Author: Xiaodong
Editor: Chris
On June 15th, Laxing Channel attended the co-creation communication meeting held by ZEEKR Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as ZEEKR). ZEEKR shared the latest developments of the enterprise and responded to the concerns of users.
Since the official release of ZEEKR brand on April 15th this year, the pre-sales of ZEEKR 001 have far exceeded expectations, and An Conghui, CEO of ZEEKR, said, “The enthusiastic demand for the luxury trendy and technological configuration of ZEEKR 001 has far exceeded our expectations. Currently, all delivery orders for 2021 have been sold out.” From now on, we have to stop accepting intent deposits.
Starting from June 15th, ZEEKR stops accepting intent deposits. After that, users with big orders will be delivered according to the order of deposit payment time after the Spring Festival in 2022. At the same time, ZEEKR 001 will be officially delivered in October.
As of June 14th, the average order amount of big orders for ZEEKR 001 exceeded 335,000 yuan. Among them, the top version ZEEKR 001 YOU accounted for more than 40% of sales. In addition, more than 82% of users have made selections, with an average selection amount of 19,000 yuan.
According to ZEEKR’s statistics, the total number of fans across all platforms has exceeded one million, with 92% of them being between 18 and 39 years old. In terms of optional configurations, the Yamaha high-end audio overall assembly rate of ZEEKR 001 is as high as 80%; the optional air suspension ratio reaches 61%, and the user ratios of selecting the intelligent induction automatic door set and the intelligent massage seat respectively reach 44% and 57%.
The ZEEKR APP will be launched on June 30th, and in addition to its community attributes, it will also launch a ZEEKR Mall. At the same time, ZEEKR will hold opening ceremonies one after another in 20 core cities across the country from July onwards. The first ZEEKR space in Shanghai will open before the National Day holiday, and during the same period, the first theme store of ZEEKR will officially open in Hangzhou. Within this year, the first ZEEKR center will be opened in Shanghai.
After ZEEKR shared the developments of the enterprise, a media communication meeting was held, and important topics were answered, including production capacity, autonomous driving, advantages, and personnel changes. The QA session was sorted out by Laxing Channel, as follows:
Q: What is the expected delivery volume within the year, given the large order volume now?
A: Originally only 7,000-8,000 vehicles were expected to be produced this year. Communication is being carried out concerning the supply chain guarantee, especially regarding chips. Delivery data is constantly changing, and we hope to release it every month.Q: What is Zeekr about user co-creation understanding? What specific things has Zeekr done in co-creation with users so far?
A: To Zeekr, user co-creation means listening to user demands. Since the brand launch two months ago, CEO An Conghui has held six user meetings. Zeekr makes prompt adjustments to issues raised at each meeting. However, the customer base is limited offline, so when Zeekr App is launched by end of June, there will be more user feedback pouring in, which is a major test for Zeekr.
Q: Compared to other forces, where are the advantages of Zeekr?
A: For Zeekr, it is necessary to learn new experiences and inherit old advantages, which is different from traditional enterprise transformation and new forces. Zeekr takes the third way, which distinguishes it from them in all aspects including brand, organizational structure, corporate culture, pre-layout of industrial chain, etc.
Q: Two questions, how did user research of the ventilated front passenger seat happen, and has Zeekr considered the dual charging pile mode if users need two charging piles?
A: It is true that the ventilated front passenger seat was not available at the beginning. Many people, especially Southern car owners, mentioned the demand for ventilated front passenger seats after the product launch, which was obtained from interactions with users. The black decoration strip and the automatic sunroof are also from user voices. As for the charging pile issue, two or three are no problem. Regarding energy supplement experience, Zeekr is deploying nationwide charging services, perhaps better than 70-80% of companies, because it has compared all aspects including charging pile design, function, length, thickness, weight, and all details.
Q: How does Zeekr solve the problem of user demands or when users think that Zeekr’s things are meaningless?
A: A good solution must have two prerequisites: user perspective and user scenario, only in this way can the demand behind the superficial demand of users be perceived. Regarding user demands, Zeekr deeply insights and understands all demands and real intentions of users.
Q: What process and mechanism does Zeekr have to avoid invalid demands due to fragmented demands, and how to screen them?
A: A truly user-centric company is not a one-person, one vote organization, as one person, one vote cannot bring true user value. Zeekr needs to refine demands. Adding a note, the digital R&D team has developed a tool called Echo, which is being developed to accelerate the integration of user demands and research and development and improve efficiency.
Q: Can you talk about the composition of Zeekr’s personnel? What is the structure of external personnel and automobile industry personnel?A: The personnel of ZEEKR are rapidly changing. The proportion of external users entering the customer side currently accounts for 70%, and will surpass 80% in the future. Regarding the product side, the original team accounts for 70%, while the external team accounts for 30%. In the future, it may be about 30% – 40%. The core team is made up of a large number of post-80s and post-90s. Regarding the capital side, 60%-70% comes from external investment. The entire brand is composed of cross-industry personnel. Among the core team, I (An Hui Cong) am the oldest.
A: The 5,000 for 20,000 policy will continue, but if delivery is scheduled for next year due to user reasons, the national subsidy for 2021 cannot be enjoyed. The Beijing delivery center has begun commercial negotiations last week, and several ZEEKR centers have also reached the signing stage.
A: ZEEKR’s genetic positioning is trend-setting technology, attracting crowds that pay more attention to technology and trend-setting. ZEEKR is constantly evolving, including products, culture, and genetics. Next, two new products will be launched each year.
A: Some configuration models may be scheduled for delivery in January of next year, based on the total order volume, rather than particular configurations or models.
A: The current 820AP car system experience is already excellent. The 8155P version will definitely be launched next year. It is completely feasible to switch from 820AP to 8155P next year as it has already been taken into account from the design and research and development side.
A: There will be different driving modes according to different needs. It can be iteratively upgraded and improved in the future, which is the competitiveness of the entire vast architecture.
In addition to the above, during this communication, An Hui Cong also mentioned the issues of autonomous driving, batteries, and user equity:
Regarding autonomous driving, An Hui Cong experienced the intelligent driving ZAD of ZEEKR 001 firsthand, “which was very shocking, extremely exciting, and fully achieved the previously set goals.”
Regarding the battery aspect, ZEEKR has been investing heavily in VIRU since it was established in partnership with Contemporary Amperex Technology and LG Chemical seven years ago, including deploying autonomous driving technology.Regarding the 4.9% stake held by users, our initial consideration was not actually this number, but rather a compliance issue with laws and regulations. The proportion of user rights cannot exceed 5%, which is not a rumor circulating about learning from a certain enterprise in Shanghai. In the future, Zeekr will also go public on the capital market.
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.