Geely revealed Lynk&Co’s new 01 SUV

MANILA: The Chinese-owned Volvo-backed brand Geely revealed the first teaser of the luxury SUV yesterday and now the luxury division's Lynk&Co 01 has been finally revealed today. According to the brand, the new 01 SUV is “the most connected car to date” and will be available in the Chinese market next year. The brand has also claimed that this is the first Chinese-made car to be sold in bulk in Europe and North America. Geely has plans to introduce 4 models under its luxury division by 2021 and 01 SUV is the first to make its entry in global markets to compete against the likes of Honda, GM, Toyota, Ford, and Hyundai.

The car has been evolved by the designers and engineers in the Geely Design in Sweden, which has resulted in a design that has strong personality and captures both European and Chinese genes. The Lynk&Co’s 01 SUV has been built on the modular architecture, which is also shared by the upcoming Volvo XC40. Loaded with premium features, the SUV has addressed the needs and preferences of young and connected generation. At the front, the six lights arrangement bridged by wide, multi slatted grill gives 01 SUV a unique appeal and the high mounted daytime running lights flank the top corners of the fascia. Completing the front styling is a set of fog lights which are positioned at the lower corners of the bumper.

In the cabin, the dashboard is driver oriented with a prominent large screen in the center. The automatic transmission’s gear selector features an electro-mechanical system and electronic parking brake eliminates the need of handbrake. The instrument cluster is also digital and gives driver the flexibility of selecting the required information to be displayed. The infotainment system has been designed to suit the third party vendors, which will give the option of a host of applications to be used. Lynk&Co is currently working with Ericsson to produce “advanced car connectivity cloud”. Later, the company might join hands with more telecommunication companies to improve its infotainment system.

Under the hood configuration is expected to feature a transverse-mounted 1.5-litre three-cylinder and 2.0-litre four-cylinder engines, developed by Volvo. These engines will be further mated to either a manual or a dual-clutch automated transmission with power being transmitted to the front or all four wheels. Even a plug-in hybrid version is on cards and will be introduced later. There are no plans of introducing the model in the Philippines for now but, the Chinese automaker might consider our country at the time of its Southeast Asian countries expansion.