In the fast-moving world of Chinese electric vehicles, it’s easy for early adopters to feel left behind. A car that felt cutting-edge one year can seem obsolete the next. But Zeekr is making a bold and unusual move to keep its original customers up to speed, launching a crowdfunding campaign to offer a massive driver-assistance system upgrade for its older 001 and 009 models.
A Leap in Performance
The plan is ambitious. It offers owners of older 2024 Zeekr 001 and 009s the chance to swap their existing Mobileye EyeQ5H system for Zeekr’s cutting-edge G-Pilot H7 system. That’s not a minor software update, it’s a complete brain transplant. The old system delivers a respectable 48 TOPS of computing power, but the new G-Pilot H7, built on Nvidia’s powerful Drive Thor-U architecture, cranks that number up to a staggering 700 TOPS. This puts the older cars on par with the latest models, a rare move in an industry that usually pushes customers to just buy a new vehicle.
How the Crowdfunding Campaign Works
Zeekr is turning to its community to make this happen. The campaign, which runs from November 24 to December 24, 2025, is aimed at the 70,000 or so vehicles in China that already have lidar but lack the new H7 hardware.
To get the upgrade, 001 owners can pay a crowdfunding price of 13,500 yuan (about $1,900), provided at least 3,000 people sign up. For 009 owners, the price is 18,500 yuan (about $2,600), with a goal of 1,500 participants. The brand is also offering a 20,000 yuan “ADAS Voucher” to first owners, which can be applied to the upgrade. With the voucher, the final out-of-pocket cost is estimated to be no more than 15,000 yuan ($2,100) for the 001 and 20,000 yuan ($2,800) for the 009.
A Complex and Costly Overhaul
This isn’t a simple plug-and-play installation. Zeekr has been upfront about the technical challenge, explaining that each 001 requires replacing nearly 60 individual parts. The hardware alone is valued at over 30,000 yuan ($4,200), and the extensive rewiring and system re-architecture will take technicians more than 20 hours to complete.
Zeekr says it already invested almost 200 million yuan ($28 million) just to validate the upgrade concept, and it plans to absorb the development costs and a portion of the hardware expenses. It’s a significant financial commitment aimed squarely at building long-term loyalty.
Restoring Faith in a Competitive Market
This initiative is a direct response to customer feedback. In a market where Chinese EV makers are known for rapid product cycles, Zeekr’s move is a powerful gesture designed to win back trust. Early owners who felt their expensive vehicles were prematurely outdated have responded positively, with many calling the move “sincere.” By giving customers a path to stay technologically current, Zeekr is showing that it values its existing community, a strategy that could pay off big time in the long run.
