(Yicai Global) March 22 -- Zeekr Intelligent Technology, the electric vehicle unit of Chinese car giant Geely Holding Group, will reportedly begin delivering its first model equipped with Contemporary Amperex Technology’s Qilin power packs in the second quarter.

As CATL’s Qilin batteries have reached mass production, deliveries of the Zeekr 009 will start from the beginning of next month, The Paper reported yesterday.

Released last June, Qilin batteries use CATL’s third-generation cell-to-pack technology, making them safer, with longer life and higher energy density. They have a density of 255 watt-hours per kilogram with ternary cells and 160 Wh/Kg with lithium phosphate battery systems, according to Ningde-based CATL. Their capacity is 13 percent greater than the batteries Tesla’s EVs use.

“The multi-purpose Zeekr 009 battery version has accounted for a high percentage of orders, which surprises us,” Zeekr said.

The Zeekr 009 was released in November. Priced from CNY499,000 to CNY588,000 (USD72,480 to USD85,410), it has a range of up to 822 kilometers with a 140 kilowatt-hours Qilin battery. The Zeekr 001 will also be equipped later with Qilin power packs.

Seres Group’s Aito-branded models and Avatr cars jointly developed by Changan Automobile, Huawei Technologies, and CATL will also use them.

Editor: Futura Costaglione