Photo: Geely
Geely controls several brands: Volvo, Polestar, smart, Lynk & Co. The latest one is ZEEKR, but it was born as a spin-off of Lynk & Co, with its first production car being a badge-engineered Lynk & Co Zero Concept. Curiously, the company’s compact hatchback shows the Chinese titan is also running out of ideas with names. The new vehicle could be named ZEEKR #3.
That’s the same name as the next smart, the coupe version of the smart #1. ZEEKR was expected to name it ZEEKR 003, which would follow the naming strategy it seemed to be following with its first vehicle (the 001) and the MPV it recently introduced (the 009). Although that may still be the case, a ZEEKR LinkedIn post calls it the #3 and states it is “coming soon.”
Compact hatchbacks are not very popular in China, so the #3 (or 003) should be presented in Europe first. That will allow ZEEKR to keep it secret until the vehicle makes its premiere. If it were to be sold in China first, it would appear in public files from the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) before its presentation. Geely helped us anyway by releasing images of the car under light disguise.
Weirdly, it was photographed three times beside an Audi e-tron GT in Gothenburg, Sweden, one of them in front of the Stora Teatern in Lorensberg. Doing so in the Swedish city makes sense because Geely has an R&D center there, as well as its design studio. What sounds strange is choosing a car from the competition to place it alongside its new EV. Was that to give people an idea of how big it is? If it were, wouldn’t it be better to use a Volvo or a Polestar instead? We’ll probably never know.
Apart from possibly sharing its naming strategy with smart, the new hatchback from ZEEKR will also use the Sustainable Experience Architecture that underpins the new smart EVs. That said, it would not surprise us if the new ZEEKR shared the same specifications, which will be the case with the new EX30.
The Chinese press believes the entry-level Volvo will have the same motor options as the smart #1: a single one in the rear delivering 200 kW (268 hp) and one for each axle in more expensive derivatives, for a total output of 315 kW (422 hp). The battery pack should provide 440 kilometers of range under the WLTP testing cycle, thanks to its 66 kWh capacity.
As for dimensions, the smart #1 is 4.27 m (168.1 in) long, 1.82 m (71.7 in) wide, 1.64 m (64.4 in) tall and has a 2.75 m (108.3 in) wheelbase. This dimension should be precisely the same for the EX30 and the ZEEKR #3 (or 003). The other ones just hint at what to expect when the new electric hatchback is on sale.
Compact hatchbacks are not very popular in China, so the #3 (or 003) should be presented in Europe first. That will allow ZEEKR to keep it secret until the vehicle makes its premiere. If it were to be sold in China first, it would appear in public files from the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) before its presentation. Geely helped us anyway by releasing images of the car under light disguise.
Weirdly, it was photographed three times beside an Audi e-tron GT in Gothenburg, Sweden, one of them in front of the Stora Teatern in Lorensberg. Doing so in the Swedish city makes sense because Geely has an R&D center there, as well as its design studio. What sounds strange is choosing a car from the competition to place it alongside its new EV. Was that to give people an idea of how big it is? If it were, wouldn’t it be better to use a Volvo or a Polestar instead? We’ll probably never know.
Apart from possibly sharing its naming strategy with smart, the new hatchback from ZEEKR will also use the Sustainable Experience Architecture that underpins the new smart EVs. That said, it would not surprise us if the new ZEEKR shared the same specifications, which will be the case with the new EX30.
The Chinese press believes the entry-level Volvo will have the same motor options as the smart #1: a single one in the rear delivering 200 kW (268 hp) and one for each axle in more expensive derivatives, for a total output of 315 kW (422 hp). The battery pack should provide 440 kilometers of range under the WLTP testing cycle, thanks to its 66 kWh capacity.
As for dimensions, the smart #1 is 4.27 m (168.1 in) long, 1.82 m (71.7 in) wide, 1.64 m (64.4 in) tall and has a 2.75 m (108.3 in) wheelbase. This dimension should be precisely the same for the EX30 and the ZEEKR #3 (or 003). The other ones just hint at what to expect when the new electric hatchback is on sale.
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