---
title: "ZEEKR Completes the Last Piece of Its Large Vehicle Strategic Portfolio"
type: "News"
locale: "en"
url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/283347916.md"
description: "A new variable in the market"
datetime: "2026-04-20T11:56:40.000Z"
locales:
  - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/283347916.md)
  - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/283347916.md)
  - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/283347916.md)
---

# ZEEKR Completes the Last Piece of Its Large Vehicle Strategic Portfolio

Author | Chai Xuchen, Zheng Hao

Editor | Zhou Zhiyu

After establishing a foothold in the 500,000 RMB and 300,000 RMB segments with its flagship 9X and premium 7X models respectively, ZEEKR has played its third card. It is now poised to fill the core 400,000 RMB market segment, completing a deep layout within the 300,000–500,000 RMB range.

On the evening of April 17, 2026, the ZEEKR 8X took center stage. This marks the second model under the Haohan-S electric-hybrid architecture following the fifth anniversary of ZEEKR's establishment, and it is also ZEEKR's first large five-seat SUV targeting the 300,000–400,000 RMB market.

The ZEEKR 8X directly competes with flagship luxury SUVs from traditional brands such as the BMW X5 and Audi Q7, reflecting ZEEKR's determination to achieve high sales volumes in the premium market above 300,000 RMB. However, it must be noted that large three-row SUVs have become a red ocean within an already saturated market.

Looking back, in recent years, the large three-row SUV segment has heated up rapidly. Li Auto has thoroughly addressed family needs; AITO has mastered intelligence; Denza and WEY have thickened the sense of luxury; while traditional luxury brands rely on brand inertia to hold their ground.

According to incomplete statistics, since 2025, nearly 20 large vehicles with a length exceeding 5.2 meters have been launched. Cumulative sales in the price segment above 300,000 RMB reached 2.061 million units. Calculated accordingly, the theoretical market space for each individual large vehicle model is only about 103,000 units.

However, not all players can seize this windfall. From a sales perspective, the large vehicle market shows clear polarization. Only three to five models truly possess market influence, while nearly 70% of large vehicle models record monthly sales of less than 1,000 units.

Yet, amidst this intensely competitive market, the ZEEKR 8X has carved out a path. Within just 29 minutes of its launch, pre-orders exceeded 10,000 units, with Ultra and higher trims accounting for 95.6% of these orders. This indicates that the vast majority of users opted for high-specification or even top-tier configurations.

High-end SUV users are arguably the most discerning group.

An insider close to ZEEKR told Wall Street News that the 8X managed to break through the market against the trend because it did not continue relying on "piling up specifications." Instead, it revived the driving dynamics strategy from the era of the ZEEKR 001, attempting to bring the competition in high-end SUVs back to mechanical quality and system capabilities.

During the ZEEKR 8X launch event, features such as 1,400 horsepower, dual-valve CCD, electromagnetic damping, active stabilizer bars, AI digital chassis, and integrated cockpit-driving systems were emphasized. Individually, these terms are familiar within the industry. However, presenting them in a mass-produced vehicle aimed at mainstream luxury SUV users, bundled at a relatively aggressive price point, carries a different significance.

"They want both space and dignity; they desire home comfort alongside driving quality; they seek intelligent experiences coupled with safety; they hope the car is large but not cumbersome," a senior executive from a major automaker told Wall Street News. "Traditional luxury brands have long dominated this market, fundamentally relying on comprehensive capabilities rather than any single parameter."

What ZEEKR 8X captures is precisely the gap left unsatisfied by new energy vehicles for this user group over the past few years.

Lin Jie stated directly to Wall Street News: Although the overall domestic auto market is shrinking, sales of luxury new energy products continue to grow, with an estimated scale of 1.2 million units this year. Many luxury brand users have yet to switch to new energy vehicles, and the ZEEKR 9X and 8X offer distinct alternatives.

In other words, high-end users do not reject new energy vehicles; rather, their requirements for them are higher.

For a 300,000 RMB vehicle, as long as it is fresh and cost-effective, someone will buy it. However, for a large SUV priced above 400,000 RMB, users will compare it long-term with the BMW X5, Audi Q7, and Mercedes-Benz GLE. Therefore, the 95.6% share of high-spec trims indicates that users are not concerned about spending extra money, but rather whether that expenditure delivers value.

This implies that ZEEKR 8X's pricing logic is not about sacrificing profits to grab sales volume, but rather leveraging Geely's systematic capabilities to downscale configurations and performance previously exclusive to luxury brands to a broader user base.

"The most important point in the automotive industry is achieving scale. Good products should be used by more people, and scale allows us to better amortize various product costs," said Gan Jiayue, CEO of Geely Automobile Holdings.

Once this cost logic is validated by the market, the competitive threshold for the large SUV segment will be redefined. Fewer players will be able to meet it.

Another impact of the ZEEKR 8X will be accelerating differentiation within the large SUV segment.

Previously, many entrants relied on the logic that "making a large car ensures sales." The reasoning was simple: changes in Chinese family demographics, increased demand for long-distance travel, and the social status associated with large vehicles. However, size is not the outcome; it is merely the entry ticket.

Once a vehicle is made larger, energy consumption rises, handling becomes more difficult, parking becomes harder, ride experience grows more complex, and overall vehicle coordination demands increase. Xu Yun told Wall Street News, "Stretching a vehicle slightly longer is not difficult, but ensuring agile driving dynamics is a much higher requirement. Many brands do not place special emphasis on this aspect, but ZEEKR values it highly."

Such a barrier will quickly rise. For players, the question is no longer who can build a large car, but who can make a large car as easy to drive as a small car, as comfortable as a luxury car, and as user-friendly as a smart device.

Therefore, the future of the large SUV segment may likely leave room for only three types of players: traditional luxury brands with strong brand momentum, leading new forces with super-smart labels, and large conglomerates possessing complete manufacturing systems and cost capabilities. The middle tier will face increasing difficulty.

ZEEKR clearly aims to become a leader among the third category.

Backed by Geely's supply chain, manufacturing system, and global platform capabilities, while maintaining the high-end expression of an independent brand, ZEEKR has continuously launched the 7X, 8X, and 9X. Essentially, this constitutes a deep layout within the 300,000–500,000 RMB new energy SUV segment.

If this strategy succeeds, ZEEKR will gain not only sales growth but also a leap in brand perception—transforming from a "personalized EV brand" into a "mainstream high-end alternative player." After all, the most profitable interval in the automotive industry has never been the cheapest market, but the market where users are willing to pay continuously for experience.

This presents an opportunity for ZEEKR, but pressure for the entire SUV market. In the coming years, anyone hoping to sell large vehicles based solely on a big screen, a plush sofa, or a few marketing slogans will find life increasingly difficult.

Below is the transcript of the dialogue with Gan Jiayue, CEO of Geely Automobile Holdings; Lin Jie, General Manager of ZEEKR Brand Sales; Xu Yun, Dean of ZEEKR Whole Vehicle Research Institute; and Chen Qi, Chief Intelligent Driving Scientist of Geely Holding Group:

**Q: What is the moat of the ZEEKR 8X?**

**Gan Jiayue:** From an industry perspective, China's new energy vehicle sector began gaining traction and developing rapidly between 2021 and 2022. During this process, the development of China's new energy vehicles can be defined in two stages: the powertrain stage and the intelligence stage. However, for Geely and ZEEKR, there is only one stage: electrification and intelligence are inseparable. Because a product can only achieve peak performance when all domains are fully integrated.

First, ZEEKR persists in creating ultimate products, which can only be realized through ultimate technology. From a product standpoint, the value of the ZEEKR 8X relates to its R&D philosophy. Every domain of ZEEKR models incorporates entirely new technologies. For instance, the SEP Haohan Super Electric Hybrid architecture endows the vehicle with superior performance, something traditional fuel-powered enterprises cannot achieve. 1,400 horsepower is equivalent to the V8 engine power of two Lamborghinis.

Second is handling capability. The handling of the ZEEKR 8X is achieved through a series of ZEEKR technologies, including the Haohan-S Super Electric Hybrid architecture, dual-valve CCD, AI digital chassis, etc. By leveraging AI to enhance overall vehicle technical capabilities, we address the challenge that greater power imposes on safety. We have also equipped the ZEEKR 8X with active stabilizer bars, ensuring excellent performance in both power and handling.

Third is intelligence. ZEEKR's integrated cockpit-driving super intelligent agent, Super Eva, merges assisted driving and the cockpit through AI capabilities and model capabilities, improving the usability of assisted driving and the user experience.

By adopting a "1+2+N" model, we achieve significant improvements in whole-vehicle domain control intelligence. "1" refers to the super smart brain; "2" encompasses the smart cockpit and assisted driving; "N" involves the orchestration of domain controls such as the chassis domain and power domain. Through this model, we maximize the comprehensive data invocation capability and synergy of the entire vehicle.

Through ultimate technology and ultimate products, delivering an even more ultimate experience to users is the philosophy ZEEKR has always pursued.

**Q: How is Geely's global strategic layout progressing?**

**Gan Jiayue:** Overseas, China's export growth was significant in the first quarter of this year, with industry exports growing over 63%. Geely's overseas sales reached 203,000 units in the first quarter, a cumulative increase of 126%, showing solid overall performance. As a global model, the ZEEKR 9X will go fully international in the second half of the year, adapting to global standards according to local conditions.

**Q: How does the group ensure production capacity and delivery for the two flagship ZEEKR models? What is the pricing logic for the 8X?**

**Gan Jiayue:** The 9X has been extremely popular, and the order growth rate for the 8X is also very fast. In September 2024, after Geely released the Taizhou Declaration, it conducted a systematic integration of functions and responsibilities. In terms of supply chain, a Major Procurement Center was established to integrate all resources, which played a crucial role in enhancing the supply chain for the ZEEKR 9X.

Following the launch of the 9X, orders surged. Initially, due to the adoption of new technologies, supply chain capacity planning was cautious. Subsequently, through collaboration with the supply chain, support was provided for new technologies like active stabilizer bars, magnesium-lithium alloy electric drives, and issues such as memory chips that had a significant impact from late last year to early this year. Consequently, the ZEEKR 9X delivered over 10,000 units consecutively for several months in the first quarter of this year.

The ZEEKR 8X shares many standardized components with the 9X. After preparations during the pre-Chinese New Year period and the last two to three months, the 8X's production capacity has increased rapidly and can meet market demand.

**Lin Jie:** With fierce market competition, we aim to set the price accurately and appropriately in one step, avoiding short-term price adjustments. This pricing was genuinely formulated based on market expectations and user demands.

The latest order structure shows that Ultra and higher trims account for 95.6% of the total.

**Q: How did ZEEKR continue to increase volume despite being in the first-quarter off-season?**

**Lin Jie:** In the first quarter of this year, China's new energy vehicle sales declined by 23% year-on-year, yet sales of luxury new energy products grew by 5%. The projected scale for luxury new energy vehicle sales this year is 1.2 million units. As the ZEEKR 9X and 8X have just entered this segment, they possess significant growth potential.

Luxury brand users pursue high vehicle performance. The main reasons they have not switched to new energy products in the past may include unmet performance standards and safety concerns. The ZEEKR 9X and 8X provide better alternatives.

Secondly, ZEEKR possesses forward-looking product layouts. This year, various manufacturers are launching large vehicles, and shooting brake models are also a market hotspot. The ZEEKR 001, as ZEEKR's first model, remains the best-selling shooting brake model globally in the new energy market. On April 10, the refreshed Zeekr 007 and 007 GT were launched, with three-day order volumes exceeding those of the first month after last year's launch.

Thirdly, user trust is invaluable and cannot be bought with millions. These are key reasons for ZEEKR's significant sequential and year-over-year growth.

**Q: Luxury cars are typically larger, while new energy vehicles are relatively heavier. Under the premise of guaranteeing high performance and comfortable dimensions, how is powerful handling achieved?**

**Xu Yun:** Many technologies were introduced at the launch event, and the vehicle's hardware equipment is undoubtedly top-tier. For example, it adopts dual-valve CCD electromagnetic dampers and active stabilizer bars. Even for models without active stabilizer bars, the baseline is high; however, in specific operating conditions, models equipped with active stabilizer bars perform even more excellently.

As a major automaker with deep roots like Geely, in terms of body control, chassis and power domain synergy, combined with the addition of numerous sensing units, the resulting intelligence is often less frequently discussed. We repeatedly emphasized this at the launch event and demonstrated multiple application scenarios, such as the vehicle's performance in cross-domain collaborative intelligent control under crosswind conditions.

Focusing solely on handling, beyond having adequate hardware, vehicle control capability and calibration depth are also critical. This relies heavily on human support. Geely's system work norms and standards, along with the teams integrating these norms and standards into daily operations, enable the entire technical system to operate efficiently and ultimately reflect in the vehicle's actual performance. Whether it is the 8X or 9X, all ZEEKR vehicles feel different to drive. This reflects a combination of hardware strength, software strength, corporate system strength, and the inherent hardware-software strength of the vehicles themselves.

From the initial concept design phase, hardware design faces many barriers. Without a database or accumulated technical experience from numerous previous models, problems may arise during concept design. For instance, deviations during model building could lead to irreparable hardware flaws during subsequent vehicle series calibration, making it impossible to achieve extremely high handling levels.

**Q: Compared to version 3.0, where are the core functional improvements in the Qianli Haohan G-ASD 4.0 system?**

**Chen Qi:** The core difference between the Qianli Haohan G-ASD 4.0 system and the 3.0 system is that while the 3.0 system might be easy to use, the 4.0 system creates a feeling of being indispensable.

From a technical perspective, there are three major changes: First, the model inclusion rate achieves a leapfrog improvement. Second, it is equipped with a longitudinal-integrated model, providing a smoother user experience. Third, it integrates the cockpit and driving systems. We perform slightly better than Grok; Grok suffers from a severe sense of disconnection between "cockpit belongs here, driving belongs there," whereas we have truly integrated cockpit and driving. Even vague semantics can be understood, and combined with assisted driving, it can take you to your desired destination with a single click.

Additionally, as mentioned regarding cockpit-driving integration, the ability to understand semantics vaguely makes things easier for users, representing an improvement of the 4.0 system over the 3.0.

**Q: Are large vehicles a genuine necessity driven by family structure changes, or a temporary industry supply-demand phenomenon and herd behavior? If facing product oversupply or intensified competition, how should the true capacity and sustainability of this segment be judged?**

**Gan Jiayue:** From a product planning perspective, enterprise development requires focusing on four points: premiumization, intelligence, internationalization, and ecosystem development. These are currently the top priorities for ZEEKR and Geely. Premiumization of products depends on market and user demands. Generally, higher-end models are larger. ZEEKR aims to move upward, and from a user perspective, there is indeed a demand for large vehicles.

First, advancements in intelligence reduce concerns regarding large vehicle usage scenarios. Previously, people avoided large vehicles due to insufficient intelligence, particularly regarding parking, which was a major challenge. However, in terms of space and comfort, large vehicles actually offer a better user experience. Therefore, we believe that the development of intelligence promotes the development of large vehicles.

Second, infrastructure is improving, roads are widening, and human activity radiuses are expanding. For those who pursue high personal quality of life, driving a rugged large vehicle or a high-performance car for travel becomes desirable. With intelligent assistance, travel is less tiring, so demand for intelligent large vehicles will gradually increase. Regarding product planning, Geely had three "9" products last year: the 9X, 900, and M9, which received significant user recognition across different sub-segments. With the launch of the ZEEKR 8X this year, it has been extremely popular from pre-sales to the present.

**Chen Qi:** I personally love large vehicles. Seeing large vehicles in the US makes my heart race. I especially like the ZEEKR 9X and 8X. I believe most wealthy people in China prefer large vehicles. However, large vehicles certainly pose certain challenges for assisted driving, including various controls and sensing. Conversely, this is precisely where the meaning and value of assisted driving lie.

For instance, on narrow or difficult parking spots for the ZEEKR 9X and 8X, manual parking is challenging for humans. However, intelligent parking assist technology can achieve precise parking, performing even better than humans. This is what assisted driving should accomplish. In the future, including for commercial vehicles, trucks, and buses, assisted driving may play an even greater role. Model training is also considering this direction, platformizing large and small vehicles within a single large model, thereby reducing R&D costs.

**Q: The current large vehicle market is promising. Large bodies impose higher requirements on assisted driving, energy consumption, and safety. What adaptations will ZEEKR make based on platform-based R&D to address this trend?**

**Xu Yun:** Regarding platformization, we generally say that system selection can be platformized within a weight range. Based on this platformization, if the vehicle is slightly larger and cleverly designed, as long as the selection falls within this weight bandwidth, the basic system architecture will not change significantly, such as the braking system.

However, large vehicles are the trend. Both the ZEEKR 9X and 8X are already quite large, but I feel everyone wants them even bigger. The ZEEKR 9X is already over 5.2 meters long. To make it appear tighter and more agile, we added large bright trim strips to the D-pillar, pushing the visual focus forward. Given this substantial internal space, it appears relatively approachable in the market, allowing drivers to feel no distance and capable of mastering it. If further enlarged, the sense of distance from the driver would increase. Improving flexibility is therefore crucial next. How users can flexibly utilize the vehicle in different scenarios is indeed a significant challenge.

With increasing levels of intelligence, some pressure may be alleviated. From an R&D perspective, we must not only face challenges but also monitor future market and user feedback. When user voices arise, action must be taken. As mentioned earlier, from a platformization standpoint, extending the vehicle slightly is not difficult. However, ensuring agile driving dynamics is a much higher requirement. Many brands do not place special emphasis on this aspect, but ZEEKR values it highly.

**Q: The pricing of the ZEEKR 8X is particularly fair. What considerations did ZEEKR make?**

**Gan Jiayue:** The most important point in the automotive industry is achieving scale. Good products should be used by more people, which signifies recognition of the product. Scale also allows us to better amortize various product costs, not just at the Geely manufacturing plants. From a full value chain perspective, the automotive industry is a very long supply chain. Once our total volume growth reaches a certain level, the volume of the supply chain will also increase significantly, allowing their costs to be partially amortized as well.

A blockbuster product first requires good technology, which is a prerequisite; second, it must have quality, pushed to the extreme; third, it must provide customers with a good experience and value empowerment; fourth, it must achieve scale. Without scale, customer experience will inevitably be poor. Therefore, I always believe that value must be established first. Finally, the pricing logic for all products is essentially determined by market pricing laws.

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