It’s no secret I love the Zeekr 007. It feels stylish and fresh, and I curse the U.S.’s China tariffs for keeping such a damn good car from our shores. But, I will admit that although I enjoyed driving the thing around a racetrack in Beijing, my knowledge of the car’s quality of life aspects is limited. The infotainment system was all in Chinese, and there wasn’t enough time for me to get a demonstration of the 007’s DC fast charging abilities. That last part is a big deal because the Zeekr 001 and Zeekr 007 are vying against the Li Auto Mega for the record of the fastest-charging EV. The 007 may be in third place, but according to this video in real-time, Chinese EV drivers win either way.
This video posted by a YouTube channel named China’s EV Car, shows a Zeekr 007 in China, charging at a DC fast charger. That in itself isn’t necessarily news, but we can watch the 007 charge in real-time, and its charging curve might be one of the most impressive I’ve seen among modern EVs yet. The driver plugged in the 007 at 7% and hit 80% state of charge in less than 14 minutes. Even if we acknowledged that technically the Hyundai had a head start since it would start at 10% compared to the Zeekr’s 7%, the 007 did this four minutes faster than the fastest-charging EV in the United States, the Hyundai Ioniq 6.
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I’d say that the most impressive part of the 007 is its charging curve. The car might not hit the 546 kW peak like its larger Zeekr 001 brother, but it still performs admirably. It holds speeds above 300 kW for nearly five minutes, peaking at a staggering 378 kW. After the car reaches roughly 40% charge, speeds ramp down fairly gently, slowing down into the 250 kW range for most of the charge. Even at 79%, the 007’s gauge cluster said the car was still pulling more than 160 kW. The video ends with the 007 claiming to have added 343 miles (553 kilometers) worth of range.
There’s no way to spin this badly: this is very impressive. Even if we downrate the 007’s range estimates to the EPA standard instead of the CLTC’s, the 007 charges fast and true. It shows that Geely’s investments in smart technologies like an 800-volt architecture and its investments in battery technology are paying off. All but the top-trim Zeekr 007 Performance model uses a 75 kWh LFP battery, dubbed Golden Battery by Geely itself. Geely claimed that this new battery would be able to add 310 miles (500 kilometers) in 15 minutes, and from what we’ve seen on video, the car over-delivered.
By comparison, the 800-volt Lucid Air’s DC fast charging peak of 304 kW is lower, and it doesn’t hold anywhere near long, with most sources insisting that it falls from grace at around 25%. The same goes for the Hummer and its mega-sized battery pack; it can’t sustain the high speeds that Zeekr does.
Of course, this mega speed does call into question the longevity of the battery when constantly DC fast charged like this. However, unlike the Hummer and Lucid, the Zeekr 007’s battery is an LFP unit, a chemistry known for being fairly robust regarding full charge and discharge cycles.
No Volvo or Polestar product can charge this quickly despite being under the Geely Umbrella. Hopefully, as Geely’s brands continue to synergize and Volvo and Polestar pick from the Geely parts bin, they’ll integrate these lightning-quick charging skills into their product lineup.
Contact the author: kevin.williams@insideevs.com
