How Zeekr plans to take the fight to Mercedes and BMW by 2028

Two years ago, hardly anyone in Australia knew what a Zeekr was.

This month the brand handed over its 10,000th car here.

And at a media event before its ice-driving day, it did something most new brands won't. It put a date on beating the luxury establishment. The plan runs to 2028. By then, Zeekr wants "tech luxury" to mean its badge, backed by a full range of cars and a dealer network that finally covers the country. That's a big call for a brand this young.

It's also not coming from nowhere.

Why this isn't just talk

The claim sounds like launch-day hype. Then you look at the July numbers.

Zeekr 7X

In July 2026, the Zeekr 7X was the number one mid-size SUV over $65,000 in Australia.

Ahead of Mercedes-Benz. Ahead of BMW. Ahead of Lexus and Audi too. Not one of them. All four, in a segment those brands have owned for years.

The growth is just as loud. Zeekr was up 1423% year-on-year from January to July 2026, which it says is the fastest of any brand in the market. Sure the base was tiny, just 522 cars in the same period last year, but the direction is the point.

The brand delivered 2,115 cars in July alone, a local record, and it's now doing more than 2,000 a month. Cumulative deliveries grew 7.6 times between October 2025 and June 2026.

Pick whichever number you like. They all point the same way.

The four-stage plan

Zeekr's COO for Australia, William Zhou, laid it out as a roadmap with one job per year.

2025 - build awareness. The 7X led the way and set out Zeekr's tech credentials, keeping it clear of the mainstream volume brands.

2026 - build community. This is where the brand is now. It talks about fans, not just customers. The aim is turning owners into advocates and building a real owner community around the country.

2027 - build authority. This is where the new cars land. More models, a wider range, and what Zeekr calls a properly localised Australia and New Zealand setup rather than a badge on imported cars.

2028 - build leadership. The finish line. Zeekr wants "tech luxury" to mean its name, and to stick. In plain terms, it wants to be on the shopping list next to the Germans, not just an alternative to them.

The whole thing sits on one idea: own the space between the tech brands and the old-money luxury names. Zeekr's pitch is 800V architecture, ultra-fast charging and premium build in one car, in a gap neither side fully covers.

The cars that arrive next

A roadmap is only as good as the metal behind it and that's where 2027 gets interesting.

Three future models are confirmed for Australia and New Zealand, on top of the 7GT that's landing now.

Zeekr 7GT

The Zeekr 7GT is the sportwagon spun off the 7X and it was the star of the launch.

It runs the brand's Golden Brick battery, an 800V system, a 655km WLTP range and up to 450kW DC charging. That's enough to take the standard battery from 10 to 80% in as little as 10.5 minutes.

Three variants are locked in for local sale: standard-range rear-wheel drive, long-range rear-wheel drive, and an all-wheel-drive flagship Zeekr says is tuned to 500kW for Australia, good for 3.5 seconds to 100km/h.

Zeekr is also expecting a five-star ANCAP rating under the tougher 2026 rules, though that's yet to be confirmed. Local pricing is still to come.

Behind it sit two bigger guns.

Zeekr 9X

The 9X is the range-topping flagship SUV, built as the full version of the tech-luxury idea.

Zeekr 8X

The 8X is a larger SUV pitched on space and long-distance comfort, and it's confirmed in right-hand drive.

Both push Zeekr into the size and price territory where Mercedes and BMW actually make their money.

The bit that matters most: they look unreal

You can't beat Mercedes and BMW with a spec sheet. People buy luxury cars because they want to be seen in them, so the cars have to look the part first. And this is where we'd argue Zeekr is quietly ahead of most of the market.

The design language is called "hidden energy" and it's the work of a global team split between studios in Gothenburg and Shanghai.

The brief was simple: make a road car that looks like a concept car. Long wheelbase, short overhangs, a low roofline and a ducktail rear, all wrapped in clean, sculpted surfaces. The signature is a lit band across the nose, a "technology island" running almost 2000 LEDs that owners can customise.

Whether it's the 7X, the 7GT or the flagships coming next, the result is the same. These are some of the best looking cars on sale right now, full stop. We'd put them up against anything in the world.

Zeekr 7GT

And here's the part that should worry the Germans. You can have one for a lot less money, in some cases close to half what a traditional luxury badge with the same road presence would cost you.

A genuinely desirable car at a price that undercuts the establishment is the whole game. Get the looks right at that price and the value argument writes itself.

The unglamorous half of the plan

Here's the part that usually decides whether a new brand sticks around: the network.

Beating the establishment on a spec sheet is easy. Matching them on service, parts and having a dealer down the road is the hard bit, and it's where plenty of ambitious brands have fallen over.

Zeekr Sydney City

Zeekr is spending on it.

It has 18 plus dealers now and is aiming for around 25 by the end of 2026, with more than 25 retail and service sites combined by year's end.

New openings in Gold Coast, Essendon Fields and Berwick are part of that.

The aftersales spend is the bit that convinces me. Zeekr is standing up six certified body and paint centres and two local parts warehouses by the end of 2026. You don't spend on that if you plan to sell cars and hope for the best. That's a brand that intends to still be here in 2028.

New Zealand is quietly doing the same. Zeekr has seven dealer and retail sites there, has delivered 434 cars so far this year, sits seventh among BEV brands, and is forecasting 1,500 for 2027.

So can it actually beat the Germans?

Let's keep some perspective.

A 1423% jump off 522 cars is a long way from outselling Mercedes-Benz across a full range, and Zeekr's win so far is in one slice of the market.

The Germans aren't standing still, their electric ranges are growing, and trust built over decades doesn't move on the back of a fast charging curve.

Zeekr 7GT

But the gap between the pitch and the reality is smaller than it should be for a brand this young.

Zeekr is already winning the segment it went after first. The cars that take it upmarket are confirmed, and the 7GT is almost here. The network spend is real.

And unlike most challengers, it has told everyone exactly what it's trying to do and by when.

By 2028 when the full range is on sale and the dealers and service are in place, Zeekr wants to be a brand luxury buyers shop by default.

On today's evidence, writing that off would be a mistake.