Volvo-owner Geely to launch new car brand with compact SUV model

Chinese automaker Geely will reveal the very first design in its new global car brand, Lynk & Co, on Thursday, a compact SUV that it hopes will attract metropolitan customers due to a function that makes it possible for owners to rent it out to others when not being used.

The brand belongs to Geely’s efforts to widen its appeal by dealing with the middle market. It will be rolled out across China from next year and will be offered in Europe and the United States in 2018.

The SUV model, named ’01’, will be the first car based on the Complex Modular Architecture (CMA) platform made by Geely and Volvo, which Geely obtained six years earlier.

The automaker is targeting tech-savvy chauffeurs. Registered owners will have the ability to lease their car to others utilizing the Lynk & Co app and a shareable digital key, stated Alain Visser, a senior vice president at Lynk & Co.

“The new design for car ownership and the clever comfort that modern-day tech communication provides is created to fill a much-needed space in today’s car industry,” Visser said.

China’s economic growth is at its slowest in a quarter of a century, but Geely, under Chairman Li Shufu, beat the industry development rate last year and happened to reverse Volvo’s fortunes.

The goal for Lynk & Co-brand automobiles to compete with Chinese foreign venture brands, such as those produced jointly by General Motors and SAIC Motor Corp, individuals knowledgeable about the matter have informed Reuters.