The electric car with 1000 km of autonomy would also be very strong in autonomous driving


We are starting to know a little more about the new Zeekr 001, which could arrive in Europe during the next year. It should indeed be equipped with autonomous driving thanks to a LiDAR sensor.

It is now a fact, Chinese brands will land in force in Europe. We saw it at the Mondial de Paris, with BYD, Wey or Ora, not to mention MG, Xpeng or Nio. A massive arrival on the Old Continent which is beginning to worry specialists, but which does not seem ready to slow down, quite the contrary.

Because a new manufacturer should soon land in turn with us. It is Zeekr, a brand founded by the Geely group (Volvo, Lynk & Co and Lotus) in 2021, which could be landed in Europe next year.

Autonomous driving

The first model to roll on our roads would then be the Zeekr 001, a large electric sedan rivaling the Tesla Model S and other Mercedes EQS. Unveiled last summer, it has a very attractive technical sheet, since it could in theory reach 1,000 kilometers of autonomy thanks to its Qilin CTP 3.0 battery supplied by CATL.

In reality, it is all the same a little different, since this value is announced according to the Chinese cycle CLTC, to which you have to remove about 15% to reach the European WLTP. The sedan should rather revolve around 850 kilometers, which is still very interesting, when the Mercedes EQS 450+ – which displays one of the best autonomy on the market – is limited to 780 WLTP kilometers.

But if this Zeekr 001 is not as exciting as expected on this point, it is another element that should especially make people talk. Indeed, and as revealed by the Chinese site IT Home, the electric sedan would be equipped with a LiDAR radar. In any case, this is what the spy photos shared on the net suggest, showing a prominence on the roof leaving little room for doubt.

The images also show laser radars on the sides, while millimeter radars would also be installed on the front and rear bumpers. All this technological arsenal would allow the car to take advantage of advanced autonomous driving, probably level 3, the maximum currently reached on a production vehicle.

An increasingly popular technology

Based on the Geely group’s SEA platform, which also equips the new electric Volvo EX90 unveiled a few days earlier, this Zeekr 001 should therefore be able to be driven without hands. Technology shared with the Swedish brand’s new SUV, also equipped with a LiDAR sensor.

If he is content with level 2 autonomous driving for the moment, level 3 can also be offered when the software part and the regulations are ready. As a reminder, France has authorized hands-free driving under certain conditions since September, while the European Union took this measure at the start of the summer.

Other models also feature this technology, including the Nio ET7 and the Mercedes EQS with Drive Pilot option. It is currently the only model already marketed in Europe compatible with level 3.

Also present on the Lotus Eletre, LiDAR is a type of radar whose name means “Light Detection And Ranging”. The latter uses a laser beam to determine the distance between the sensor and obstacles on the road.

Ultra-precise, this solution records a lot of data to map the environment of an autonomous car, all with very fast processing. But this technology is still very expensive, which explains why it is today reserved for high-end models.

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