Chinese subscription-pioneer Lynk&Co has confirmed it will launch in the UK in 2024 with a new electric SUV and is already scouting locations for a ‘club’ showroom in London.
The new compact SUV will be underpinned by the same SEA electric platform used by the new Smart #1, the company’s global chief Alain Visser told Autocar.
“Our priority is to expand in Europe and go to the UK, which will be our biggest or second biggest market in the region,” Visser said.
Lynk&Co, owned by China’s Geely, would also bring its subscription sales model to the UK, which means owners pay a flat all-inclusive monthly fee and sign up for as little as a month at a time.
The brand’s single model, the 01 plug-in hybrid, is available for €550 (£490) a month in Europe, and comes with just two colour choices: blue or black. The new electric model would replace the 01, Visser said.
Subscribers largely sign up online, but the company also maintains a small network of brand-boosting ‘clubs’ that act as a showroom 'hang-out' area.
The company is currently on the hunt in London for somewhere ‘hip’ but with high footfall, Visser said. “We’re looking at Shoreditch, we’re looking at Hackney and we’re even looking at Soho because it’s always so full,” he added.
The UK electric car will follow Lynk&Co’s European strategy of sticking to a single compact car, rather than expanding into bigger segments as the brand has done in China. “We see that our customers want compact vehicles that are small enough for the city and big enough for a small family,” Visser said in June.
Earlier in June Lynk&Co showed an extravagant concept for a coupe-styled hybrid car featuring scissor doors and claimed autonomous capabilities, demonstrating at least a more cutting edge design in the future.
Lynk&Co customers can also rent out their cars via the company app in the manner of Airbnb. Visser said around 20 percent of customers in Europe rent their cars.
