Let’s take a break from talking about EPA regulations to talk about something more important: The Zeekr X. This is a new Chinese EV aimed squared at the Tesla Model Y both in its home market and, especially, in Europe. Purely on paper, this thing seems like winner: It’s cheaper, it has a competitive range, it looks fresher, and it’s just about as fast.
In addition to Zeekr, today’s news roundup will also hit up Ferrari sales, and the extreme popularity of the plug-in hybrid Jeep. But first, mother trucking Zeekr.
The Zeekr X Looks Extremely Competitive
How long does it take a car company to enter a market, become competitive, and then go on to build something that’s a segment leader? For a Japanese automaker like Toyota, it took roughly 30 years to go from the Toyopet Crown in 1958 to the remarkable Lexus LS400 in 1989. The Koreans were a little quicker in the United States. The company started strong with the popular but mediocre Hyundai Excel in 1986, reaching full market competitiveness with the fifth-gen Elantra (I’d also entertain an argument for the similar era Santa Fe) around 2010.
Zeekr has a few advantages. First and foremost, it’s part of a Chinese mega corp, Geely, which has been building cars since the mid 1980s. Second, Geely has acquired numerous companies with hundreds of years of combined experience (Lotus, Volvo) to provide a leg up for its brands. [Editor’s Note: Geely also owns Polestar, and I really doubt Tesla is losing sleep over its Polestar competition. Tesla’s brand is larger-than-life, though it’d be a little silly if I didn’t recognize that sales will likely be encroached upon by stiffer EV competition as time goes on. -DT]. Third, the Chinese government has invested billions of dollars into making their EVs competitive and have, currently, the best infrastructure for creating cheap batteries. Finally, Zeekr is also a “Swedish” company and its cars are designed in Gothenburg.
We’ve already talked about how much we love the Zeekr 009 minivan, but that’s not a car that would necessarily sell in Europe or the United States. You know what would? A crossover-SUV like the Model Y. Enter the Zeekr X.
According to Inside EVs, the Zeekr X will come in RWD and AWD format. The RWD version gets a single motor capable of producing 268 horsepower that delivers 348 miles of range (Chinese CLTC test cycle) from a 66 kWh battery back. You get all that car for about $27,600, or 189,800 yuan. By comparison, in China, the Tesla Model Y costs 261,900 yuan, gets slightly lower range (338 miles) and is slower (0-62 mph in 6.9 seconds versus 5.8 seconds).
An AWD Zeekr X will reportedly get 422 horsepower out of two motors, reach 0-62 mph in 3.7 seconds, and travel 318 miles on the CLTC standard. Compare this to the performance Model Y in China, which hits 62 mph in the same time, but benefits from a larger battery pack and travels a much more impressive 381 miles on a charge. The bigger difference, though, is the price. A Model Y performance costs about 361,900 yuan in China, or about $53,000. An AWD Zeekr X? That’ll be 209,800, or just $30,500.
The Zeekr X also gets wireless charging, a giant panoramic canopy, a 14.6-inch floating screen and the option of four or five seats in the rear.
Tesla has a ton of brand cachet that, of course, Zeekr does not. Will people accept Chinese automakers in Europe? Given the warm response I saw to Lynk & Co. cars in France, my guess is the thrift will overcome the xenophobia.
While prices will definitely go up when they start exporting cars, Zeekr is definitely aiming for European sales by the end of the year. Anyway, enough about Zeekr.
Zeekr Hires Former Lexus Chief To Run Europe
Psych! More news on the Zeekr front today as Spiros Fotinos, former director of Lexus Europe, has been named CEO of Zeekr Europe.
China’s Zeekr has hired a former Lexus executive to helm its operations in Europe, according to a memo seen by Reuters, as the electric vehicle (EV) maker plans to sell into the region later this year.
Spiros Fotinos, who spent 24 years with Toyota (7203.T) and led the brand management of Lexus globally, joined Zeekr in September as the chief executive officer of Zeekr Europe to oversee the brand’s operation in the region, the memo showed.
That’s, uh, a pretty good hire, and underscores how seriously Zeekr is taking Europe.
Jeep Dominates The Plug-In Hybrid Market In The U.S.
It’s worth mentioning again that the Jeep Wrangler 4xe, not the Prius Prime, is the dominant plug-in electric hybrid vehicle (PHEV) in the United States. There’s a good roundup of why in this Automotive News piece, so I’m going to focus on the hilarious numbers.
In 2022, Jeep sold 42,469 Wrangler 4Xes. You know how many Toyota Prius Primes were delivered in 2022? Just 11,857. Even if you combine the RAV4 Prime and Prius Prime, you still end up short of the 4Xe in sales. Some of this, of course, is a supply chain issue. I’d also argue that not a lot of people are cross-shopping a RAV4 Prime and a 4xe.
Just to compare, a Wrangler 4xe has a combined MPGe of 49 and an ev-only range of 22 miles. The RAV4 Prime, by comparison, gets a combined MPGe of 94 and an ev-only range of 42 miles. From the Automotive News piece, here’s an even bigger number:
Jeep’s entrenchment in the PHEV market has become even clearer this year. Wrangler 4xe sales increased 72 percent in the first quarter, representing 38 percent of the total for the nameplate, and it was joined at the top by another Jeep, the Grand Cherokee 4xe that went on sale in late 2022. Jeep sold 7,222 Grand Cherokee 4xe models in the quarter, accounting for 13 percent of that nameplate’s total volume.
Yes, about 4-in-10 Jeep Wrangler buyers got the hybrid option! Some of that may be spurred by the quirk in federal tax credits for the model that’ll expire soon, but those are big numbers. While people going from a Prius to a Wrangler isn’t going to help the environment, consumers trading their older Jeeps for significantly more efficient new models can’t hurt.
I’m curious what other cars could benefit from a PHEV model? Mustang?
Ferrari Has Sold All Its Cars, Again
Do you want a Ferrari? Good for you! You can’t have one. At least, it’ll be hard to get one now. You want an F8 Tributo? I’m sorry, perhaps you’d be interested in buying a Purosangue first? And by “perhaps you’d be interested” I mean, “you need to order one.” If that’s a problem, I’m sure the Mclaren dealer down the street can help you out.
In this quick little update from Reuters we get a glimpse into the order books of Ferrari and, well, they’re all ordered.
Elkann said the Italian company’s two latest models, the 296 GTS plug-in hybrid car and the Purosangue four-seater had boosted its product portfolio, “delivering a record number of orders well into 2024”.
Ferrari has promised a total of 15 new models between 2023 and 2026, including its first full-electric car, which Elkann reiterated on Friday is expected in 2025.
So, if you’ve never bought a Ferrari before, my guess is that to get the Ferrari you want, you’ll need to order at least one Ferrari you don’t want, to be delivered in 2024, so you can order the one you do want, so you can get it in 2025 or 2026.
Not a bad business.
Your Turn
What car needs a PHEV option?
Photos: Stellantis, Zeekr, Ferrari
Regarding Zeekr… yeah yeah… one of many companies that has claimed they’re gonna ‘beat Tesla’. Instead of making big statements like that, I think they should first focus on merely *competing* with Tesla. Let’s see how well their stuff does when it eventually goes on sale in North America.
As for which vehicles need a PHEV option… in my option, all ICE vehicles that don’t already have it should get it.
They are competing with Tesla in the world’s biggest market, China. Tesla rates among the worst in quality in China and they keep cutting features while the competition adds them. Competition have eaten Tesla’s growth which is the thing that has kept Musk as CEO.
Zeeker will have the typical Chinese made car issues… Wait for it.
Virtually every car could use a PHEV. Do your local driving on electric and have an engine for longer travel, all without the massive battery it takes to make people comfortable with an EV as their only vehicle. It’d be a good way to get a lot more electric driving to happen.
Finally, Zeekr is also a “Swedish” company and its cars are designed in Gothenburg.
So does that mean it has “Volvo” level of safety?
I hope so if they ever want to sell it stateside
Chinese cars have done much much better in European testing. My assumption is Zeekr will be similar: https://www.euroncap.com/en/results/byd/atto+3/46635
https://www.wautom.com/2021/09/euro-ncap-crash-test-lynk-co-01-5-stars/
Zeekr is like VAG’s Skoda, VW, Seat.. except it is a new brand. Geely wants to have multiple brands.. Multiple brands seems to be a Chinese thing, think AliExpress, TaoBao, Alibaba, same company slighly different targets.
China by far is the king of awkward brand names. (Just look at any search page on Amazon.)
PHEV? Ford Maverick. Seeing rumblings it might actually happen with the 2024. Though really, I’d like to see a focus on 3 row SUVs due to the sheer numbers driven multiple short distances daily.
I keep hoping they announce a PHEV Maverick soon. I will put an order in with my dealer the very day they announce.
Why does every EV looks soooo much better than a Tesla? I won’t buy a Tesla for many reasons, but the basic one is that they are all hideous. Yet pretty much every EV released in the past 5 years is at least decent to great looking.
Zeekr? Oof, that’s a terrible name.
I used to think that I’d go all electric (BEV) for my next car. I loved the idea of the simplicity with the technology of batteries/motors alone versus the complicated hybridized technology of 100 years of gasoline engines pedigree mixed with recent electric technology.
But life changed and I needed a comfortable reliable car that could make a periodic 280 mile round trip on a moments notice for a day to help care for my ailing mother. There would be no available charging systems on this trip. I live in a big rural state with very cold winters. Many others living here are accustomed to long drives. I imagine that I’m not alone in this situation with car choices.
So I bought a Camry hybrid. I know it’s way complicated technologically and way heavy with the combo. It’s not even a PHEV. But I’ve been absolutely stunned at how seamlessly easy it is. 40 mpg with mixed city/hwy driving and a range of almost 500 miles. Affordable and relatively sporty.
No BEV made now could offer that for me. But I’m still opportunistic that there will be this option in the near future. I (like many I surmise) would just like the simple EV option.
At this point I think a Toyota hybrid is less complex than most of the nonhybrid ICE cars out there and their eco tricks – turbos, start-stop, cylinder deactivation, CVTs or DCTs, etc etc. And weight-wise the increase pretty nominal, maybe ~200 lbs added over a comparable nonhybrid – and about a third of the increase a PHEV adds over a regular ICE variant.
VOLTEC EVERYTHING GM
To answer the ending question, I think all 1500 class trucks should be offered PHEV. It just makes a tons of sense for these trucks, in the city especially. Electric power while unladen and a gas engine to go the distance and keep the towing power, it’s a win win!
The Chinese car industry will only succeed when they find some people who are native speakers of other languages, and then listen to them.
Zeekr sounds like an app for people looking to hook up in unconventional locations. I can’t imagine it making it through a pass of an English language marketing department – and possibly other languages too.
Can I add some japanese in here as well? Honda-Sony’s Afeela takes the crown for the worst car name, IMHO
All of them!
Also, I have to think Toyota would sell a whole bunch more Prime’s…if they just built ’em.
You beat me to it.
Every vehicle on the current market should at least be a mild hybrid. I have an older mild hybrid (2014 Camry) in my fleet and absolutely love it, it is my preferred vehicle for most uses. I can get 48 mpg is some situations and average 36 at interstate speeds. I’m already eyeing up the newer hybrids rated in the 50’s for when I replace this car (210,000k on original battery).
Agreed, I feel like this should have happened 10 years ago, at least. Also, a 50mpge Challenger 2Xe PHEV would have been awesome, but that chapter is officially closed forever.
Ford contemplated a hybrid version of the current Mustang, but decided they were selling enough Mach Es to get the CAFE average they needed and cancelled the idea
Xenophobia? Interesting take on why people might not welcome a car from a country who is threatening it’s neighbors, brutally crushing any dissent, and has an abysmal human rights record. Japanese and Korean cars sell just fine. So do cars made in Germany and Mexico. I don’t think any of us will be buying cars that are made in China any time soon and it is not because of Xenophobia.
I’m starting to get suspicious of all the Chinese-oriented news on this site…prepping us for knowledge of the vehicles before they hit our shoes. Familiarity with a product is a big step toward buying it
You’re telling me there are no other nations making cars or EV’s beyond China, because that sounds unlikely
China happens to be the largest auto market in the world. And the largest EV market in the world. What happens in China doesn’t stay in China.
What happens in China doesn’t stay in China.
Truer words were never spoken… for example, a little virus from Wuhan.
This is fair, though some parts of Europe can be seriously xenophobic. There are many, many good reasons not to buy a Chinese cars that reflect a view of how the Chinese government operates. It would give me pause, as well, though people seemed to have no problem buying Chinese-built Buicks here in the United States.
Not that I’m likely ever to be in the market for a Buick…but I think most people (myself included) would see Buick and immediately assume some combination of USA/Canada/Mexico manufacturing. Good to know that is something to look into!
I can almost guarantee that 99% of people who purchase Buicks have no idea they are built in China.
They use the Buicks to go shopping at Walmart and to return items to Amazon at Kohl’s.
The use of the term xenophobia is so often misplaced. If a person chooses not to support the economy of a country run by a totalitarian government that does not respect the human rights of it’s citizens, that’s not xenophobia.
If it’s because they automatically assume the product will be inferior, or they simply fear engagement with people from other countries or ‘different’ people/cultures, that’s much closer to the meaning.
Does the Ford Maverick absolutely need a PHEV option? No, the hybrid system in the unseasonably warm Indiana weather is currently giving me outstanding MPG on my short commute to work.
However, would I love a PHEV option? Absolutely. I’d never need to spend money on gas outside of road trips and it could boost its towing capacity, similar to how the RAV4 Prime can haul 750 lbs more than its hybrid model. Going from a 2,000 to 2,500 lbs towing capacity would be huge for people wanting to tow small campers with their daily driver.
It would be my next car, for sure. I’m still tempted to buy a non-PHEV hybrid XLT.
We got our Hybrid Lariat in February. Love it. I still daily a Clarity, but the wife replaced her SHO with the Maverick. It’s everything she wants.
Flush:
GIVE ME A NEW PHEV CAYENNE TRANSSYBERIA YOU HOSERS
We need more PHEVs everywhere to stretch limited battery supply capacity around, and to mitigate the cost of decarbonization borne by the consumer.
I think what the world needs is a ‘driver’s car’ PHEV, complete with manual transmission. Think of something like a Miata or a pony car with a P2 hybrid system – engine bolted to an electric motor with a disconnect clutch, and the whole thing mated to a traditional transmission – from the transmission onwards the car doesn’t “know” it’s a hybrid – when the driver presses the accelerator it is translated into a power demand, and a hybrid controller then decides how to split that between the engine and electric motor to deliver that power to the input shaft of the transmission. Imagine a Mustang with the 140 hp version of the 1.0 Ecoboost mated to a similarly powerful electric motor, with enough battery for ~30 miles of electric-only range if you keep your foot out of it. It would only take maybe 5-7 kWh of battery to all but eliminate gasoline usage on your commute, but you’d still be able to take your 280 hp pony car out for a rip on the back roads or road trip it across the country if you want to, with no range concerns, probably still pulling down 45+ mpg running the engine.
While lots of people are into PHEV hybrids, I am definitely not. My next car will certainly be a BEV, but until then I will stick to a diesel DD that goes 500 miles on a tank while getting 45mpg and reliable as a hammer, and a gas fun car. The unholy marriage of two different powertrains in a single car (which is what hybrids are) is a complicated, heavy, expensive and not all that efficient (for the money) proposition that exists just so carmakers like Toyota can point to them as to why they drag their feet and lobby against electric cars.
My mild hybrid Camry has averaged close to 40 mpg over it’s entire 210,000 mile life so far, needing nothing more than routine maintenance. I agree the diesel may be slightly better for my (numerous) interstate trips but for around town and urban commuting hybrid is amazing. Btw I can usually get 525 miles on a 14 gallon tank of gas at 70+ mph.
A 14 gallon tank?? what are you, an emperor? 🙂
Mine is 12 gal
Hell, my first car (1978 Tbird) had if I recall a 23 gallon tank. You could gage the fuel level just by how that monster wallowed through curves. And you could fill the tank for about $25 – sigh.
My Clarity PHEV has a whopping 6 gallons.
Is Zeekr a replacement brand for Lynk&co or an additional Geely brand with very similar styling?
The Chinese manufacturers seem to subdivide themselves into dozens of brands, does this make sense to their market rather than the massive, all encompassing brands the western car market has largely devolved into?
This probably has more to do with sales channels. Even in Japan it’s been popular to have mutliple brands for different ‘stores’. I never really understood the point.
North America seams to have moved on from this with Ford killing Mercury and Chrysler killing Plymouth. GM still is a bit of a hold out with lots of overlap. It will be interesting to see what Stelantis does with their entire NYC Yellow Pages full of brands.
It’s an add-on, though this is the third Swedish-designed EV company from Geely:
One second, Prospective Ferrari Buyer. Apparently “even” Purosangue allocations are tight enough that some folks are having to play the usual Ferrari game of “buy other Ferraris to land a build slot.” Yeah, it’s the (call it what is is, folks) crossover, but it’s also got a big honkin’ V12 and I guess that combo of factors has made it damn popular.
All of the family hauler SUVs need a PHEV option or at least a traditional hybrid. It’s nuts how so many don’t offer one at this stage. The Telluride/Palisade twins only offer a wheezy, inefficient V6, the Pilot offers a slightly sharper but similarly inefficient V6, the Highlander offers a solid hybrid option but no PHEV one, etc.
The wife and I have been doing some preliminary research on this class as we work to expand the franchise and there just aren’t enough electrified options in the $35-50,000 range. Naturally there are tons once you get into the luxury game but hell if we’re going to drop like 70k on a luxury car for kids and the dog to decimate…
Mazda has really hit a home run with the CX90. They have a PHEV option and even the straight 6 is efficient for what it is. I think that car is going to prove to be a game changer.
Preach! Shopping in this segment too, I’m holding out until there is a longer range or fast charging model. Getting 20 mpg is so 1990’s in all the worst ways.
Yeah, that CX90 is gonna sell like hotcakes. I’m even looking at one, and I hate crossovers.
15 new models in a three-year span would be a lot even for a big company, it seems crazy for Ferrari. Maybe the right-hand drive PHEV spyder with a challenge grill(e) counts as a separate car than the US EV coupe.
At their profit margins, I’m not surprised.
Even if they make a Purosangue Pista Spider, people would still buy every one of them.
If the top 10 best selling cars on each continent were available only as PHEV or EV, that would most likely have more environmental impact in the short term as any of the legislation currently being touted.
The Volt needs a third generation.
The Ford Explorer and Expedition need PHEV, The GM T1XX models need diesel PHEV
The Sienna could absolutely benefit. So would every model in Toyota’s lineup.
Make that pickup trucks in general. A lot of folks wouldn’t mind having a battery to run tools or a camper off of. Their engines are a lot quieter and cleaner burning than the fleet of generators at any campground to boot.
Almost all of them. We should have many more PHEV options that we do right now. It’s the best solution for most people right now–electric most of the time, gas to eliminate range anxiety.
This. 100%. There may be some exceptions, but I can’t think of a reason why any vehicle that is a hybrid isn’t PHEV as a standard feature. That is absolutely what needs to be done. BEVs are fun for rich people, but not as an only vehicle for the majority of the population.