Lynk & Co Australian launch delayed until at least 2028

Chinese automobile producer Lynk & Co is now not going to originate as an unbiased label in Australia except no now not as much as 2028, with Head of Zeekr World Mars Chen revealing to Chasing Cars that there’s “no blueprint” to commence correct-hand power improvement of the logo’s units in the brief timeframe.

“My #1 message is that Lynk & Co is now not going to enter the supreme-hand power marketplace for a determined, long length,” Chen talked about at a private event in arrive of the 2025 Auto Shanghai motor present. “Let’s teach three years.”

Lynk & Co is an additional label of Chinese conglomerate Geely, which alongside with its appropriate-launched eponymous marque moreover owns Volvo, Polestar, Radar, Geometry and Proton. It become an early entrant to the Chinese market in 2016 with a selection of chase-in hybrid vehicles.

The Sweden-headquartered Chinese marque produces nine assorted vehicles with a combination of SUV and sedan units in corpulent combustion, chase-in hybrid and totally-electric powertrain guises. Only the Volvo XC40-primarily based Lynk & Co 01 is offered in Europe, though the midsize 08 PHEV crossover (offering 200km of electric-only vary) launches there quickly.

In preference to launching Lynk & Co in Australia in the brief timeframe, the Zeekr Workforce—itself a subdivision of Geely—will purpose to make customer recognition and label cost in Australia for a chain of years, with Chen citing that his key efficiency indicator is now not outright quantity.

“We must at all times guarantee the first (label, Zeekr) had some success, then we can possess in thoughts the 2nd one (Lynk & Co),” Chen suggested motoring media.

But no matter head designers of both Zeekr and Lynk & Co making cases of why their brands—and vehicles—wants to be a great deal differentiated from one another, Zeekr international markets boss Chen kindled rumours that Lynk & Co units might perchance maybe maybe perchance be rebadged and offered as Zeekr vehicles in Australia.

“The brands are drifting in assorted instructions and the manufacture language of our products is drifting away from each assorted,” talked about head of Zeekr manufacture Stefan Sielaff.

“We possess now assorted paths and a assorted label feeling,” echoed Stefan Rosen, head of Lynk & Co Compose.

These views might perchance maybe maybe perchance now not be ample to pause a rebadging effort to lead clear of label dilution in Australia, nonetheless, with Chen telling Chasing Cars that marketing and marketing and marketing Lynk & Co vehicles under the Zeekr badge “is a extremely nice doable option in due route.”

READ: Determining the unusual Chinese automobile brands in Australia

The now-confirmed decision to lengthen the originate of Lynk & Co as an individually-marketed label in Australia comes amid a dramatic uptick in the arrival of contemporary Chinese brands in Australia, with Zeekr, XPeng, Jaecoo, Leapmotor, Skyworth, Deepal and others now not too long previously becoming a member of considerably more established Chinese marques cherish MG, GWM and BYD in the local market.

Valid as manufacture language is diverging between Zeekr and Lynk & Co units, their designate components are now substantially spirited—doubtlessly inflicting integration complications for rebadged units in Australia in future.

Geely has identified that Zeekr wants to journey additional upmarket in the international locations through which it is offered, whereas Lynk & Co is doggedly heading off luxury online page in issue to accommodate youthful (but silent considerably prosperous) investors. The difference is at probability of be analogised to that of Audi and Cupra real throughout the Volkswagen Workforce.

In Australia, Zeekr currently sells two electric-only vehicles at radically assorted designate components: the Zeekr X compact SUV (from $49,900 plus on-road charges), and the 009 luxury minivan (from $135,900 + ORC).

A third Zeekr automobile has been confirmed for Australian originate in the blueprint of the 7X midsize crossover which become expected to compete on designate with the Tesla Model Y—but the project to shift the logo upmarket might perchance maybe maybe perchance peek the 7X kind out rivals cherish the BMW iX3 as another.

Zeekr executives are currently mulling two picks for a fourth model originate: the flagship 9X colossal luxury SUV, or an as-but unannounced upper-midsize crossover.