: What are the upcoming plans for intelligent driving?

Chen Qi: This is currently in the approval process, and I can only say it will likely be very quick. What is the core understanding of L3? From a regulatory perspective, it may involve a change in the responsible entity, which is essentially an enhancement of system safety standards.

At the L2 and L3 stages, the priority of safety will be raised to a very high level, approaching zero tolerance. Starting from the requirements of L3, we may need systematic design to meet L3 requirements. The redundancy I mentioned at the press conference is all about safety considerations.

From our intelligent driving itself, including HMI, there are eight major safety redundancies. Therefore, we need to consider some designs or user experiences related to L3 from the entire system, which is a critical safety issue.

Q: How can ZEEKR switch so many intelligent driving technology routes in such a short time while ensuring functional safety and experience?

Chen Qi: Intelligent driving technology has been rapidly developing; otherwise, falling behind in one step may lead to falling behind in every step. Why can ZEEKR achieve this? A good architecture is fundamental. We have been designing a relatively excellent architecture to adapt to future evolution. Intelligent driving has been rapidly iterating and developing, and how to accommodate these technologies is crucial. Our architecture has a lot of scalability and is excellent in various aspects, so adjustments can be made very quickly.

We are on a path that can develop long-term, building many toolchain systems within it. From demand to development, to version building, testing, etc., how this protective system is developed can easily ensure that new developments do not affect old content, allowing us to run quickly. This system is very critical.

Q: What is the current position of ZEEKR and the entire Geely's intelligent driving level in the industry?

Lin Jie: In the past, people's understanding of ZEEKR's intelligent driving may not have been top-notch, and there were even some criticisms. Initially, ZEEKR did not develop intelligent driving independently but adopted a cooperative model, relying on suppliers. However, after actual use, it was found that many times there was a feeling of being powerless. Some customized demands were difficult to achieve, response speed was slow, and there were many issues, which made users anxious, and we were also very anxious. Because of this, as long as we have the corresponding capabilities, we must definitely carry out full-stack independent research and development.

In the long run, as long as we have the strength, we should do this. This not only aligns with the long-term interests of users but also benefits the development of the entire industry. The industry needs both intelligent driving led by component suppliers and intelligent driving led by manufacturers to promote better development of the entire industry Chen Qi: The reason we can catch up so quickly involves the importance of system construction. Some may compare us to companies like Huawei and feel that we still have a gap, but our goal has never been to be in the "first tier," but rather to be the industry leader. Building a system and focusing on long-term development is our unwavering pursuit.

Last Friday night, an investor was not very optimistic about Geely's intelligent driving capabilities. I invited him to experience it, and after driving for more than two hours in Shanghai, there was not a single instance that required manual takeover. He was very surprised. The version he experienced is still undergoing OTA optimization and will soon be officially presented to everyone. I believe that with the support of the existing system and the strength of our R&D team, we will continue to improve, and these advantages will soon be fully demonstrated.

Lin Jie: My current requirement for the team is to maintain restraint and conservatism in promoting intelligent driving. Recently, I drove the ZEEKR 007 GT to experience intelligent driving and clearly felt that it improves every week: when I first got the car, it felt like just a "machine"; now, it has become like a "qualified driver." Colleagues responsible for intelligent driving brand communication have tried to increase publicity several times, but I have stopped them. I always believe that we need to let users experience it first.

Question: Will the technology on the 9X be applied to other ZEEKR models in the future?

Xu Yun: The ZEEKR 9X is equipped with dual chambers and dual valves mainly because the usage scenarios and performance requirements of this car necessitate such configurations. For example, its stabilizer bar is relatively higher compared to low-sitting models, and this type of configuration can indeed play a significant role in suppressing body roll.

From the perspective of technology transfer, it mainly depends on two aspects: product demand and market demand. To be honest, market demand can sometimes be a bit excessive, as everyone tends to get caught up in the level of configurations, which can be frustrating for us. In fact, some models do not necessarily need to be equipped with such high-spec configurations, but due to the pressure of market competition, we are forced to comply.

As for whether these technologies will be transferred and when, it also needs to be determined based on technical and market demands. As long as there is demand, we will definitely research to meet it.

So overall, the technology transfer will not be too fast, but everyone can rest assured that ZEEKR's product development will not only serve one vehicle. In the future, we will gradually expand the application of these technologies to more products based on the timing, combined with the specific needs of different vehicles and market feedback.

Question: For the flagship model 9X, the brand needs it to showcase a high-end positioning. From the consumer's perspective, user demand often means that product functions need to be "added," but from market performance and sales, product functions may need to be "reduced." How will the internal team balance these three relationships?

Lin Jie: I believe this SUV is considered an ultimate upgrade product for many users, so we certainly do not want it to have any regrets. Objectively speaking, it is unrealistic to say that this car's sales will reach a very large scale, but it can definitely achieve a considerable volume. Our goal is very clear: to occupy a top three position in each of our respective market segments In addition, we are opening up more options, with the core purpose of meeting the needs of different users, which can further enhance the sales of this car. After all, if we cannot meet certain demands, some users may have to turn to other brands' products.

Of course, from the perspective of production organization, having more configuration options does make things a bit more complicated. Each additional SKU brings inconvenience to our production organization.

However, one advantage is that ZEEKR has always been engaged in customized production, and in this regard, we have more experience than some traditional automobile manufacturers.

Currently, vehicles are mostly customized, so this aspect will not have a significant impact. Although it will indeed be more cumbersome for our production and procurement processes, it will be a good thing for users.

Q: In the second half of the year, we have ZEEKR 9X and Galaxy M9. What is the internal view on the large six-seat SUV market?

Lin Jie: Overall, Geely's cumulative sales in the first half of this year have exceeded 1.4 million units, setting a historical record with a year-on-year increase of 47%. ZEEKR's performance has been particularly good, especially this month. Based on our thoughts on product launches in the second half of the year, we have adjusted our annual sales target for the entire Geely Automobile Group to 3 million units.

ZEEKR is also part of the larger Geely system, and we are integrating into a big Geely. Why are we doing this? It is to create a brand pyramid for the entire Geely system, with ZEEKR at the top of the pyramid. This way, we can better support ZEEKR in building luxury. To build luxury, one must be a friend of time; if we always focus on monthly fluctuations, it is difficult to settle down and create luxury.

The development of Lynk & Co in recent years has particularly resonated with me. Without a large group supporting it from behind, it is difficult to achieve such goals.

I believe that the creation of the Lynk & Co brand is still very determined. Just like the launch of the Lynk & Co 900 today, everyone is worried because Lynk & Co's main sales price range is around 200,000 yuan. Last month, there were over 5,000 orders for the Lynk & Co 900, and this month it should break 6,000 units. Currently, the most complaints we receive are still about delivery issues, which is also a happy trouble.

Therefore, creating good products and continuously building the brand is crucial for ZEEKR to move upward and meet the differentiated needs of more consumers.

Additionally, there are quite a few six-seat SUVs on the market this year, nearly thirty models, but only a few have significant sales. This time, Geely is launching three vehicles in the full-size SUV segment: Lynk & Co 900, Galaxy M9, and ZEEKR 9X. These three vehicles are also part of the group's strategic collaboration.

Even within the full-size SUV segment, there are several sub-markets, and the three brands will each send out flagship products to enter three sub-markets of full-size SUVs. Our goal is to be among the top three.

Q: ZEEKR started as a direct sales model, but what was the thinking behind introducing ZEEKR Home later?

Lin Jie: I have discussed the topic of channel exploration with both Lynk & Co and Geely. Each channel model has its pros and cons. Lynk & Co has a hybrid channel model, with both direct sales and dealership agents. ZEEKR is purely direct sales, and ZEEKR Home is also direct sales Local investors only have properties and are collaborating with ZEEKR on services, but all sales work for ZEEKR is still managed by teams dispatched by ZEEKR itself, maintaining a direct sales model.

Recently, we have also conducted some new reflections on channels, considering how to leverage the advantages of direct sales while also utilizing the advantages of regional distribution agents, so we have made some adjustments to the channels.

Currently, ZEEKR's channels are in first- and second-tier cities, where there is a larger user base, and we will continue to adopt a direct sales model. In third-tier cities, we have already established direct sales outlets, and in high-efficiency regions, we will continue to use direct sales. In blank third- and fourth-tier cities, we will adopt an agency model, but the overall sales policy and pricing will remain consistent.

Furthermore, in the overall market capacity of fifth- and sixth-tier cities, which is not particularly large, we will jointly establish channels with the Lynk & Co brand to reduce overall channel investment costs. This work has already begun, with 10 joint channels established last month, and nearly 100 agency channels will be integrated into the ZEEKR network this year