CarBrandLogos archive · Lynk & Co · 2017

Lynk & CoLynk & Co 01

Volvo engineering, Chinese pricing, and a European launch with no dealers at all.

Photo: Kevauto · CC BY-SA 4.0

The story

A defining chapter in Lynk & Co history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Lynk & Co 01, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

Geely created Lynk and Co in 2016 to sit between its mainstream Geely brand and Volvo, which it had bought in 2010. The 01, launched in 2017, was the first product, and it sits on the CMA platform developed jointly by Geely and Volvo engineers in Gothenburg, the same architecture that underpins the Volvo XC40. Peter Horbury, who had been Volvo's design director before moving to Geely, oversaw the styling, with its split headlamp treatment and near-vertical grille.

2017 Lynk & Co 01 · User3204 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Design and engineering

In China it was a conventional compact SUV sold through conventional channels, offered with turbocharged three and four-cylinder engines and, later, plug-in hybrid drive. In Europe, where it arrived in 2020, the company tried something considerably stranger. Rather than build a dealer network it opened a small number of city-centre clubs, sold one model in one specification, and pushed a monthly membership that could be shared with other people through an app when the car was not being used.

Lynk & Co 01 2020 facelift 001 · Jengtingchen · CC BY-SA 4.0

In production

The subscription experiment attracted a great deal of attention and rather fewer subscribers than hoped, and Lynk and Co has since made outright purchase easier. But the 01 established the brand's position: Volvo-grade underpinnings and safety engineering at a price Volvo could not offer.

Lynk & Co 01 2020 facelift 003 · Jengtingchen · CC BY-SA 4.0

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Produced

2017–present

Engine

1.5 L JLH-3G15TD (hybrid)

Designer

Peter Horbury

Body

5-door SUV

Technical specification

The Lynk & Co 01, in detail.

Production: 2017–present
Class: Compact crossover SUV (C)
Body style: 5-door SUV
Layout: Front-engine, front-wheel-drive
Engine: 1.5 L JLH-3G15TD (hybrid) ; 1.5 L DHE15-ESZ turbo I3 ; 2.0 L Drive-E-T4 B4204T30 turbo I4
Transmission: 6-speed Manual transmission; manual ; 7-speed Dual-clutch transmission; DCT ; 8-speed Automatic transmission; automatic
Designer: Peter Horbury, Eric Leong; Alex Saito (facelift)
Assembly: China: Ningbo, Zhejiang (Meishu plant)
Manufacturer: Lynk & Co (Geely)