Zeekr Warns of Disabling Gray Market Electric Vehicles

Chinese automaker Zeekr has announced that it will soon begin disabling access to its official services for electric vehicles imported into Russia through “gray” market channels. This decision was reported by the Telegram channel “Ostorozhno, Novosti.” The automaker actually made this decision back in June.

The policy applies to all vehicles originally intended for the Chinese market but exported to other countries, not just Russia.

According to “Avtostat,” over 5,500 Zeekr electric vehicles were registered in Russia in the first eight months of the year, out of nearly 12,700 total electric vehicles imported into the country. If the block is enforced, about a third of all Zeekr vehicles in Russia could lose access to official services.

Car dealers told “Ostorozhno, Novosti” that the issue could potentially be resolved by using a special device costing 75,000 rubles, which disconnects the electric vehicle from remote management by Zeekr in China.

However, dealer representatives believe this solution may only be temporary, as the manufacturer is likely to develop new measures to counteract such workarounds, requiring users to replace the device over time.