Tech-fest Zeekr models to finally hit the UK this year

Zeekr – the tech-loving Chinese performance brand gunning for Tesla, BMW and Audi – will finally launch in the UK towards the end of 2026, bosses have told Auto Express, and the first customer cars should be delivered by early next year.

Zeekr is part of the global powerhouse that is the Geely Auto family, along with Volvo, Polestar, Lotus, Smart and taxi-maker LEVC. Geely is also a mainstream electrified car brand itself, which arrived here late last year with its EX5 electric SUV.

Geely’s UK managing director Mike Yang will be the man in charge of introducing Zeekr to our shores this gear. It’s set to be joined by its equally tech-obsessed sister brand Lynk & Co, although he couldn’t provide an exact timeline on when that will arrive here just yet.

Yang also wouldn’t confirm which of Zeekr’s many models will be coming to the UK, but did say: “I will consider two perspectives: the first is what model will stand for Zeekr’s brand image, which is cutting-edge technology and being premium.

“The second perspective is to have the right model that will deliver volume to support the establishing of our brand and our dealers.”

Yang has plenty of options to choose from, as Zeekr currently sells four models in Europe, but has a range of eight in its home market, including the ultra-luxurious 009 MPV. However, he did admit the market for a car like that is very small.

We chatted with Yang at Geely’s HQ in Hangzhou, China, and standing next to us was the towering Zeekr 9X, a colossal 5.2-metre long SUV that makes the Rolls-Royce Cullinan look subtle. The only thing more enormous than this leather-lined leviathan is the 1,395bhp produced by its super hybrid powertrain. 

It’s a serious bit of kit with a 70kWh battery, a 900-volt electric architecture, a 746-mile range and a 10-80 per cent charge in around 10 minutes. The 0-62mph sprint takes just 3.1 seconds – half-a-second quicker than the hybrid-powered BMW M5.

Zeekr hasn’t confirmed the 9X for right-hand drive yet, but given its powertrain will be shared with the Lotus Eletre and Brits’ love of large SUVs like the Range Rover, the brand would miss a trick not offering its SUV flagship here.

While that would make for an interesting flagship product for the brand, Zeekr may start out in the UK with the models that have been selling well in Europe. According to Yang, one of these has been the 001, a shooting brake aspiring to take on the Porsche Taycan Sport Turismo. 

It also has the Zeekr X, which is a BMW iX1 rival that costs from around £33,000 in Germany, and the 7X, which would give the brand an alternative to the BMW iX3. Its latest offering is the 7GT: a high-performance electric shooting brake with world-class performance, charging and tech, yet a starting price of under £40,000.

Auto Express spoke to Zeekr’s European CEO Lothar Schupet late last year, who told us the UK market is a priority for the brand. “We see ourselves competing directly with the premium German brands; mid-term, we are targeting to be at their level,” he said.

Schupet certainly knows a thing or two about BMW, having worked for the Munich car maker for 23 years. “We are Geely, so we have the power of a giant but we have a European soul, with substantial investment in Europe,” he explained.

Geely’s European R&D centre is based in Gothenburg, Sweden, as is its design centre, run by ex-Bentley design boss Stefan Sielaff. He headlined a special event in London that we attended and outlined Geely Global’s design strategy, along with European R&D boss Giovanni Lanfranchi who presented the brand’s latest technology. Schupet was unable to attend; Auto Express chatted to him at a meeting in Munich. 

Schupet admitted Zeekr is looking into “right-hand drive adaptation” for the existing European EVs.“The UK R&D process has a lot of homologation topics to prepare; it’s not a three-month job. But it’s already on the way and moving fast,” he said.

“And we are in deep discussion with many dealer groups, to invest in a distribution network.” Zeekr will target groups able to manage big fleet relationships, and wants a sufficient number of stores to ensure there are no barriers to take up.

The brand originally launched in 2023 with an online European sales model, but it has subsequently begun to enlist a retailer network to expand sales. Another bump in the road was the European Union’s imposition of additional tariffs, but finding supply chain cost reductions created “a sustainable business model in Europe,” said the region’s boss.  

What’s Zeekr’s pitch to UK customers? “Our offer tackles consumers’ anxieties on range and charging,” claimed Schupet. The 7GT wagon charges in as little as 13 minutes, and Schupet thinks this is one of the key attributes to win over European prospects. 

“We’ve created a one-stop shop where they get everything covering charging services, connectivity and a 10-year warranty, in a price bracket where we are below the premiums. And you don’t have to put [on] options in to make the car nice.” 

The boss reckons it’s getting some owners out of their Porsche Taycans and into Zeekrs, and putting the brand “on the podium” of China’s top-selling importers in Europe.

“We’re [attracting] tech nerds who want to have the latest stuff. They’re coming from the Tesla world, and the traditional premium [buyers] who are asking: ‘Why must I pay so much money if I get the same or even better in some areas?’”

It’s the tried and trusted Chinese tactic of offering a head-turning price proposition, and it’ll be interesting to see how well it works for Zeekr when it touches down later this year.

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