Zeekr officially unveils its new Mix electric van and its new SEA-M platform

Although we spoke a little over a month ago about the Zeekr Mix electric van here at HighMotor, it is now that the Chinese manufacturer has officially presented it alongside the new SEA-M platform on which it is based. This new platform is a derivative of Geely’s well-known SEA Sustainable Experience Architecture and is valid both for vehicles intended for passenger transport, such as RoboTaxis, and for conventional commercial vehicles.

According to the Zeekr itself, the SEA-M platform has not been optimised to improve on-road performance or to increase the supported charging power, but to achieve the perfect combination of spaciousness, driving safety and manoeuvrability. To achieve this goal, Geely has invested a total of seven million yuan in developing the SEA-M platform, which at current exchange rates amounts to about 900 million euros.

Among the characteristic features of this platform, its completely flat floor stands out, as well as its wide wheelbase, which maximises the available interior space. Zeekr also highlights that the advanced E/E architecture implemented in this platform allows the integration of several screens for the infotainment system, with which both the driver and the passengers can keep themselves entertained while travelling.

In the near future, this type of vehicle should become increasingly popular

Additionally, Geely has paid particular attention to ensuring that the SEA-M platform improves the manoeuvrability of the vehicles that use it. In this regard, the Chinese company speaks of a turning radius of less than five metres for these vehicles, which should allow a full turn in less than ten metres. This last feature is especially important for autonomous vehicles. The SEA-M platform, moreover, makes use of a steer-by-wire system for steering, which allows a variable steering ratio to be applied at the wheel, as well as the steering wheel to be decoupled when autonomous driving is activated.

The SEA-M platform is set to debut precisely with the Zeekr Mix, an electric van that could also reach the European market next year. Zeekr announces a total length of 4.70 metres for this vehicle, with a wheelbase of exactly three metres. It is also important to point out that vehicles incorporating this platform may not have a B-pillar, so a sliding door system will provide wide access for passengers in these vehicles.

Although Zeekr has not revealed the technical specifications of its new electric van on this occasion, these already appeared in the documentation provided by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology when it was type-approved for the Chinese market. In this way, we already know that its electric motor delivers a total of 310 kW of power, which comes with an NMC battery pack of unknown capacity.