![We got a rare opportunity to drive on public roads in China and tested out a bunch of ZEEKR EVs [Video]](https://i0.wp.com/electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/04/ZEEKR-China-007-GT-starting-line.jpg?resize=1200,628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1)
We got a rare opportunity to drive on public roads in China and tested out a bunch of ZEEKR EVs [Video]
Seth and I recently traveled to China to attend the Shanghai Auto Show and used the opportunity to travel to Hangzhou with ZEEKR and test drive most of the automaker’s EVs. Even better, ZEEKR helped us acquire temporary driver’s permits in China, enabling us to test EVs like the new 007 GT on public roads. Read on and check out my full video below
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We finally made it to China with the help of ZEEKR
ZEEKR is a Chinese automaker that is no stranger to Electrek’s homepage on a near-weekly basis. The Geely-owned BEV subsidiary was founded just over four years ago, and it has made huge strides in EV development across its native China as well as expanding availability of ZEEKR EVs to customers in Europe.
Since I personally cover much of the Chinese BEV scene, I finally got my chance to fly overseas and attend the Shanghai Auto Show—one of the more prominent events in China each year. I brought Electrek’s founder, Seth Weintraub, along with me to Shanghai, where we saw a slew of exciting new EV models in China, including an up-close look at all of ZEEKR’s models on the showroom floor.
After the show, ZEEKR took us a couple of hours southwest to its home in Hangzhou. There, we got to tour ZEEKR’s massive headquarters and see a robotic charging demonstration. Better still, Geely and ZEEKR arranged a test drive day for us. They also helped facilitate temporary driver’s permits in China so we could experience all its technology on public roads.
ZEEKR showcased its growing lineup of impressive EVs
To start our test drive day, ZEEKR set up a showcase in a large parking lot in Hangzhou, outside the city center where it is headquartered. The automaker, alongside fellow Geely sibling Lynk & Co., had a slew of BEVs on display, including the new ZEEKR MIX, which should make its way to the US in the form of a LiDAR equipped variant for Waymo, as well as the ultra-plush 009 MPV (see images above).
To begin, we took off on a test drive on public roads in China that included four vehicles – two from ZEEKR and two from Lynk & Co. We started in the brand new 007 GT, which was launched in China in mid-April, so we were one of the first media outlets to test it out.
Of all the vehicles I tested that day, the 007 GT was my favorite. It’s a sleek sedan complemented by a sporty interior (red leather in the version we drove) and has some impressive specs to boot. As reported last month, ZEEKR describes its 007 GT as “the EV that does everything.” It’s 800V SEA platform (from Geely) enables DC fast charging in a blistering 10.5 minutes when housing a standard 75 kWh pack with LFP cells. That variant delivers up to 650 km (404 miles) CLTC range, but there’s also a 100 kWh NMC pack that can offer up to 825 km CLTC range. That’s 513 miles.
My first impression was how smooth and quiet the ride was, especially for a BEV that can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/hr (0 to 62 mph) in 2.95 seconds. It’s not the loudest design from an exterior standpoint, but this ZEEKR model is sneaky fast while offering a premium feel inside.
When driving around China, Seth and I were both thoroughly impressed by the overall handling and response of the ZEEKR EVs, including the 007 GT and the 7X seen below.
Driving ZEEKR EVs around public roads in China
After the 007 GT, we moved over to the ZEEKR 7X, which hit the market in China last year. This sporty crossover is surprisingly roomy inside and handles nimbly like a smaller BEV. Seth and I were blown away by the technology in both models, especially the head-up display.
Not only does the HUD show your current speed and navigation, but it also projects other vehicles and objects around you in real time. We are used to this feature in Teslas and Rivians, but has never seen it on a HUD before. Well done ZEEKR, that’s an excellent touch.
ZEEKR has a voice command system that can perform hands-free tasks like rolling the windows up or down, which we tested out in the video below. While my heart is with the 007 GT, the ZEEKR 7X was a close second, and I’m throughly jealous that drivers in China have access to these models and I don’t.
, in my opinion, but the 900 was a work of art. Seth was especially enthralled by that model and wrote a full review of his own, whichWe also drove the Lynk & Co. V20 and 900 BEVs. The V20 was pretty basic inside and out in my opinio, but the 900 was a work of art. Seth was especially enthralled by that model and did a full review of his own you can check out here.
Overall, after visiting the Shanghai Auto Show and driving a bunch of ZEEKR EVs on the road and track in China, our consensus was that native automakers over there are leaps ahead of the US and Europe. The tech is better, the charging is better, and companies like ZEEKR are able to deliver premium BEVs with outstanding range at prices US consumers have yet to see—at least not from a “bang for your buck” standpoint.
It was an excellent opportunity to get behind the wheel of some of the models from China that we cover regularly. Whether ZEEKR or other foreign automakers make their way to the US, the advancements they have made overseas offer an exciting glimpse of the future of electric mobility.
As promised, here’s some of our drive footage from China. Let us know what you think!
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Swift Current Energy’s 800-megawatt (MW) Double Black Diamond Solar is up and running about 30 miles west of Springfield. It’s now the largest operating solar farm east of the Mississippi, and it’s set to make a serious dent in emissions while delivering clean energy to major customers, including the City of Chicago.
Chicago is sourcing around 70% of the power for its municipal operations from Double Black Diamond. That includes big energy users like O’Hare and Midway airports. Other customers buying power from the solar farm include CVS Health, Loyola University Chicago, PPG, State Farm, TransUnion, and Cook County, all through the energy company Constellation NewEnergy.
This project has been a long time coming – Swift Current started development in 2018 and leaned into a growing US supply chain. The company sourced most of its 1.6 million solar panels from First Solar’s Ohio factories, and the racking came from Nextracker, which used US-made steel and did some of the manufacturing in Chicago. Construction created around 500 jobs.
Double Black Diamond also met Illinois’ Clean and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) standards for labor and hiring, creating job opportunities for a broader group of workers. Over its lifetime, the solar farm is expected to generate $100 million in local tax revenue for Sangamon and Morgan counties. About 60% of that will go toward public schools, with the rest helping fund public safety, infrastructure, and community programs. Swift Current is also putting $10 million into community benefit programs, including school districts and local governments.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson called the project “a powerful example of why we believe in the green economy.” He said the solar farm helps Chicago cut emissions, supports good union jobs, and lowers energy costs for city operations.
Read more: Home solar prices just hit record lows – and storage is even cheaper
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Range Energy, a company which builds large-battery electric trailers to help fleets electrify at the drop of a hat, has announced partnerships with Thermo King and ESL Power Systems to bring its technology to refrigerated trailer units.
The idea behind Range’s product is that it adds a battery and an electric motor e-axle to a semi truck trailer, instead of to the tractor itself, which means that a fleet can add electric capabilities without having to buy new tractors. This means the fleet can effectively hybridize its operation without having to buy new tractors.
While this isn’t a fully electric solution, it can still reduce fuel usage by a large amount (independent tests say 36%), and adds new capabilities to a truck – like better control over the trailer and regenerative braking to avoid brake fade.
We met Range at ACT Expo in Anaheim two years ago, where they gave us one of the coolest demos we’ve seen. Just by attaching to a tractor’s kingpin, the system can decide how much power to apply and offers extremely natural feeling movement, making a heavy trailer feel light as a feather:
Range isn’t quite up to production yet, but they have done some trials. In addition to the independent testing above, Range trialed its technology with Petaluma Egg Farm, up in Northern California, where it says the company saw a 50-70% improvement in MPG for the trucks using Range’s electric trailer.
But the company is still working to find novel applications for its technology, and when we caught up with them at ACT Expo this week, they wanted to focus on how Range trailers could be used for refrigerated freight in order to cut emissions and reduce the need for a separate engine to run the reefer unit.
In service of this, it has partnered with two companies in the refrigeration space – Thermo King, the biggest name in electrified trucks, and ESL Power Systems, a company that manufactures shore power solutions for heavy industry.
Range said Thermo King came to them because they’re the only company with enough energy storage to be able to run a refrigerated unit for an extended period of time. While there are other companies doing electrified refrigerated trailers, Range’s trailer has a much larger 288kWh battery (since it also works as a traction battery for the trailer’s electric motor).
This means it has a lot more energy on board to run a refrigeration unit, which can draw ~5-20kW depending on several factors. Range told us that fleets have told them this would be enough energy to keep the trailer box cold for a full day while unplugged from shore power, even in hot temperatures.
And that’s a big deal, because heretofore, refrigerated units have mostly run with an additional small diesel engine. Removing that engine means less pollution, less diesel usage, more noise, less maintenance, and it also means the refrigerated unit could operate in more environments (for example, you don’t want a running engine indoors if you can avoid it – but an electric unit doesn’t have to deal with that).
Speaking of shore power, that’s what Range is working with ESL to implement. ESL creates small, modular shore power systems which are easier to install, helping fleets save on infrastructure upgrade costs. Their boxes can deliver high-powered 480V 3-phase AC charging.
Plugging into one of these would allow the Range Energy trailer to charge at up to 50kW or so, meaning a 5-6 hour charge time for the 288kWh battery.
Range has already trialed its partnership with Thermo King, in the Petaluma Egg Farm example given above. Although the ESL partnership is newer, and those will be trialed soon.
Range is targeting the end of this year, or possibly the start of next year, for its first customer deliveries.
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Environment
Podcast: Elon is still CEO of Tesla, BYD EV sales surges while Tesla’s collapse, and more
In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss Elon being challenged in his role as CEO of Tesla, BYD EV sales surging while Tesla’s collapse, and more.
Today’s episode is brought to you by retrospec—makers of sleek, powerful e-bikes and outdoor gear built for everyday adventure. Electrek listeners can get 10% off their next ride until May 8th with the exclusive code ELECTREK10 only at retrospec.com.
The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.
As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.
After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:
We now have a Patreon if you want to help us avoid more ads and invest more in our content. We have some awesome gifts for our Patreons and more coming.
Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast:
Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 4:00 p.m. ET (or the video after 5 p.m. ET):
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