The “Chinese Cullinan,” as the Russians nicknamed the large crossover, is in good demand among the wealthy Russian public, who are willing to pay about 12 million rubles for a spectacular new product. However, as Motor magazine found out, with scanty mileage – from 10 to 8000 km – the rear geared motor can lose its tightness, since its magnesium housing becomes covered with cracks.
Zeekr 9X is the flagship of the Chinese brand. It became the brand’s first series-parallel hybrid. Under the hood there is a two-liter turbo engine developed by Volvo, which produces 279 hp, and is connected to the front wheels through a three-speed automatic transmission.
In the basic Max version, the car is equipped with two electric motors with a total output of 897 hp. As one of the Moscow Zeekr car dealers told Motor magazine, this is the most popular option among Russians, since a category B driver’s license is enough to drive.
On the domestic market, cars began to be issued to customers on September 30 last year, and in November the first copies reached Russia thanks to “parallel” importers (we remind you that the Zeekr brand is not officially represented on the Russian market).
In China, such a crossover costs from 440 thousand yuan (4.9 million rubles), but Russian sellers are asking from 8 to 9 million rubles, plus the buyer will have to pay 3.2 million in disposal fees. In total, the current cost of the flagship Zikr is about 11-12 million rubles.
“Given the frankly high cost, we are surprised that the car is in unexpectedly good demand. It is readily purchased by those who have previously driven flagship BMWs, Mercedes and other premium cars,” another metropolitan supplier Zeekr, who wished to remain anonymous, told Motor magazine.
Zeekr 9X
Zeekr 
Zeekr 9X
Zeekr 
Zeekr 9X
Zeekr 
Zeekr 9X
Zeekr 
Zeekr 9X
Zeekr 
Zeekr 9X
Zeekr
First pancake
Alas, the first hybrid pancake apparently turned out to be lumpy. In completely new crossovers, the housing of the rear gear motor cracks.
“Over the three weeks of January, we counted more than ten such cases across the country from various sources,” the editor’s interlocutor said.
It is important to note that employees of companies engaged in sales, Russification and repair of cars of Chinese origin interviewed by Motor magazine asked not to mention the names of dealer holdings: “We sell these Zikrs, so no official comments.”
As for the breakdown itself, during sudden acceleration the torsional load on the gear motor increases significantly, which is why the magnesium body becomes covered with cracks: the owner of the car learns that the unit has lost its seal by pink streaks of antifreeze under the car.
Motor magazine sent an inquiry to a supplier of spare parts for Chinese cars. A new gearbox from stock costs 750 thousand rubles. If you order a unit from China, the price will be 580 thousand, but the waiting period is 15-25 days.
At the same time, the owners of premium crossovers have found a more budget-friendly solution. So, some workshops began to offer welding and strengthening of cracked hulls. The cost of the work ranges from 30 to 50 thousand rubles, but it is important that the master has the skills to weld magnesium alloys.
Factory defect?
“This is more like a banal design miscalculation: the gearbox has only four attachment points, and therefore experiences serious torsional loads. And it’s too early to say that strengthening the unit by welding will solve the problem,” says one of Motor magazine’s interlocutors.
Zeekr has not yet announced a recall for this issue. However, since Russian buyers purchased crossovers through a parallel import system, even if a recall is announced, the owners of the cars will not be able to repair them for free.
“For those who decide to buy the 9X, we advise you to take out insurance that replaces the warranty. In addition, large sellers are now thinking about proactively strengthening geared motors on new cars,” an anonymous source advised the editors.
Zeekr 9X
Zeekr
Both car owners and sellers were discouraged by the current situation: the Zeekr brand is a division of the Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, that is, it has serious engineering support, and magnesium gearboxes themselves are not considered exotic.
On the social network Douyin (this is the Chinese analogue of TikTok) you can also find several cases of breakdowns of the new Zeekr 9X, that is, the identified problem is not purely local. And now our Russian colleagues in misfortune are waiting for news on how the automaker will behave.
