China EV Maker Zeekr Unveils Fast-Charging LFP Battery

Reuters

15:34 JST, December 15, 2023

SHANGHAI, Dec 14 (Reuters) – Zeekr ZK.N, the premium electric vehicle brand of Chinese automaker Geely 0175.HKGEELY.UL, unveiled on Thursday lithium iron phosphate batteries it developed that support fast charging.

Zeekr becomes the latest manufacturer to launch such a battery in a competitive market, as it moves to cut dependence on external suppliers for the key component of electric vehicles, or EVs.

At a battery plant owned by Zeekr’s parent Geely Holding Group in the province of Zhejiang, the company said its upcoming 007 sedan would be the first model to be equipped with the batteries, which charge sufficiently within 15 minutes to reach a driving range of 500 km (300 miles), together with an 800-voltage electric system.

Zeekr’s Chinese rival Nio 9866.HK, which has also been developing battery technologies of its own, plans to spin off its battery making unit to ease costs, Reuters reported this month.

Zeekr has used nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) batteries from the world’s largest battery maker, CATL 300750.SZ, to power its 001 crossover and 009 multipurpose vehicles (MPV).

CATL has also launched fast-charging batteries to be used in Li Auto’s 2015.HK first pure electric MPV MEGA, enabling a driving range of 500 km (300 miles) with a charging time of 12 minutes.