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Recently, Zeekr Auto launched the new Zeekr 009, which is divided into three versions, including the two-wheel drive seven-seat aisle version, the four-wheel drive seven-seat aisle version and the four-wheel drive six-seat executive version, with a price range of 439,000 to 469,000 yuan. In general, against the backdrop of increasing market competition, the new Zeekr 009 has increased configuration and reduced prices. Compared with the old model's starting price of 499,000 yuan, the starting price of the new car has dropped by 60,000 yuan.

At the same time, the new Zeekr 009 has also launched a right-hand drive version for Hong Kong and some countries and regions around the world. The price of the Zeekr 009 in the Hong Kong market starts at HK$755,000 (approximately RMB 700,000) after enjoying a one-for-one subsidy.

Regarding the large price difference in different markets, An Conghui, CEO of Zeekr Intelligent Technology, said in an interview with the media that Zeekr's pricing in different markets takes into account the product's cost, logistics, tariffs and some local actual conditions. The cost of owning a car in Hong Kong itself is relatively high. For example, the price of Toyota Alpha in Hong Kong is about 760,000 yuan, so the current pricing of Zeekr 009 is reasonable.

In June this year, there was news that Zeekr is also working on an extended-range vehicle project and will launch the 009 extended-range model. Zeekr previously denied the rumors of entering the extended-range vehicle market. But recently, An Conghui mentioned for the first time that Zeekr Auto does not rule out making extended-range hybrid vehicles in the future, which is too easy for Zeekr, but it is currently focusing on the pure electric market.

In the past two years, the direction of China's new energy vehicle market has changed suddenly. Although the pure electric market is still the largest new energy market segment, the growth rate of the plug-in hybrid market, including the extended-range market, has far exceeded that of pure electric. In 2023, the sales volume of plug-in hybrid vehicles reached 2.804 million units, a year-on-year increase of 84.7%. In comparison, the sales volume of pure electric vehicles that year was 6.685 million units, a year-on-year growth rate of 24.6%. In June this year, against the background of a year-on-year growth rate of 15.8% in the sales volume of pure electric vehicles, the year-on-year growth rate of plug-in hybrid vehicle sales reached nearly 70%.

Based on this market background, Ideal and Wenjie are "like fish in water", and many pure electric brands have also turned to the extended-range market, such as Leapmotor and Nezha. In addition, it is reported that Avita, Zhiji, and Xiaomi are also planning extended-range vehicles. According to market sources, the third car planned by Xiaomi Motors is an extended-range SUV model, which is mainly for home use and will be launched in 2026.

The market trend of extended-range/plug-in hybrid vehicles is more obvious in the MPV field. In the first half of this year, the top ten MPVs in terms of cumulative sales were all fuel vehicles or plug-in hybrid vehicles; the sales champion of pure electric MPVs was Xiaopeng X9, with an average monthly sales of only 2,190 units. Although Zeekr won the sales champion of Chinese brands with a price of more than 200,000 yuan in the first half of 2024, the average monthly sales of Zeekr 009, which follows the pure electric route, were still less than 500 units.

Many industry insiders believe that in the short term, the plug-in hybrid/range extended market still has great market opportunities. On the contrary, the growth rate of the pure electric market has slowed down significantly. Li Xueyong, deputy general manager of Chery Automobile Co., Ltd., general manager of Chery Automobile Marketing Company, and general manager of Jietu Automobile, once said in an interview with the First Financial reporter that in the next 2 to 3 years, the Chinese market will form a 4:3:3 ratio, of which 40% will be hybrid, 30% will be pure electric and 30% will be fuel.