Lynk, the premium automaker owned by Geely, aims to expand its presence in Europe.

Lynk & Co Plans to Expand in Europe, Including UK

Introduction

Lynk & Co, a carmaker jointly owned by China’s Geely and Volvo Car, plans to expand in Europe, including the UK, and open its first showroom in France by early 2024.

Expansion Plans

The automaker already has clubs in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Spain, and Italy. Lynk only offers a Chinese-made hybrid SUV called 01 in black and blue, but it will launch a fully-electric model, the 02, by the end of 2024. Lynk plans to enter other European markets in the short term, including Norway, Austria, Switzerland, and the UK. The company also has ambitions to branch out into the US market at some stage.

Geely’s Growth in Europe

Geely is seeking to grow its foothold in Europe as the appeal of Chinese cars, particularly electric vehicles, increases. The Chinese giant, which controls Volvo and last week increased its stake in Britain’s Aston Martin to 17%, in January detailed plans to grow its Zeekr and London Electric Vehicle marques in Europe. It is also a partner in a new powertrain firm being set up with French carmaker Renault.

Membership and Subscription Rates

Lynk says it had 200,000 monthly memberships in Europe as of April, of which around 25,000 are in France. In France, where Lynk plans to open its first selling space in Paris in late 2023 or early 2024, it offers a monthly subscription rate of 550 euros, with a full purchase price of 44,500 euros ($48,986) in the premium segment, higher than Shanghai Automobile Industry Corporation-owned MG Motor.

Manufacturing in Europe

Lynk would have to consider manufacturing cars in Europe, given rising tensions between China and the United States. “It’s becoming more and more necessary to have local manufacturing sites…rather than import cars from China,” said Alain Visser, Lynk’s CEO and founder.

($1 = 0.9084 euros)

(Source: Reuters)