Zeekr X Launches in Europe: Interview with Vice Presidents on Expansion Strategy and Market Confidence

At the 20th Shanghai Auto Show, JEETZER not only brought its newly released compact electric SUV, JEETZER X, but also officially announced its European strategy, marking the beginning of its global market expansion. The first batch of direct stores will settle in Stockholm, Sweden and Amsterdam, the Netherlands within this year, and delivery will be launched in both countries, as well as in most of Western Europe by 2026.

JEETZER has also launched its official European website, www.zeekr.eu, where users can register to obtain the first batch of pre-order qualifications for JEETZER 001 and JEETZER X. Regarding its entry into the European market, combined with the two major moves of JEETZER X, we conducted interviews with Steven Zhao, Vice President of JEETZER Smart Technology and Zhu Ling, Vice President of JEETZER Smart Technology, about the European market, JEETZER X, and the JEETZER brand.

About the European Strategy

Q: Which car, JEETZER X or 001, will be the first to enter the European market?

Steven Zhao: Both JEETZER 001 and JEETZER X are tailor-made for European consumers and developed based on the global five-star safety standards to meet the luxury needs of European urban users. After entering the European market, JEETZER 001 will be deployed first, and JEETZER X will come a few months later. In terms of product maturity, JEETZER 001 is more mature, so it will go to Europe first. However, the demand for compact pure electric cars is high in the European market, so JEETZER X will speed up its pace to enter Europe.

Q: After entering the European market, how will JEETZER arrange its sales channels and make use of Geely’s resources?

Steven Zhao: As we just mentioned, we will use the power of the giant and the accumulation of globalization to deploy our plan. Lynk & Co is a joint venture between Geely and Volvo, and it has already established its presence in more than 11 countries in Europe. Therefore, JEETZER has a natural advantage in entering the European market, and we will leverage the experience of Geely and Lynk & Co to enter the European market. Therefore, we are still very confident about the European market.

Q: At what point in the future can we assess the work of the European market, and how is the standard of market verification in Europe?

Steven Zhao: User recognition and market share will be the first to be considered in entering segmented markets.

About JEETZER X

Q: After the launch of JEETZER X, people are quite satisfied with its pricing. What is your sales expectation for JEETZER X, and will there be any pressure on vehicle supply in June?# Zhao Yuhui: The expected sales volume of JIKEXING’s X model this year is 40,000 units, and the total expected sales volume of JIKEXING this year is 140,000 units (including 001 and 009). Delivery pressure still exists, but we have Geely Group behind us. Like last year, JIKEXING 001 encountered problems with chips and the pandemic, which caused a lot of pressure on delivery, but Geely provided great support.

Zhu Ling: We will fully maximize the production capacity of our Chengdu factory next week, so there is no need to overly worry about delivery issues.

Q: Why is JIKEXING using the EyeQ4 assisted driving system instead of the EyeQ5 used on 001? Does assisted driving affect X’s purchasing decision?

Zhu Ling: For different cars, it’s important to use appropriate hardware. JIKEXING X is a small car that emphasizes extreme handling performance, so forcing consumers into using overly strong assisted driving systems is not ideal. Moreover, this kind of stacking will make the product definition very vague.

Moreover, the importance of intelligent driving and intelligent cockpit differs during the car purchasing process. For JIKEXING 001, more geeky users are interested, so advanced assisted driving is more important for that user group. For JIKEXING 009, more family travelers or drivers are interested, so cockpit features are more important. The importance is more balanced for JIKEXING X, and cannot be lumped together.

Including the current criticism that our prices are expensive, it’s due to unclear product definition and stacking radar and screens, making it difficult to lower the cost.

Q: When facing compact SUVs like those from BBA, Volkswagen Tiguan, Honda CRV, and also pure electric cars like BYD Han EV, Tesla Model 3, and Volkswagen ID.4, how competitive is JIKEXING X?

Zhu Ling: The main competitors for JIKEXING X are compact SUVs from traditional luxury brands. In addition, users of Tesla Model 3 and Volkswagen ID.4 will also be diverted. For JIKEXING X, users can be divided into two groups – young people and those who pursue extreme handling. Therefore, the consumers’ choices are also different. Our goal is to become the top player in the subdivided market.

About the JIKEXING Brand

Q: What about JIKEXING’s listing plans after this?

Zhao Yuhui: JIKEXING’s existing models are equipped with the SEA Haohan architecture, a pure electric platform developed by Geely Group over 5 years. JIKEXING’s products involve not only financial investment but also time investment. Therefore, entering the capital market is the path that JIKEXING wanted to take since the brand’s release. We already have plans, and the current progress is consistent with expectations. We will announce more financing plans in the future.> Q: Will the brand value of Jike X decrease since Jike has always been selling cars priced at 300,000 RMB from 001 to 009 and now released a compact SUV priced under 200,000 RMB?

Zhao Yuhui: Although Jike X is a compact SUV priced at less than 200,000 RMB, luxury is not only reflected in its price. Jike’s product concept is that it can provide users with high value. Jike X has a spacious interior, strong power, and excellent handling. Jike’s attitude is to firmly not engage in price wars, but to engage in value wars. It aims to compete in the areas of service, technology, and brands. This is the direction of the brand. It aims to expand costs from brand premiums to bring greater benefits to users.

Zhu Ling: Moreover, Jike X is not cheap compared to other models in the same price range. You can also buy a larger and longer pure electric vehicle in the same price range, but Jike X is worth its price.

Q: You previously announced that there were only 660 charging stations, and the reason for not meeting expectations is?

Zhao Yuhui: As for the charging and energy supplement layout, I have put a brake on this. It is meaningless to blindly establish charging stations without doing a good job in user experience. We want to create intelligent charging stations, but many charging pillars cannot be changed, which is a bottleneck. Equipment failure rates, electronic locks, and scanning codes on mobile phones are all factors. We want to improve the service experience before speeding up the layout of charging stations even though our goal for this year is to establish over 1,000 stations. Moreover, we will share the new Super Charge war with you by the end of this year.

Finally

Let’s recall what Spiros Fotinos, Vice President of Jike Intelligent Technology and CEO of Jike Europe Sales Company, said at the press conference: “In Europe, for Europe, we will develop the European market with three commercial pillars: excellent products, direct sales mode, and one-stop service, striving to become a leading brand in the European electric vehicle market by 2030.” To fully meet user needs, Jike will provide users with a new luxury experience of one-stop service from four aspects: financial policies, energy supplement systems, after-sales support, and vehicle networking.

Jike has gone from zero to one in the domestic market, but Jike is still “strange” to the European market because it has not yet been laid out. Jike X was designed by Stefan Sielaff, Vice President and Global Chief Designer at Jike Intelligent Technology, in Gothenburg, Sweden, and has a pure European heritage. In addition, Jike has its own engineering and research and development team in Europe, which carries out localized verification tests of Jike X and 001.In the market, relying on the global resources of Geely Holding Group, JingKe can refer to the experience of Volvo and Lynk & Co., to quickly expand from 0 to 1 in Europe. Electric vehicle going global is already a very active effort for many independent brands. For Geely, Volvo is a local Swedish brand, and Lynk & Co will be responsible for products with extended range hybrid powertrains, while JingKe will focus on pure electric product lines. This approach is also more easily accepted by global consumers.

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.