Peter Lyon
December 21, 2023
Lynk & Co., the “premium” sub-brand of China’s Geely brand, has just officially entered Southeast Asia, with Vietnam serving as the market’s inaugural entry point. Lynk & Co. has launched three of its models—the Lynk & Co. 01, 05, and 09—into the market in association with GreenLynk Automotives, the company’s authorised distributor in Vietnam. However there is strong speculation that the brand will make its way to Malaysia in the very near future.
Seen as the flagship SUV of the brand, the Lynk & Co. 09 retails for VND2.199 billion which translates into roughly RM420,510. Lynk & Co 01 and 05’s prices will be revealed later.
Based on the Scalable Product Architecture (SPA), which is also the foundation for the Volvo XC90, the Lynk & Co 09 has dimensions of 5,042 mm in length, 1,977 mm in width, 1,780 mm in height, and a wheelbase of 2,984 mm.
The 48V mild hybrid (MHEV) system that powers the Lynk & Co 09 in Vietnam is also fitted to the Volvo XC90 B5. As for its powertrain, its 2.0-litre turbocharged 4-cylinder engine producing 254 hp and 350 Nm of torque while an all-wheel drive system is used in conjunction with an eight-speed automatic gearbox to distribute power to all four wheels.
The Lynk & Co 09 in Vietnam has a seven-seat cabin with a head-up display, a 12.8-inch central infotainment screen, and a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster. Meanwhile, a 14-speaker Bose sound system and Monaco Nappa leather upholstery are also offered.
In contrast, the Lynk & Co 01 is the brand’s first model, having debuted in 2017. It is constructed on the Compact Modular Architecture (CMA) platform from Geely, which is shared with the Volvo XC40.
The Lynk & Co 01 and 05 are available with either plug-in hybrid (PHEV), gasoline, or mild-hybrid (MHEV) drivetrains. However, exactly which powertrains will be offered for the 01 and 05 in Vietnam, though, are still up in the air.
Lynk & Co.’s first entry into Southeast Asia will be in the left-hand drive market of Vietnam, while the Philippines will be its next stop. As part of the Smart Geely 2025 plan, Geely revealed a few years ago that the premium brand will also be entering Malaysia and Australia, so we can expect to see it here soon.
Considering that Geely previously stated that it would like to use Proton’s Tanjung Malim plant as a hub for producing Lynk & Co. models, is Malaysia now a viable right-hand drive (RHD) hub for Lynk & Co? We think so. It’s just a matter of time.
OUR THOUGHTS
By making such a big splash in Vietnam and then the Philippines, we can realistically expect that the Lynk & Co car, or should we say cars, will be arriving in Malaysia sooner than later. The company is remaining tight-lipped, but given that production cars are already entering our neighboring countries, then we see it launching here within a year.
