Geely-owned near-premium brand Lynk & Co is to make cars at a Volvo Cars plant in Belgium.
Starting in 2019, the Lynk & Co 01 model will be produced at the Volvo Cars facility in Ghent, Belgium. The cars will be made on the same assembly line as the Volvo XC40.
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Lynk & Co Senior Vice President, Alain Visser, said: “We will manufacture in Europe, for Europe, focussing initially on hybrid-only electrified derivatives of our new range of cars. Our vehicles share the innovative Compact Modular Architecture (CMA) with Volvo, therefore it makes absolute sense that we commence European production for Lynk & Co alongside a brand with the absolute trustmark and global recognition in safety, quality, design and international appeal. We could not wish for a better start in our home markets.”
Lynk & Co describes itself as a Sweden-based international brand with a ‘European heart and soul, and a refreshing approach to the automotive business’. It also claims to be the ‘world’s first new mobility brand with a focus on connectivity, sharing, online sales, and a subscription model of usership’.
The Lynk & Co brand was launched at an event in Germany in 2016, highlighting the aim to achieve strong sales in Europe. The brand comes, it is claimed, with a new business model, an open API (application programming interface), personalised services, sharing possibilities and the first dedicated app store for cars. The first car in the range, the 01, is described as ‘bold and tech-laden SUV, built on the Compact Modular Architecture (CMA)’.
The Lynk & Co 01 will be followed by 02, 03 as a full range – reflecting the brand’s idea of simplifying and challenging industry conventions, right down to model names, Lynk says.
Lynk & Co is positioned as less luxurious than Volvo, but higher rated than Geely. Analysts note that it will go head-to-head with Volkswagen, Ford, Toyota and Hyundai in Europe.
Engineering and technology for the new range has been developed under CEVT (China Euro Vehicle Technology), the shared Geely and Volvo research and innovation centre. The 01 and forthcoming Lynk models will be based on the CMA (Compact Modular Architecture) – an advanced modular architecture capable of accommodating many body styles and sizes – which also underpins Volvo’s new compact car range and many upcoming Geely models.
Geely says it has ‘engineers with decades of experience at some of the world’s best car manufacturers developing the new range of Lynk models’.
The CMA architecture is described as ‘wholly modular’ and able to accommodate a wide range of different powertrains, electrical systems, passive and active safety systems and technologies.
All cars will come with a large central touchscreen and telematics systems that are ‘always connected to the internet and the car’s own cloud’. In what may trigger cyber security concerns, the car has a share button, enabling the owner to provide others with access to the vehicle via a shareable digital key.
