The entire range of Lynk & Co models, including
the 01 SUV, 02 compact crossover and 03 sedan, has been spotted in Malaysia by
several paultan.org readers. All across the peninsular, because the ones
snapped by Parhelia are from mules spotted in Kuantan, and from Neoh Perng
King, in Penang.
As with an earlier sighting of the 01, all these
cars are barely camouflaged and are marked as left-hand drive vehicles. Their
presence further strengthens the belief that Zhejiang Geely will use Proton’s
Tanjung Malim plant to build right-hand drive versions of Lynk & Co models.
The mules running around are likely being used to
evaluate and develop RHD conversions that will allow Lynk & Co models to be
sold in RHD markets within and outside the ASEAN region. While the evidence may
present this as a certainty, without official word from the relevant parties,
we’ll have to label this as a possibility for now.
Currently, production of the 01 has already begun in
China, a LHD market, and will reportedly be expanded to Volvo’s plant in Ghent,
Belgium and South Carolina, USA – the former caters to RHD countries and
markets in Europe. Malaysia’s possible addition to this list should help widen
Lynk & Co’s production network further.
It’s hard to confirm what powertrains are being
employed in these test cars, but all three Lynk & Co models are available
with 1.5 three-cylinder or 2.0 litre four-pot turbo petrol engines. The former
serves as the base for a plug-in hybrid powertrain, which will also be offered
for all three models, albeit with different rollout times. Another similar trait across the
three models is they utilise the Compact Modular Architecture (CMA) platform
that also underpins the Volvo XC40.
