Lynk & CO, the upstart car brand jointly owned by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group and its Swedish subsidiary Volvo Cars, plans to open stores in five European cities in 2020.
The five stores are planned in Amsterdam, Berlin, Stockholm, London and Barcelona, Spain, the brand said.
Lynk & CO was launched in 2016 and positioned above the Geely brand and below the Volvo marque.
The brand has said it aims to enter Europe by early 2020 with its O2 model.
By the end of 2018, the brand operated 221 stores in China. Unlike traditional dealerships, a Lynk & CO store typically features open surroundings that include a cafe-bar, a cinema and a play area for children.
Lynk & CO launched two compact crossovers and a compact sedan in China from November 2017 to June 2018. The three models all share a platform with Volvo’s XC40 compact crossover. Last year, the brand delivered 120,414 vehicles in China.
In July 2017, Volvo obtained a 30 percent stake in Lynk & CO. The deal allows Lynk & CO to gain access to Volvo’s newest modular platform -- dubbed Scalable Product Architecture -- for midsize and large vehicles.
Lynk & CO assembles vehicles at Geely’s plant in Zhangjiakou in north China’s Hebei province.
Volvo originally planned to start building Lynk & CO vehicles at a plant in Belgium at the end of 2019. But the Swedish automaker delayed the plan late last year, citing increased economic uncertainties.
It remains unknown whether Lynk & CO vehicles to be sold in Europe will be imported from China or produced locally.
