Every so often, car manufacturers present new electric models that, apart from surprising us with their benefits, also surprise us with their autonomy. If a few years ago the barrier of 500 kilometers of autonomy already represented a milestone, today it is possible to access an extensive catalog of cars with an approved range of 700 kilometers, such as the Volkswagen ID.7, with which you could travel from Madrid to Barcelona without the need to recharge the batteries.
Reaching autonomies similar to those of combustion engine cars is one of the biggest challenges involved in the turn that automotive companies are making towards other mobility alternatives. In fact, this is one of the biggest concerns – along with price and the lack of a public charging network – that motorists have when considering buying an electric car for the first time and that slows down its expansion. In Spain, for example, between the months of January and April of this year, only 14,012 electric cars were registered, 4.60% of the market share.
For now, only a handful of electric cars accredit the magical number of 1,000 kilometers of autonomy. Until projects such as those of Gotion Highh-Tech, a Chinese manufacturer of car batteries, come to fruition, which in 2024 will begin mass production of a new battery pack with a range of up to a thousand kilometers, we will not find on the market many models with such ambitious features.
One of these cars that today offers an official autonomy of more than 1,000 kilometers is the Zeekr 001. The elegant sedan from the Chinese company Zeekr is equipped with the latest generation Qilin batteries, which are responsible for the car reaching the four-digit number on a single charge. These batteries, manufactured by Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL), are designed with an energy density of up to 225 Wh/kg and up to 13% more efficient than a battery pack of the same size and chemistry.
The first units of the Zeekr 001 that will mount this revolutionary battery will arrive in the second half of the year. First they will do it in the Chinese market and later to other countries in the world. In Europe, Norway and the Netherlands will become the gateways for this model that, although it proves a range of up to 1,032 kilometers, on our continent it will do so below this figure, around 900 kilometers.
The reason for this reduction in autonomy is found in the different approval cycles in force in the Asian country and in the European Union. While in China the certification standard is the CTLC cycle, in Europe it is governed by the WLTP cycle. This last protocol is based on more real driving data, since it reproduces driving on urban roads and highways, at medium and high speeds.
The new Qilin batteries not only provide one of the longest ranges among electric car models available on the market, but will also improve safety and efficiency by being more shock resistant. From the economic point of view, CATL ensures that the batteries are more affordable because their assembly is not very complex. They use CTP (cell-to-pack) technology, which allows the cells to be integrated directly into the battery structure without grouping them into modules.
The design of the refrigerant circuit makes it possible for the batteries to remove heat more efficiently, allowing the car to go from a 10 to 80 percent charge in just 10 minutes thanks to the use of an ultra-fast device.
Zeekr is one of China’s emerging electric car brands. The 001 is considered one of the models with the greatest acceptance within the cars of its range. In the first four months of this year, 18,935 units of this saloon have been sold.
The price of the model equipped with Qilin battery starts at 403,000 yuan (about 53,000 euros) and its initial production is limited to a thousand copies. From the company, however, they have announced that they will increase production in the coming months.
