Lynk & CO to make full-electric shift in Europe in 2024

Lynk & CO will replace its 01 plug-in hybrid in Europe with an all-new, full-electric SUV based on the parent Geely's SEA platform starting in 2024, the brand's global boss said.

The brand, which offers just one model in Europe, registered about 28,000 units of the 01 in seven markets across the region in 2022, which was a record for the company, Lynk & CO CEO Alain Visser told Automotive News Europe.

The bulk of those registrations came through the brand's 550-euro-a-month subscriptions scheme.

The 01's full-electric replacement will be the only model Lynk & CO offers in Europe, Visser said on the sidelines of the CES tech show in Las Vegas this month.

"We like -- and we see that our customers also like -- the fact that it's one model, 550 euros a month, black or blue and that is it," Visser said.

The new electric model will share the Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA) with a wide range of Geely-owned or affiliated brands (see box, right).

The first SEA-based model offered in Europe is the Smart #1. Volvo has also committed to using SEA to underpin its forthcoming EX20 small SUV, which is due to debut before year-end.

In addition, SEA will be used by the 001 and 009 electric cars from Geely's new Zeekr brand, which plans to start sales in Europe this year.

Lynk & CO is debating whether to utilize the platform's ability to allow users to subscribe to features delivered through over-the-air updates, as Smart has promised with the #1.

"It's not yet decided," Visser said. "We like to keep it very simple. There is the one price and that's what they always pay."

Visser promised the brand, which debuted in Europe in 2020, will reach breakeven in the region this year despite the rising cost of the cars.

"Given our current fast volume growth, we believe we can break even this year and be profitable in 2024," he said. "That is quite a lot sooner than was initially planned."

Lynk & CO last year raised its subscription rate to 550 euros from 500 euros and is under pressure to increase the price again.

"Our costs have gone up quite a bit more than the price," Visser said.

Helping the brand is the fact that variable costs outside of the car are limited to the salaries of 900 employees in Europe as well as the cost to run the 10 "clubs" that act as brand-building showrooms in major cities. The company will also sell about 10,000 used cars this year, bringing in additional revenue.

Visser said Lynk & CO will also pause plans to expand in Europe beyond its current seven market until 2024 when the electric car arrives. That model is key to Lynk & CO's plan to enter the UK, which the company predicts will quickly become its No. 1 or No. 2 market in Europe.

Currently the Netherlands is the brand's largest market in Europe with Italy at No. 2.

Lynk & CO has reduced its order backlog to six weeks from six months earlier, mainly because of reduced demand in China, where the COVID-19 pandemic continues to negatively impact car sales.

"It helps us now in terms of supply, because as demand in China is dropping, we get more availability for Europe," Visser said. "In the last two months that has improved quite radically."