The Zeekr 001 WE Edition under review in China due to a problem with the battery pack

The Chinese brand Zeekr, part of the Geely group, has just issued a recall in its local market affecting more than 38,000 units of its 001 WE Edition model. Units of this model produced between 8 July 2021 and 18 March 2024 must visit the workshop starting next 6 March, as ordered by China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR).

The problem identified affects the 86 kWh battery pack fitted to this model, supplied by the supplier Sunwoda. According to the report submitted, after prolonged use these battery packs may experience an abnormal increase in the internal resistance of their high-voltage components. This anomaly, the result of possible deviations in the consistency of the production process, causes a degradation in battery performance and, in extreme situations, can lead to “thermal runaway”, according to the company.

Thermal runaway is a rather dangerous phenomenon in which an individual cell within the battery pack overheats uncontrollably due to a manufacturing defect or internal damage. The excessive heat spreads rapidly to neighbouring cells, which can compromise the entire battery pack and, in the most serious cases, can cause fires or even explosions, posing a significant risk to the safety of occupants and anyone near the vehicle.

Safety above all

To minimise any type of risk, Zeekr has decided to act immediately in this case, after its cloud-based monitoring system detected an unexpected degradation in the capacity of the 86 kWh battery in some of the older examples of this model. The company has particularly emphasised that with this recall it seeks to guarantee its customers maximum safety behind the wheel, without waiting for incidents to be reported.

Accordingly, owners of the affected vehicles will be called in stages to the brand’s service centres. There, a physical inspection or remote diagnosis will be carried out. If any problem is detected with any cell, Zeekr undertakes to replace the battery with a new one free of charge, thereby eliminating any risk.

It is important to note that this problem affects exclusively the Zeekr 001 WE Edition, a model that was only sold on the Chinese market. Units of the Zeekr 001 delivered in Europe are not affected by this situation, as they are fitted with a different battery pack of 100 kWh capacity supplied by another supplier.