Volvo and its parent company, Geely joined forces and created the company Lynk & Co, the first Chinese automaker that will sell cars in Europe and USA.
The first model of the new company is called 01, it will be manufactured in China and it has been designed and developed in China. It uses Volvo’s new CMA platform, the same one used by the Volvo XC40. The car has a length of 4.53 meters, a width of 1.85 meters and a wheelbase of 2.73 meters.
It will be available with three-cylinder 1,5-liter and four-cylinder 2-liter turbo, petrol and diesel engines, which will be offered with manual or dual clutch 7-speed automatic transmissions. The company will also release a plug-in hybrid version that combines a 1.5-liter three-cylinder gasoline engine and an electric motor, which will be presented later during the model’s life cycle.
In terms of security, the Lynk & Co 01 is equipped with all of Volvo’s passive systems such as automatic braking systems, collision warning, active cruise control, blind spot warning, pedestrian detection and lane change warning.
The Lynk & Co 01 aims to become the “most connected car of today,” with its infotainment system to be constantly connected to the Internet and the car having its own cloud. The interior of the car is luxurious, having a leather upholstery, aluminum decorations and a stylish, modern appearance.
Sales of the Lynk & Co 01 will start in China in 2017, while in 2018 it will be available in Europe and USA, with the company releasing in the future, two other models, called 02 and 03.
