The third vehicle from Hangzhou-based electric vehicle brand Zeekr, owned by Chinese automotive giant Geely, has been teased on social media ahead of its launch later this year.
The speculatively named 003 comes in the form of a five-door compact crossover that is scheduled to start production later this year.
It will join Zeekr’s first model, the 001 liftback, and the 009 people mover, which will mainly be aimed at the Chinese market.
The teaser images show what looks like a production-ready C-segment SUV, interestingly photographed next to an Audi e-tron GT, that doesn’t stray far from the design language of the other two models in the Zeekr lineup.
Colourful camouflage wrapping hides the exact contours of the model, but the side profile image shows an upright silhouette, bulging haunches, flush door handles, and wheels with a geometric design.
There are also slim tail lights and headlights.
Official details on the powertrain and performance of the model haven’t been released yet, but Autocar reports the 003 will be offered with a choice of single-motor rear-wheel drive and dual-motor all-wheel drive set-ups, with outputs ranging from around 200kW up to 315kW.
The official unveiling of the high-riding crossover is rumoured to happen at the Shanghai Auto Show in April.
The 003 will be manufactured in China alongside the 001 and 009 but was designed under director Stefan Sielaff at a satellite Geely team in Gothenburg, Sweden.
As both the 001 and 009 are based on Geely’s Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA), it’s likely that the 003 will follow suit.
In August last year, Zeekr also announced a five-year strategic partnership with Chinese battery giant CATL to use its Qilin cell-to-pack (CTP) battery technology in upcoming vehicles.
CATP claims that the battery technology improves range, charging speed, safety, efficiency, and low-temperature performance and is capable of delivering a range of over 1000km.
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Zeekr 001
Zeekr is charging ahead with its global expansion, reportedly filing for an initial public offering (IPO) in the US at the end of last year.
The brand has also announced that it intends to enter the European market in 2023, a move that the brand hopes will double its annual sales to 140,000 units.
Despite being less established than Polestar, another EV-only brand under the Geely umbrella, Zeekr recorded 71,941 sales in 2022, up 1098 per cent from the previous year.
