The Chinese EVs coming to shake up the UK

The Independent

In this episode, we head to China, to test drive two bold new entries in the EV world: the Zeekr 7 GT and the Lynk & Co 02 — both from automotive powerhouse G Group, the parent company behind Volvo, Lotus, and Smart.We take a closer look at the Zeekr 7 GT, a sleek, tech-forward luxury EV packed with premium features like Dolby Atmos audio, seamless navigation, and an intuitive head-up display. Alongside it, the Lynk & Co 02 impresses with its stylish design, lively performance, and accessible pricing.With both models expected to hit the UK market, and hints of the Lynk & Co 900 SUV also on the horizon, these brands are looking to shake up the EV scene in Europe.Are these the next big names in electric driving?

Transcript

00:00Welcome to China and I'm here in Hongxiao, which isn't the biggest city in China. Only 12 million

00:19people live here. It's a fabulous place. The scale is enormous as it is with the Chinese car industry.

00:24Now I've got two new cars here from two different brands which are said to be coming to the

00:29UK in the near future. This is the Zika 7 GT. This is the Lincoln Co 02. Lincoln Co is supposed to be

00:38like a fashion brand. That's why the name is Link and Co, a bit different. Zika, well they're both

00:43owned by Geely, which also own Lotus, Volvo, Smart, Polestar, London Electric Vehicle Company that make

00:51London black cabs. A load of other brands too, so it's got some might behind them. I'm going to drive

00:57these cars on Chinese roads. I've never driven in China before. It's going to be an eye-opener,

01:02I'm sure, but let's find out what these cars are like.

01:08Driving in China is great fun. It's a bit of an assault on the senses. Things going on all over

01:13the place. People on bikes, different road markings, technology telling you where to go and what's

01:19happening. It's great fun. I'm really enjoying it and I'm really enjoying being in the Zika.

01:24Zika is a company that's only four years old. Oh, isn't that cute? But it kind of feels a lot more

01:31grown up. It's part of the Geely Group, as I've mentioned, so it's got all the platform tech,

01:35all the battery tech, all the partners that the likes of Volvo and Smart and Polestar and Lotus can

01:40call on. And it's a full range. Yesterday when I was at the Shanghai Auto Show, they revealed the new

01:48Zika 9X, which is a huge SUV, over five meters in length, and it's probably a rival even, even, they

01:57say, for the Rolls-Royce Cullinan. That's probably more in terms of its challenging looks than anything

02:01else, but I think Range Rover and stuff like that. Clever plug-in hybrid system. So that's Zika.

02:06This is the 7X, which is an SUV that is rivaling the Tesla Model Y. It doesn't everything these days,

02:13and why wouldn't you? It's the world's best-selling car. There's a few things that this car does better

02:18than the Model Y, which we'll come onto. But there are more 7s. There's a 7 Saloon. There's a 7 GT,

02:24which is like a Sportback, which is really, really sexy, and drives really nicely. And this car,

02:31not confirmed for the UK yet. I think we can probably say it will be pretty soon. Cost-wise,

02:37yeah, what are you thinking? 45,000 to probably 60,000. You'll get a couple of battery variants,

02:4475 and 100 kilowatt-hour batteries. Range will go from around 280, 290, probably up to about 380.

02:54So, you know, par for the course as it has to be. But the things that have impressed me about this

02:58car so far, Zika apparently blends luxury with technology, and this does come across in this car.

03:07Obviously, the technology is fantastic. The doors even shut themselves, whether we get that in the

03:12UK or not, remains to be seen. Let's hope so. But the technology seems to be pretty seamless. I love

03:18the way the navigation talks to the traffic lights and gives you a countdown that you also see on the

03:23traffic lights, which is just great. But the technology in this car is, I love me tech anyway,

03:29there's a great audio system, which has Dolby Atmos. You get some of the audio instructions coming

03:34through speakers in the headrest, which can be a little bit odd initially. And then you've got the

03:39head-up display here, which you'll struggle to see. But trust me, it is the best head-up display I've

03:45ever seen. You've got all the sensors showing you all the vehicles around you, all the people

03:50around you. And then when you indicate, you get a little video display of what's in your blind spot,

03:56just in case there's any cyclists or anybody else around. I've seen that in dash displays in

04:01Hyundai's and Kia's, but never. It's crystal clear. And I'm looking at it now in the head-up display.

04:07It's absolutely fantastic. You've got all the other technology that you'd expect, wireless phone

04:12charging and all that sort of stuff. But the way it's integrated and the engineering involved in that,

04:17I think, is really clever. Big panoramic roof, as you'd expect every one of these cars that

04:23competes with the Model Y. And let's be honest, it's a crowded market, BYD C-Line 7. You've got the

04:29Xpeng G6. You've got the new Schengen Depal coming and all the rivals from the likes of Audi and Mercedes

04:36and BMW 2. The all-electric, mid-size SUV space is crowded, to say the least. Performance-wise,

04:44this car is quick. There are a number of settings and they're all quick. They're all much for muchness.

04:49And the ride quality is pretty good. It's a strange mix. At low speeds, it's a little bit firm,

04:55but then if you go over some undulations, it just feels a little bit slack. It's air suspension

05:00on this model, but it just needs a little bit of tuning, as does all the, obviously, the HMI systems,

05:07the technology for more European tastes, shall we say. The biggest problem, I think, that the Zika has

05:15is its positioning and its point of difference. And this applies to so many of these cars.

05:21Luxury and technology. Yes, it's nice. I love the head-up display and the integration of the

05:26technology. But you look in here, you could be in any car, really. It's a nice interior. The quality

05:32is great. The kit count is great, but you could be in anything. And that's what I liked about the

05:37Lincoln Co. It's just a little bit different. So when is that point of difference? And on the outside,

05:43yes, European design, it's a smart enough car, but what is it? That's something that Zika is not alone.

05:49Oh, hang on. Yeah, it's telling me it's counting down the red lights. So I've just got a few seconds

05:54coming up to a red light. Just slow down. And nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three,

06:04two, one. And the green light is coming. Yay, there's the green light. It's gone dark because

06:10I'm under an overpass. But yeah, anyway, back to the point. What's the difference with Zika? I think

06:17they've got a good chance of doing it. The European management team, I think, will see that. And

06:24yeah, it's a car that I'm enjoying and fallen in love with. But I think I could.

06:33So the Lincoln Co. Zero Two, on the other hand, really does have something that's a little bit

06:39different about it. I really do like this car. To drive, yeah, the differences aren't huge.

06:45The series is quite light. The ride's okay. You know, it's comfortable enough. But style-wise,

06:50it's a little bit different. And as I mentioned, Lincoln Co. has been set up to be like a fashion

06:56brand. That's why it's got the slightly unusual name. Now, technology is to the fore. Obviously,

07:02this car is going to talk to me in Chinese. And I've got no idea, frankly, what it's saying or

07:08where I'm going. I'm enjoying driving this car. It's got a bit of spirit about it, which so many

07:13Chinese cars that you struggle to differentiate don't really have. And that's so important. And

07:19I think the way I would sum this car up, I'll talk a little bit more about it in detail, is that I was

07:25driving it yesterday with a 25-year-old Chinese woman. And it really appealed to her generation.

07:33And I said, I've got a daughter who's 26. I think she would actually really love Lincoln Co. because

07:39it is a bit different. You've got Harman card and audio in here and all that sort of stuff that you

07:43want and need. But it's just the little features. The storage down here, I've got a go box with a

07:49strange little lidded thing. There's obviously wireless charging because that's what everybody needs,

07:56whether you're Gen Z or a slightly different generation like me. But it's quite an easy car

08:04to drive, which is important. But the design is just a little bit different. I've got a head up

08:10display, fabulous navigation system, not dissimilar to the one in the Z7 GT. But this car is a lot

08:18cheaper. And I think this car would do brilliantly in the UK. It shares a lot with the Volvo EX30 and

08:25the guys at Lincoln Co. probably wouldn't want me to talk about that car too much because it's a

08:31partner within the GD group. But yeah, this car, I really do like if it was priced right. And my

08:39guess would be sort of 30,000 plus. There's probably a couple of versions, you know, 30,000 to sort of

08:46top spec with everything on it under 40,000. Of course, it's all down to what you pay monthly.

08:52I think Lincoln Co. could be something a bit different amongst all the new brands

08:58and a bit appealing too. This car I'm driving has a 66 kilowatt hour battery and it'll probably go

09:05for about 270 miles, which, par for the course, it's going to be enough for the sort of driving

09:12that this car does. I've sat in the back, reasonable space in the back, decent sized boot as well. So it

09:18competes on that score, but it does have that wonderful little, see I've got a bump sign,

09:24it's quite nice, wonderful little Lincoln Co. point of difference, which so many cars don't have

09:30these days. I'm sure over the coming years, we'll be seeing lots more Zika and Lincoln Co. models

09:35coming to the UK and Europe. They've got a lot of numbers to fill. And of course, in China,

09:39they move really quickly so it will happen at speed. I hope so anyway. Now, I like the Zika 7X,

09:46I really like the Lincoln Co. 02, but you know me, I like a big SUV and this is the Lincoln Co. 900.

09:54It's one of their newest models. Could it come to the UK as the Lincoln Co. 09? I'd love it too.

10:00Huge screen in here, loads of tech. It's a big SUV. Do you know what? I think I'm going to drive it home.

10:09to Brazil with me.

10:12I'm going to drive it home.

10:14Look at the

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