{"id":665120,"date":"2026-05-12T02:48:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T02:48:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/665120\/"},"modified":"2026-05-12T02:48:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T02:48:11","slug":"zeekr-8x-and-9x-hybrid-luxury-suvs-locked-in-for-australia-with-summer-release-dates-confirmed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/665120\/","title":{"rendered":"Zeekr 8X and 9X hybrid luxury SUVs locked in for Australia with summer release dates confirmed"},"content":{"rendered":"

Turbo petrol engine pairs with two or three electric motors for huge power, 1000km driving range, and bigger, plusher interiors than the existing 7X<\/p>\n

Chinese luxury brand Zeekr<\/a> has confirmed it will add two larger SUVs in the form of the BMW X5<\/a>-sized 8X and X7<\/a>-sized 9X to its Australian showrooms, with the pair set to arrive in either late 2026 or early 2027.<\/p>\n

The pair will introduce a \u2018super hybrid\u2019 system, known as extended-range electric (EREV) technology, to Australia for the first time under the Zeekr badge.<\/p>\n

\"\"Pictured: 2026 Zeekr 8X (overseas model shown)<\/p>\n

As their badges indicate, the 8X and 9X siblings will sit above the existing Zeekr X<\/a> compact SUV and popular 7X<\/a> midsizer in the local lineup.<\/p>\n

While both SUVs will launch exclusively with range-extender drivelines, Zeekr says their underlying engineering is rooted in battery electric (BEV) architectures while hinting that fully electric versions may come later.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started with a fully electric platform and then added the engine. From an engineering perspective, moving to a full BEV version would be relatively straightforward,\u201d said Zeekr Europe chief engineer for mechanical architecture Kennet Pettersson.<\/p>\n

\"\"Pictured: 2026 Zeekr 8X (overseas model shown)<\/p>\n

Both SUVs ride on the latest 900-volt version of the Geely<\/a> SEA-S platform and are designed to support ultra-fast charging across multiple powertrain configurations.<\/p>\n

The approach mirrors a shift among Chinese and European manufacturers towards building cars atop flexible multi-powertrain platforms that can spawn BEV, PHEV and EREV setups.<\/p>\n

In China, the 8X will be positioned above the 7X as a rival to the BMW X5 while the 9X, which is colloquially known as the \u2018Hangzhou Bay Cullinan<\/a>\u2019 after its home city and visual analogue, pushes into Mercedes GLS<\/a> territory.<\/p>\n

\"\"Pictured: 2026 Zeekr 9X (overseas model shown)<\/p>\n

Proportionally, the pair looks similar, but the dimensions give small differences away. The 8X measures 5100mm in length while the 9X stretches to 5239mm on a longer 3169mm wheelbase (versus 3069mm).<\/p>\n

Chinese-market versions of the SUVs feature EREV powertrains pairing CATL Freevoy battery packs measuring 55kWh or 70kWh for an estimated electric-only driving range of 200\u2013300km and total range of about 800\u20131000km.<\/p>\n

A turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol engine producing 205kW acts as a generator at lower speeds with the capacity to mechanically couple to drive the wheels at higher speeds.<\/p>\n

\"\"Pictured: 2026 Zeekr 9X (overseas model shown)<\/p>\n

Buyers can opt for either two or three electric motors for combined peak system outputs of 660kW\/935Nm or 1030kW\/1410Nm, with the triple-motor setup said to deliver 0-100km\/h times of 2.96 seconds (8X) or 3.1 sec (9X).<\/p>\n

The positioning of the smaller 7X in China may provide hints about the possible pricing of the 8X and 9X in Australia.<\/p>\n

Chinese buyers pay between 229,800 CNY ($48,000) and 269,800 CNY ($57,000 AUD) for the 7X, with the 8X commanding a 43 percent premium and the 9X a 100 percent premium.<\/p>\n

\"\"Pictured: 2026 Zeekr 9X (overseas model shown)<\/p>\n

If those proportions were reflected locally, the 8X could kick off in Australia from around $85,000 and the 9X from $115,000.<\/p>\n

By comparison, the BMW X5 xDrive50e plug-in hybrid<\/a> is priced from $154,900 before on-road costs and discounting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Turbo petrol engine pairs with two or three electric motors for huge power, 1000km driving range, and bigger,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":665121,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-665120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/665120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=665120"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/665120\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/665121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=665120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=665120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=665120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}