ROME – Owned by Geely Holding Group and with administrative headquarters in Gothenburg as Volvo – Swedish manufacturer in turn controlled by the Chinese group like Polestar and Lotus – Lynk & Co is a reality that since its inception in August last year, is grown more than expected by intercepting two important contemporary trends, inherent to the “possession” of the car.
In a weighted balance between the company of mobility as a service and private club with representative offices in Rome (the space in Via del Corso has just been inaugurated), Antwerp and Berlin, Lynk & Co has broken through the hearts of users with a style rental formula Netflix simple, practical, convenient and basically all-inclusive. Against a fixed cost of 500 euros per month, customers can use the Lynk & Co 01 hybrid for 30 days and for a maximum of 1200 kilometers and the fee includes roadside assistance, insurance, road tax, and maintenance.
Built on the platform of the Volvo XC40 and with upgrades over the air for the multimedia system inside a well-finished passenger compartment, the model (also for sale at 47,000 euros) called 01 is a compact SUV with hybrid or plug-in propulsion. Since its launch, Lynk & Co claims to have won over 15,000 customers in Italy alone and along the roads of the peninsula, the number of 01 in circulation has risen to 1,500 in nine months.
“The company is present in seven European countries with 95,000 members and the goal is to soon expand to other countries inside and outside the Old Continent. That said, the response of the Italian public was a great surprise for us – Alain Visser, the managing director of Lynks & Co tells Repubblica – and this shows that your country is sensitive to innovations, advantageous offers and above all to one sharing focused on product quality “. Born in Belgium but residing in Sweden for eight years, the CEO of Lynk & Co identifies the reasons for the rise in the solid bond that the brand immediately managed to establish with customers: “The merit is of a much more direct proposal and disengaged from leasing formulas and long-term rentals. After the thirty days in use, there are no constraints for the customer and it is necessary to sign packs of sheets. If, on the other hand, we compare ourselves with traditional rent-a-cars, Lynk & Co has a greater sense of belonging, a specific product and the concept of community promoted in the digital sphere as in physical clubs. Even for relatively short periods, users perceive the 01 as their car and, if desired, the vehicle can be freely shared with other people without the need to sign new contracts or adjust insurance. In short, it is a formula that frees you from the burdens of ownership but at the same time evokes that sense of freedom that has always been associated with getting around by car “.
In the name of a fair society: here is the car of Lynk and Co
by Ilaria Salzano
As per contemporary script, Lynk & Co obviously aims to operate in a sustainable way and the almost continuous movement of the car fleet, dictated by a demand from the public that risks exceeding the number of vehicles currently available to European clubs, is an important an element of rupture with respect to the time of use of private vehicles which on average spend 96 percent of the time parked: “We are breaking the mold of the industry – continues Visser – and if Tesla has revolutionized the market first with energy efficiency and then with online sales rather than from the dealer, we propose a new concept of shared mobility. The 01 are delivered directly to the customer, the car is always in perfect condition and the dimensions are the right compromise to support longer journeys, such as city driving “. Where perhaps there would be room for a full-electric model as well? “We thought about it – replies Visser – but the European infrastructures do not yet offer adequate support and the basic idea was in any case to have a single model in the catalog. For Lynk & Co the simplicity and optimization of processes are fundamental values we do not intend to give up and I believe that this philosophy is rewarding us through the rapid loyalty of an active, participatory and growing community “.