Geely Lynk & Co CX11 SUV (spy shot)
New Spy Shots of the upcoming Lynk & Co SUV, code named the C11. Lynk & Co, not to
be confused with Lincoln, is a new brand under Geely Auto. It will be positioned between Geely and Volvo. It will compete against “mainstream” brands
such as Ford, Hyundai, Toyota and Volkswagen. The brand will officially debut
tomorrow in Sweden, where they will show a concept car.
The Lynk part of the name refers to
connected cars, the magic word of the moment, where cars connect with each
other and other places, like home or the office. Lynk & Co will also be a
“mobile travel service provider”, which is a hip-ish way of saying they will
offer a car sharing program where Lynk & Co will retain
ownership of the vehicles. They have been hyping this to the max, so we can’t wait to see what it
is all about The Co part of the name has “no
specific meaning”, according to Geely. It is just there to make the brand name
sound “young and dynamic”.
The brand is aimed at young car buyers who are into
connecting and sharing their stuff. In China the Link & Co cars will be
sold via a separate dealer network.
The CX11 SUV is based on the new Volvo-Geely CMA
platform, which will also underpin the upcoming new Volvo 40-Series, which was
previewed by the 40.1 and 40.2 concept
cars.
Like the new 40-Series the CX11 will be powered by a
Volvo 1.5 liter three-cylinder engine. Base version will be petrol, top version
will be hybrid. Price will range from 130.000 to 190.000 yuan (US$ 19.000 –
28.000). After the CX11 another three cars will be launched,
all based on the CMA platform: a sedan code named CS11, a hatchback code named
CH11, and a crossover code named CC11.
The brand will be sold in China first and then move
on to Europe and the United States.
In general more brands are welcome. But we find it
hard to see the point of Lynk & Co. Wasn’t the Geely brand supposed to go
upmarket and mainstream? Isn’t that why Geely has been launching all these
great looking new cars like the Geely GL, the Emgrand GS, and the Geely Borui? The Lynk & Co brand seems
poised to ruin the rise of Geely and take a bite at Volvo.