New Global Auto Brand Seeks to Change Vehicle Ownership Model

Geely Auto Group’s new brand LYNK & CO will begin selling the 01 SUV in China in 2017 .

The LYNK & CO 01. (Image courtesy of LYNK & CO.)

The LYNK & CO 01. (Image courtesy of LYNK & CO.)

There’s a new car brand in town, courtesy of the Chinese-owned Geely Auto Group. The new brand is called LYNK & CO, and like Geely’s other brand, Volvo, LYNK & CO vehicles will be designed and engineered in Sweden.

The LYNK & CO Brand

“Why has the world changed but cars haven’t?”

That’s the first line on LYNK & CO’s description of itself, and it’s a pretty good summary of what the brand is trying to be. LYNK & CO seems especially interested in rethinking the car-buying model. For example, the company will be offering buy, lease, subscribe and borrow options for its vehicles. It also takes care of maintenance, insurance and data plans in the fixed monthly price options. Finally, the company touts “extras as standard,” doing away with the tactic of drawing customers in with a base price and upselling them on those fancy heated seats.

One feature the brand is advertising is a sharing/borrowing capability, which it describes as Airbnb for cars. It shows off the feature in this video:

It seems that the sharing model has a lot of potential, with Elon Musk announcing a similar concept for Tesla vehicles in his Master Plan: Part Deux back in July. It will be interesting to see how auto companies execute this vision, and whether or not it will catch on with car owners.

LYNK & CO also invites open collaboration on its products, as the vehicles will be built around a fully open-source API. This feature is called CO:LAB, and the company offers the following invitation: “You’ve got an idea, you share it. Then we develop it. With you.”

The first LYNK & CO model is an SUV called the 01. According to the company, it will be fully connected, with built-in Wi-Fi and telemetry from Ericsson. The company claims that “under the bonnet, you’ll find the next generation of conventional, hybrid, or electric engine,” suggesting that LYNK & CO will have different types of engines in different vehicles. This would make LYNK & CO a competitor to car companies with a range of engine options, like BMW or Toyota, rather than a direct threat to the all-electric Tesla brand.

The 01 will start selling in China in 2017, and European and U.S. markets will follow. As of yet, there’s no pricing information on the LYNK & CO 01.

For more auto industry news, read Volkswagen Finalizes Settlement with U.S. Government.

Written by

Michael Alba

Michael is a senior editor at engineering.com. He covers computer hardware, design software, electronics, and more. Michael holds a degree in Engineering Physics from the University of Alberta.