Lynk & Co is finally revealing what it has been teasing for a year or so — its very first plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). The Lynk & Co 01 PHEV SUV (enough acronyms for you?) wraps together its own experience with PHEV drivetrain systems and Volvo’s.
Lynk & Co 01 PHEV SUV
Lynk & Co‘s Drive-E is the first vehicle the company will deliver in Europe, in 2019. The cars will be produced at the Volvo Car Ghent factory in Belgium. We can’t stress enough how the communal work shared between all companies converge with the Lynk & Co 01, which will be manufactured where the 2018 European Car of the Year (the Volvo XC40) is produced. The XC40 is based on the same Compact Modular Architecture that is shared between Volvo and Lynk & Co.
Will the Lynk & Co be a vehicle destined to reach a younger generation market eager for new electric brands? We’ll see.
Performance specs are confirmed to be: about 1.7l / 100km (140 MPG) fuel consumption (combined cycle) and a pure electric range in excess of 50 km (31 miles). According to Mats Fagerhag, CEO of China Euro Vehicle Technology (CEVT) and Vice President of Geely Auto Group, “From the very beginning of the CMA’s development, the flexibility to support future powertrain technologies, such as PHEV, HEV, BEV, mild hybrid and traditional fuel was very much our vision. The new energy plan for Lynk & Co will be implemented in stages with the goal of following PHEV with HEV and then BEV.”
According to Alain Visser, Senior Vice President of Lynk & Co, “Our European strategy has always been based on new technology powertrain, and the announcements here in Beijing today confirm that vision. There will be no diesel, no manual and no ICE Lynk & Co derivatives in Europe. When we commence production in 2019, and sales starting from 2020, in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels and London, our range will be all about new energy. From these hubs in key cities, we will also launch our pop-up stores offline tours, reaching 95% of Europe’s urban population with a formidable, efficient and connected range of products based on industry-leading technologies such as Drive-E and more.”
What The Lynk & Co PHEV 01 SUV Brings To The Table
As to the question of whether yet another PHEV is really needed today when EVs have matured so well, Lynk & Co feels that it has a trick up its sleeve. At the core of the Lynk & Co 01 PHEV is the brand’s connectivity target, something we’ve come to expect from practically all OEMs these days. Specifically, Lynk & Co’s first customers will be able to share the car with others via an app, as well as benefit from wireless charging. Basically, you get the car at a very high level of connectivity.
Although all of this is “aimed at making life easier on the move,” these new vehicles — whether we talk about pure electric vehicles (EV), autonomous self-driving cars (AV) or taxi pods — all are technological hubs on wheels. Lynk & Co seems to come at that from a level similar to (or above) Tesla’s, which conventional automakers have yet to match.
Features and functions will be accessible via a large central touchscreen with advanced telematics.
Making Sense Of The Lynk & Co’s 01 PHEV SUV
The Lynk & Co 01 PHEV is the result of the design and engineering labor of an international team that stretches from China to Gothenburg, Sweden. When asking the company about its new vehicle and what differentiates it from the competition, the company responds that it is a world’s first new mobility brand — not just the vehicle but the company. Lynk & Co wants to offer unparalleled in-car connectivity, vehicle sharing, online sales, and a subscription model for users. And the car should arrive in driveways next year.
Do we need another SUV? Probably not, but that’s what people buy, and the technology underneath this PHEV helps us get closer to a pure EV world. The waiting is the hardest part.
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