Recent years have seen domestic brands making significant strides in product quality and service offerings. During the recent Spring Festival holiday, ZEEKR service stations in locations such as a service area in Dezhou, Shandong, provided returning travelers with complimentary boiled dumplings, as pictured. The just-concluded 2026 Spring Festival holiday has further demonstrated the profound transformation of China's new energy vehicle market. Data from the National Energy Administration shows that from the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month to the seventh day of the first lunar month, the total number of electric vehicle charging instances on national expressways reached 6.021 million, marking a year-on-year increase of 52.01%. Amid the annual massive migration involving over 5 billion passenger trips, new energy vehicles have transitioned from being a novelty to a mainstream mode of transportation.
This Spring Festival, domestic high-end new energy models, represented by brands like ZEEKR, created several memorable holiday scenes across social media and real-world settings. In Anhui, a water salute was performed for returning vehicles by a sprinkler truck; in the Chaoshan area, vehicles returning home became a focal point for relatives and friends gathering outside ancestral halls; in rural Yunnan, domestic high-end models serving as wedding cars attracted as much attention as traditional luxury brands. These organically shared scenes reflect a substantive rise in the recognition of domestic automotive brands.
The rental market provides more direct numerical evidence of this trend. It is reported that the daily rental rate for the ZEEKR 9X during the Spring Festival period exceeded 2,100 yuan, with a minimum three-day rental price reaching 7,000 yuan, yet supply still could not meet demand. This significantly outpaced the rental rates of around one thousand yuan for comparable traditional luxury brands during the same period. This phenomenon stems from a shift in values driven by generational change among consumers, who are increasingly prioritizing a product's technological features, design, and practicality over brand prestige alone.
Concurrently, market performance indicates that domestic high-end new energy models are reshaping the competitive landscape within their segments. Data reveals that the average selling price for the entire ZEEKR product lineup has surpassed 300,000 yuan, with the average transaction price for the ZEEKR 9X exceeding 530,000 yuan. Cumulative deliveries of the 9X have surpassed 30,000 units, securing a leading position in sales for large SUVs priced above 500,000 yuan. More notably, over 80% of its users are trading up from traditional luxury brands, signaling that domestic models are successfully capturing high-net-worth customers from established premium marques.
This trend is underpinned by continuous investment from automakers in technology and customer service. During the holiday, several new energy brands introduced services such as complimentary roadside assistance, mobile tire replacement, and support stations at expressway service areas, directly addressing concerns about range and service availability during long-distance travel. In an era marked by frequent price wars, this service philosophy—absorbing complexity to maximize user convenience—is emerging as a new critical battleground in the automotive market.
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