[Auto Home News] On August 21, the opening day of the 2026 Chengdu Motor Show, the warmest scene unfolded: on the main stage where major brands scrambled to release new cars, showcase technologies and pursue sales, a luxury car brand reserved the prime C-position for a 6-year-old child.
At the motor show site, ZEEKR released a special concept car -- it was not designed by professional automotive designers, but created by 6-year-old child Justin with his paintbrush. ZEEKR turned the "Xuanjia Thunder Racing Car" in Justin's painting from a childlike work of art into a real physical concept car, and held an exclusive launch and delivery ceremony for this "little designer" under the witness of well-known national host Uncle Dong Hao. Justin also gave this special work a special name: "ZEEKR 0.01".
At the motor show where all booths are racing against time to introduce products, promote technologies and pursue sales, it is quite rare for a luxury car brand to hold a launch event for a child. What ZEEKR did this time is not simply building a "children's car", but seriously fulfilling its promise to the child: to make the child's imagination seen, and let this imagination truly integrate into the automotive industry.
6-year-old child steps onto the main stage, ZEEKR turns "Xuanjia Thunder Racing Car" into reality
There was no flagship new car, no parameter competition, ZEEKR reserved the top stage and core communication resources of the Chengdu Motor Show for a 6-year-old child's automobile dream.
The prototype of this concept car, which was jokingly called "ZEEKR 0.01" by its little author, is the *Xuanjia Thunder Racing Car* created by Justin during the 2026 Children's Day "Dream Building Season". Among a huge number of children's creative works, ZEEKR was impressed by this concept that combines safety protection and free exploration. After screening, project approval and design implementation, it finally decided to "build" this painting into a real product.
Justin shared the ideas behind his work on site: the hard shell of Xuanjia represents indestructible safety protection; the lightning element symbolizes extreme speed, and he hopes the racing car can take his little friends to travel freely to the forest and outer space. The seemingly unconstrained childish thoughts have produced a wonderful resonance with ZEEKR's understanding of safety, exploration and freedom.
The name "ZEEKR 0.01" also has a special meaning. It is not a product for the market, nor is it aimed at sales. It is a pure response ZEEKR reserves for children -- the automotive industry can have a large number of mass-produced models, but it should also leave a space for children's imagination.
Not a model, but a truly "built" car
Different from ordinary handmade models or exhibition display devices, "ZEEKR 0.01" has three special "industrial identities".
First, some parts of the whole vehicle are produced on the production line of ZEEKR's factory; second, the vehicle has an exclusive Vehicle Identification Number (VIN); third, the factory certificate is personally signed by Zhao Chunlin, head of ZEEKR's production and manufacturing department.
This means that ZEEKR did not simply turn the child's painting into a good-looking model, but used real automotive industrial capabilities to turn a child's imagination into a real existing car.
On site, national host Dong Hao served as the "Dream Witness", witnessed the release of this concept car together with Justin, and affirmed ZEEKR's practice. In his view, all car brands should follow ZEEKR's example, respect children and pay attention to their needs. The growth of automobile culture does not only mean letting children become consumers in the future, but also giving them opportunities to understand automobiles, imagine automobiles and participate in the creation of automobiles from an early age.
Not to sell children's cars, ZEEKR "builds dreams" only to create cars for children's dreams
In today's automotive industry, product competition has entered a stage of all-round competition in technology, performance, intelligence and luxury experience. The essence of car companies scrambling to release new cars and obtain orders at auto shows is to meet actual consumer demands. But this time, ZEEKR chose to do something that brings no short-term commercial return: this concept car designed by a child is not for sale to the public.
This is probably the most special feature of "ZEEKR 0.01". It is not created to sell children's cars, nor to seek commercialization opportunities, but hopes to become a small starting point between children and the automotive industry: to let children know that their imagination can be taken seriously, and they can also become participants in the story of automobiles.
In fact, this is not the first time ZEEKR has seriously responded to children's imagination. ZEEKR has been running the "Dream Building Season" brand IP for a long time, collecting automotive creativity and original design ideas from children and teenagers every year. Children's works will not only be displayed offline, but also be sent to ZEEKR's global design team synchronously, so that these seemingly unconstrained ideas can truly enter the vision of professional designers. At the previous Guangzhou Motor Show, ZEEKR also made an official response to the "Golden Cudgel Car Building" fantasy put forward by children, embracing children's romantic imagination with the brand's own approach. In the words of Shen Fangjun, General Manager of ZEEKR Brand Public Relations, "Every piece of childlike innocence deserves to be taken seriously."
The attention to children does not only stay at the level of "dream building". In the design of mass-produced models, ZEEKR also takes the real needs of children and family users into consideration. For example, ZEEKR Wing Screen allows children to push and pull the screen conveniently, and the Comfortable Entry and Exit Mode can reduce the height of the pedal according to different scenarios, making it more convenient for children to get on and off the car. Behind these seemingly small designs is the response to the real needs of family users.
Starting from a child's dream, ZEEKR "Dream Building Program" is officially launched
At the Chengdu Motor Show site, ZEEKR also officially released the "ZEEKR Dream Building Program": every year from June to August, teenagers under the age of 16 across the country have the opportunity to enter ZEEKR Smart Factory, ZEEKR Tower and ZEEKR Global Design Center to participate in research activities, and join discussions on automobile design and function definition. If the unconstrained creativity of children has implementation value, ZEEKR will apply it to future mass-produced models.
For ZEEKR, "ZEEKR 0.01" may not be a product, but it can be a brand new beginning.
From turning a child's imagination into a real car, to letting more children participate in automobile culture and understand the automotive industry, what ZEEKR presented at the Chengdu Motor Show is not only a special concept car release, but also a kind of respect for childlike innocence, creativity and user emotions.
Industry insiders believe that when hardware, technology and performance gradually become the basis of competition in the automotive industry, the real differentiation of high-end brands is also shifting from simple product competition to the connection between people. The automotive industry can constantly pursue faster, stronger and smarter products, but it should also leave a space to listen to children's voices carefully. Because true high-end is not only about building better cars, but also about being willing to take every small dream seriously.