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Zeekr, Geely’s luxury and performance arm, is the first dedicated Chinese premium brand to launch in Australia.
Within months though, it will be joined by Chery’s premium export arm Jaecoo, as well as the dedicated EV-maker Xpeng and, if MG Australia’s plans go right, it will also enter the fray with its luxury electric IM vehicles.
Speaking to CarsGuide at a brand preview event in China, Zeekr’s Australian head of marketing Andrew Haurissa explained the brand isn't afraid of extra competition in the emerging ‘premium Chinese’ space.
“They’re not a threat at all” he says of Jaecoo, Xpeng, and IM Motors, “More competition is better for the market; being the first Chinese brand will help us showcase a true difference. For those who don’t know the brand or the story behind it, it could be hard to differentiate, but once you feel the quality in these vehicles, it’s two worlds apart.”
He admitted communicating less tangible elements of what sets Zeekr apart from other Chinese brands and even established mainstream players was a monumental task, particularly as buyers are currently inundated with information on new makes and models coming to the market. He says Zeekr’s very public relationship with its Volvo and Polestar siblings under the Geely umbrella helps its status in the public consciousness.
“It’s hard to convert it to layman's terms” he says of the European design, platforms, and driving dynamics Zeekr shares across the Geely group with cars like the Polestar 4.
“I think for most consumers it starts with: Do I like the design? Does this suit my family? Then we can get to the test drive and compare it to cars they’ve driven before where those elements should become obvious.”
“The training definitely comes down to a dealer level as well. They need to be equipped to communicate to buyers the handling and chassist tuning — how Zeekrs are truly European designed in Gothenburg [Sweden] which is just built in China.”
“With Zeekr there’s no sugarcoating required. You drive it, and it’s easy to see how it compares to European rivals.” he said.
Zeekr is keen to outline how its traditional OEM-backed dealer model also helps set itself apart from some of its Chinese rivals, many of which, like Xpeng, BYD, and now Deepal are imported by distributors.
This offers it several advantages, says Haurissa “because we have direct contact with the factory, we can make changes and updates on the fly based on local requirements. Parts supply can be done in advance, we can have better applications and more control over the ownership experience.”
“We’ve been careful to pick dealers who have experience with premium brands,” he says, “Retention is as important as a new acquisition [buyer]. We’ll see the effect of that when we’re out in the market.”
Haurissa indicated the brand has amassed some five thousand expressions of interest for its range of products (which currently include the just-launched X small SUV and 009 people mover, as well as the incoming 7X mid-size SUV), although he says what is currently drawing buyers in was primarily the more futuristic design language of the cars.
“It’s design, it’s more current, more futuristic, obviously there’s the drive experience and having better cabin tech,” but he says not all people walking into Zeekr showrooms yet understood what the brand was about, with Haurissa saying some walk-ins who were primarily interested in cross-shopping Chinese brands were surprised with how small the X is and the price-tag it’s wearing is higher than they were willing to pay.
“They’re not well informed yet. They’re concerned about price point — they’re not the intended audience — most of them are telling us the product is impressive but the price point isn’t right.”
“Chinese brands, in general, have been seen as cheap and cheerful — but that’s a historic point of view — each brand will have a part to play to showcase who is and who isn’t a premium brand. It’s easy if you’re an owner — the most premium Chinese brand won’t have big volume, because to achieve that status requires a lot of effort. People at this price point desire a certain experience, but how much are they willing to pay for it?”
Because the brand’s aspirations aren’t purely measured in volume, this left Zeekr more breadth to let the market decide where it would sit, both price and volume-wise.
“We are Chinese, we’re not a European brand with 100 years of history — If we’re compared to them? That’s fine, let the user have that discussion, it’s just up to us to provide the best product we can.”
Zeekr says despite generally lower pricing than many of its luxury segment competitors, the initial demand was still skewing toward the more expensive all-wheel drive version of the two X small SUVs, an early sign that buyers were understanding its position in the market.
Time will tell whether a niche like this will carve itself out of the market. The purely electric Zeekr, which may now also have access to the hybrid and combustion Lynk & Co model range thanks to a major corporate shake-up, will be facing competition from all directions.
Chery’s Jaecoo sub-brand will be primarily combustion initially with hybrids planned for the future, while Xpeng has caused quite a ruckus with its Model Y-priced G6 mid-size SUV. Meanwhile, MG’s local division is working on bringing its purely electric IM Motors vehicles to Australia, although it is pushing for them with its Shanghai headquarters to wear MG badges.
That’s not to forget GWM’s Tank brand, which offers more upmarket off-road mainstream vehicles at higher price points than it has before. BYD is also a potential challenger, with its distributor also keen to get its hands on the FangCheng Bao (Formula Leopard) sub-brand of plush range-extender hybrid off-roaders.
One thing is for sure, 2025 will be the year of the Chinese automaker in Australia, potentially permanently shifting the hierarchy of our favourite brands.
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