Geely’s Lynk & Co. sets sights on US for car-sharing concept
Lynk & Co. is eyeing an expansion of its novel approach of vehicle ownership and car-sharing to the US as the brand backed by Volvo Cars and China’s Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. prepares to deliver its first vehicles in Europe
Lynk & Co. is eyeing an expansion of its novel approach of vehicle ownership and car-sharing to the U.S. as the brand backed by Volvo Cars and China’s Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. prepares to deliver its first vehicles in Europe.
The company, which is shipping its China-made 01 SUV to customers in Europe next month, offers buyers several options to own and use a car. As well as an outright purchase, customers can choose a monthly subscription and elect to rent out the vehicle to others via an app.
The business model will be viable in the U.S. as trends are shifting toward sustainability and people question the concept of car ownership, Chief Executive Officer Alain Visser said in an interview.
“There’s no doubt that we will go to the U.S.,” Visser said. “We haven’t set an exact timeline -- we have some kind of a plan but we have been really focusing on Europe.”
Lynk & Co.’s approach for peer-to-peer sharing among friends or within companies is an example of how carmakers are trying to adjust to evolving concepts of private-vehicle ownership. So far results have been mixed, and several carmakers have canned subscription services. Car-sharing offerings, while popular, have struggled to produce attractive returns, and many have quit operating in unprofitable locations.
The brand is targeting sales of 200,000 vehicles in China this year, and 10,000 “members” in Europe, who either buy, subscribe or rent vehicles. Visser said Lynk & Co.’s approach offered an alternative to cars sitting idle most of the time.
“I’m sure there are quite a lot of carmakers looking at us and hoping that we’ll fail,” Visser said. “We don’t have the arrogance to say they are wrong and we are right, but we have the confidence to say there is room for something else.”
Lynk & Co. is building the 01 model in China on the same underpinnings as the popular Volvo XC40 compact SUV, scrapping an earlier plan to make the car at Volvo’s plant in Ghent, Belgium. Stiff competition in Europe has so far precluded Chinese-made vehicles to make meaningful inroads.
Europe’s first Lynk & Co. showroom -- billed as “clubs” where members can shop and sip drinks -- opened in Amsterdam last year, and a Gothenburg location followed in January. The company is now planning to open locations in Berlin and Antwerp, and aims to add others in cities including Hamburg, Milan and Paris this year.
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First Published:11 Mar 2021, 08:39 PM IST
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