New car brands don’t come around every day, and when they do, they never launch with a real, honest-to-God, physical car at the ready. I should say “almost never,” as Chinese automaker Geely’s collaboration with Volvo has already yielded automotive fruit.
That comes as a relief after the company told us to “think beyond the car.” Sure, Lynk & Co’s marketing hype is still omnipresent, but now there is something tangible to attach it to.
Automotive News tells us the compact SUV is called 01 and will be a hybrid, powered by a 1.5 liter three-cylinder gasoline engine paired with an electric motor. The little crossover also rides on the Compact Modular Architecture platform, which it shares with its sibling from Sweden, the upcoming XC40.
Currently, transmission options include a manual or a seven-speed, dual-clutch automatic.
Lynk & Co is also building a 2.0-liter inline four. Both it and the 1.5-liter engine will be built in China with technology on loan from Volvo. The company also plans to add a compact sedan and other models to its fleet using the shared platform with Volvo.
While there’s no actual numbers being tossed around, Lynk & Co says it wants to keep vehicle prices low through a sales and distribution model based on online retailing and direct sales from its own stores. Avoiding the large distribution fees associated with dealerships should offer significant savings, according to the company. Lynk wants to go as far as delivering the 01 directly to the buyer’s home, and picking it up from the owner for servicing.
“Our aim is to enrich and simplify car ownership by re-defining how cars are bought, owned, connected, serviced and used,” Alain Visser, Lynk’s senior vice president, said in a statement.
How this can work in the U.S. — where many states have strict provisions against direct-to-consumer car sales — is unknown. Lynk also plans to keep prices down by offering a set number of vehicle trims to minimize build configurations and lower its manufacturing costs.
As for the accuracy of its “born digital” slogan, the company has been working with Microsoft and Alibaba to create a digital customer infrastructure, while Ericsson has helped design a car-connectivity cloud. All models will come with a large central console and be permanently connected to the Internet and its own inter-vehicle cloud network. This allows the owner to provide others with access to the vehicle using a shareable digital key. Owners can then use the Lynk app to control and monitor their car from a smartphone, tablet, or computer.
The Lynk & Co 01 will arrives in the Chinese market in 2017, followed by Europe and the United States.
[Images: Lynk & Co]
“Lynk & Co.”
“Lincoln Co.”
Nah, I’m sure that’s coincidence.
It’s not called that any more. It’s now “Lincoln Motor Coachworks Modern Conveyance Establishment, LTD.”
“Link & Park”?
Perhaps but if you’re going to rip off an existing brand name make it one that’s a little more popular. There are about six of us who hear “Lincoln” and think “oooooo that’s what I want”.
When I were a snot we shopped at a grocery store with a brand of bleach called Linco. My mom rinsed out and de-labeled old Linco bottles and we used them at our cottage for drinking water from the well pump.
Of course mom still used bleach to clean inside the cottage so hot, sweaty me tears inside for a second to gulp a little water…
I don’t want nothin’ that sounds even close to Linco.
Let’s see:
1) Brand-new vehicle from a relatively unknown manufacturer (Geely link aside)
2) Made in China
What could go wrong?
Pass.
One time some guys had debate, what is better to buy, a Russian car or Chinese. So what they did, they tested durability. They went as far as placing the car into “aging room” where they created conditions that would speedup rusting. there was some salty atmosphere, freezing rain and other car-damaging things. And to exaggerate things, they made some dings and scratches in hood, doors, etc.
The Russian car came out not bad, with some rust but ok. The Chinese car had holes rusted through its panels, chipping paint and other nasty stuff.
I would worry about materials it is made of. Not only metal parts but also plastics, rubber, and gaskets.
They obviously did not perform that test on a LADA SAMARA…. after 1 year in Canada, a Samara looks ready to be tossed to the junk yard
Were those guys the Mythbusters?
So it will be incapable of driving out of cellular range?
Nice looking design though. Individual without being overwrought.
The face the front is making makes me very uncomfortable. I need an adult.
BUT, the back looks fine, and I like that bronze trim strip as well. I think we could use more unique trim coloring like that. A good way to differentiate trim levels and packages without a lot of real work on the part of the manufacturer. #jimmydiamondedition
The front looks like a re-jigged version of the Jeep Cherokee…
Man, I thought it was a new, “retro” Cayenne…
I’d like to put 16″ wheels on that and tall enough sidewalls to fill up the wheel wells, see how floaty I could make it.
By the way, the new Murano rides surprisingly well and sits slightly elevated, though it’s not square at all. I was quite surprised by the difference in ride quality from the ~’12 model to the ’16.
Thanks for the tip. I’d have never thought to check one out. I still trust Nissan to be sufficiently Japanese and cush is its own goal. Plus, I’ve severed the nerve bundle that wants old-timey good looks ’cause those are now permanently off the menu.
I drove it about 80 miles total. 90-95 degree heat with the AC on, fairly heavy San Antonio traffic with a decently heavy foot, 23.5mpg.
The CVT does work, no matter what anyone thinks of it. I know how thirsty the 3.5VQ is by nature.
Well, now I’ve got to visit the Nissan store because I trust your estimation of a softish ride.
Indeed, rode better than me Infiniti, and overall better than the Cadillac because it wasn’t wallowy.
Ugly. It’s a mishmash of tired styling cliches slapped onto a two-box shape with awkward proportions. Plus they contracted Microsoft to do the vehicle user interface. Remember this is the same company that did Ford’s first-generation Sync system, one which I continue to curse at every time I get in my car.
The face, at first glance, looked like a 1st generation Porsche Cayenne knock off and that was not an attractive vehicle to start with.
I thought the same thing….
gwwy…
You mean the system that eventually evolved into a very mature and functional system?
Sorry you got an early version.
An unattractive, unproven car chock-full of all the annoyances one associates with a smart-phone – genius!
At least it is easily identifiable as as a SUVish thing. If Fiats 500X looked like this, they would be in much better shape.
I’ll believe it when it is here. Almost 10 years ago many were predicting the end of the Detroit 3 because Chinese and Indian cars and trucks would be everywhere by now.
EVERYWHERE!
As a millenial always connected doesnt appeal to me, id rather a diesel land rover than something like this
Looks like a disfigured Cayenne. No thanks!
Tuscoptima.
Had the same thought
Mark my words, this will sell very well at around $15K.
Looks like an XC40
I call photoshop on some elements, surely that shark fin antenna is backwards?
As I previously said, a grey generic CUV for all of your hipster individualism needs!
No privacy concerns with an “always connected” Chinese vehicle. None at all.
An no, the computer I’m typing this on was not made in China.
Why did Geely create a new brand instead of just building new Geely models with the Volvo platform?
Well, Lynk &, er I mean Lincoln is currently outselling Volvo (in the US).
What an odd Cayenne/Juke/Raptor front and Grand Cherokee/Range Rover Sport rear conglomeration. I don’t think you could conceive of anything more derivative. It’s like someone swiped plans for the rear of a next-gen Grand Cherokee off an FCA engineer’s desk.
The front would look so much better and more masculine if it ditched the Juke stingray eyes and stretched the grille/lower lights up to the hood line.
To me, it looks like a Camaro and a Land Rover bred. I…have no idea how to feel about it. I thought the back would be the deciding factor. Nope. Just as odd as the front.
Side view styling is a hot mess.
http://i.amz.mshcdn.com/ifc9HZdtGfYMrE-ez_ttQqp5wIw=/950×534/https%3A%2F%2Fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fcard%2Fimage%2F252488%2Flynk_and_co.jpg