Geely group stablemates Volvo and Lynk & Co are developing a compact plug-in hybrid system that will be capable of an all-electric range of up to 80 km, according to Autocar. Based around a three-cylinder petrol engine mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, battery pack and electric motor, the drivetrain will be introduced on the Volvo XC40 and the Lynk & Co 01. It will offer a range of 50 km, but is being developed to attain a 80 km range.
Models from Volvo and Lynk & Co are both developed in parallel on the group’s CMA front-wheel drive architecture, which has been tipped to birth fully electric versions at the beginning of the next decade with a range of up to 600 km, the report added.
The company is considering versions that will be delineated by ranges, much like how Tesla does for differing versions in its model line-up. Also built on the CMA platform are the firm’s 02 and 03 models, which will start off as non-electric versions due to arrive next year, with the 02 due in the first half and the 03 in the second half.
Further models have been confirmed, according to Lynk & Co product chief Yuebing Zhong. He said that more vehicles are in the works, and that there will be “more than five or six cars” by 2020. Naming convention will follow suit, meaning by that time we could be looking at model names 04 through to 06, for example.
Lynk & Co will also enter Germany in 2019 with other European markets and the US to follow, with the United Kingdom one of those under consideration. Right-hand-drive is in the company’s plans, though no date has been set. “It’s technically doable. We will do it, but we consider other markets first,” said Zhong.
These could also be built in Volvo’s Ghent facility in Belgium alongside the Swedish brand’s CMA models, subject to targets. “We have the opportunity to build in Ghent, but it depends on the sales targets, the marketing needs and the production targets. If we decide to produce there, it’s doable,” Zhong added. The 01 SUV has been confirmed to go on sale in China starting at 180,000 RMB (RM112,642).
GALLERY: Lynk & Co 01 SUV
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Geely Volvo and Lynk & Co > All
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