Lin Jie (Geely Auto Group) : « Chinese brands are upgrading. »

At the Chengdu Motor Show, Lin Jie (林杰), vice president of Chinese automaker Geely (吉利), owner of Volvo, gave an interview to the Sina Auto portal. He spoke in particular about the group’s new high-end brand, Lynk & Co (领 克), which is expected to arrive in Europe in 2020.

Sina Auto: Your existing Geely brand is already developing smoothly. What did you have in mind when you decided to build this brand new brand, Lynk & Co ?

Lin Jie: When the project of the Lynk & Co brand was put on the table, many outsiders questioned whether China should have another high-end brand. Everyone was discussing this topic. Internally, it nearly reached more than a year of argumentation. Finally, we decided that we must have one. In fact, it is not only the needs of Geely, but also the needs of the entire Chinese automobile brands, the needs of consumers in the Chinese market. In such a large country with such a large market purchasing power, why do Chinese car companies have to do the lowest end ? I think this is not a satisfying situation, it would be a pity if we can’t do it.

Of course, to be a high-end brand, good will is not enough. You must create favorable conditions. The collaboration with Volvo technology, a company we acquired, gave us Lynk & Co technical structure. We have the technology to make products. Lynk & Co positioning is high end in a new era. High-end is not just a statement, it must be reflected in the product, with a high attractiveness, high performance, high technology, high security, high value.

Because if there is no attractiveness now, consumers will not care about you. If you don’t have any high-tech configuration in the car, consumers will definitely dislike you. If this car is just a shell and there is no underlying technology, consumers will not speak highly of it and it will be bad for its reputation.

The safety of the car is naturally inseparable from these conditions. This is the most important. Safety is the bottom line of Geely Auto. With these thoughts in mind, we launched the Lynk & co brand. (…)