Lynk & Co is a Chinese-Swedish automobile brand owned by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group. Founded in 2016, its cars will be positioned between those of the Geely brand and Swedish brand Volvo, which was purchased by Geely in 2010. The focus of the brand is on internet connectivity and innovative purchasing models in certain markets, targeting the young professional demographic.
Models
Lynk & Co has announced three models intended for production, all based on the Compact Modular Architecture platform developed by and used also by Volvo. The first product announced by Lynk & Co was the crossover01, the production version first shown at the 2017 Auto Shanghai show. Production of the 01 began first in China in 2017. A concept of the second model, the 03 sedan, was first shown along with the production 01 in Shanghai. The third model, also based on the platform shared with the Volvo XC40, is the 02. Smaller than the 01, it is also a crossover. Current models are as follows:
Lynk & Co will launch the Lynk & Co 04 and 05 in 2019, according to An Conghui, President and CEO of Geely Auto Group. Besides, the Lynk & Co 02PHEV and the 03 PHEV will also hit the market in 2019. The brand has so far rolled out four models, namely, the Lynk & Co 01, 02, 03 and the Lynk & Co 01 PHEV. As the product planning reveals, all outgoing models will have their PHEV version.
Sales model
Lynk & Co is planning to use a direct-to-consumer sales model in most markets. This method is very uncommon, dealerships have been used as the primary method of selling automobiles to consumers. Tesla has had recent success selling direct to consumers, which Geely acknowledges. Instead of building its cars as trim levels, a method of building variations common used in the industry, each car will be ordered by the buyer and customized using equipment packages, though variations will be limited. Lynk & Co will offer a subscription based service to customers. Users can operate the service, which is set to include numerous lifestyle benefits, for a month at a time in addition to being able to share vehicles out on a short-term basis to other consumers. Lynk & Co reported sales of 120,414 vehicles in China for 2018. The first full year the brand was on the market. The marque has opened 221 retail outlets in China.
