Production for Geely's 700-km EV, the Zeekr 001, begins in Ningbo, China

Big news from China – the Zeekr 001 has gone into production in a fancy 5G+ equipped factory in Ningbo.

Now, don’t fret if you haven’t heard of the 001. Zeekr is Geely’s all-new, all-electric brand for the Chinese market. And if you’re getting a strange sense of déjà vu, it’s because the 001 was first shown as the Lynk & Co Zero concept back in 2020. All a little confusing, no? Just remember that Geely owns everything. 

Seems as though the 001 is a little confused too – it can’t decide whether it wants to be a proper estate, a shooting brake or a coupe-like SUV. It does look rather good though, and it’s based on Geely’s Sustainable Electric Architecture (SEA) platform so also gets some mega specs.

The twin-motor version gets 536bhp and 770Nm of torque, meaning the 0-100kph sprint takes 3.8 seconds. It also gets a massive 100kWh battery for up to 700km of range, and with 360kW fast charging available it can top up from 10 to 80 per cent in just 30 minutes. 

Zeekr says that it’ll launch five more ‘premium electric vehicles’ in the next five years, and bosses have previously mentioned that it’s looking to branch out into Europe. It describes the 001 as the ‘most exciting EV in a generation’ – reckon it could be, folks?