Lynk & Co finally goes fully electric with Z10 sedan

Lynk & Co, the Swedish-Chinese sister brand to Zeekr, Volvo, and Polestar, is finally going fully electric with the newly revealed Z10, a five-meter-long luxury sedan with a pure electric range of over 800 km. Presented in Gothenburg, Sweden, it will debut in China, with pre-orders opening in July. There is no word yet about its European future or a possible subscription formula like currently for the 01 PHEV.

Inspired by the Lynk & Co ‘The Next Day’ concept car two years ago, the Z10 marks the launch of Lynk & Co’s second-generation design language in a sleek aerodynamic sedan with a drag coefficient of 0.198 Cd.

Inspired by a ‘space ship’

The original Lynk & Co design and the concept that would initially become the brand’s first fully electric car were picked up by Zeekr in the 001 and the Zeekr X, the latter being a twin brother to the Volvo EX30.

Lynk & Co is a joint venture between Geely Auto and Volvo, while Zeekr is wholly owned by Geely Auto, positioning it as a more luxury brand. Both brands share the same buildings in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The new Lynk & Co Z10 is a large sedan with a wheelbase of 3,005 mm and dimensions of 5,028 x 1,966 x 1,468 mm. According to the brand, the interior of the Z10 “draws inspiration from a spaceship, creating a futuristic cabin. The cockpit features a sci-fi-inspired dashboard, a narrow 12.3:1 ultra-long screen, and an AR head-up display (AR-HUD) for enhanced driving information visibility.”

Highly luxurious sedan

Lynk & Co says the name ‘Z10’ derives from ‘ZERO,’ representing Zeal, Enjoyment, Responsibility, and Originality, encapsulating the company’s vision. “It embodies the four essential elements of driving pleasure, enjoyment, safety, and quality that the Z10 promises to deliver.”

It will be a highly luxurious sedan with ventilation, heating, and massage features, among other things, in both the front and rear seats. An entire glass roof adds light to the spacious interior, and expect some advanced driving aid features, as it gets LiDAR and a Nvidia Orin-X chip for autonomous driving functions.

Its top versions will have dual-chamber air springs and electromagnetic suspension to provide a smooth and comfortable ride. The Z10 would accelerate from 0 to 100 kph in just 3.5 seconds.

573 km charging in 15 minutes

The range should be pretty impressive, with over 800 km when fully charged. As this Z10 uses the 800 V platform, it can charge up to 573 km of range in just 15 minutes. Lynk & Co hasn’t revealed much detail, but most specifications have already been leaked via China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

There would be three variants: a base variant with a 200 kW (VREMT) motor and a top speed of 210 km/hour, a more powerful 310 kW variant with a top speed of 240 km/hour, and an AWD top version that combines a 310 kW engine with a 270 kW motor and a top speed of 250 km/hour.

The Lynk & Co Z10 will be available to pre-order in its home market in China in July. Prices haven’t been communicated yet, but they are assumed to be between 200,000 and 300,000 yuan, which is between 25,750 and 38,600 euros.

No plans for Europe specified

The plans for Europe haven’t been specified yet. In China, Lynk & Co sells a whole model line of (ICE) cars, as the Chinese tend to be more sensitive to owning a car as a status symbol than Europeans today.

The brand only sells the 001 SUV in Europe, a 200 mm longer PHEV variant of Volvo’s similar XC40. But it’s mostly known for its unique monthly subscription concept, which was the brainchild of former (Belgian) CEO and co-founder Alain Visser.

Mobility service model

He preferred to try out a mobility service model and push his customers to share it as much as possible for sustainability reasons. Research predicted there would be a market of 15% for this idea. With 74 million new cars to be sold worldwide in 2023, 15% is still a whopping 11 million potential interested clients to go for. Eventually, however, this was not as easy as hoped.

The idea, a €500 monthly subscription (VAT included) launched in Sweden and the Netherlands just after the coronavirus pandemic and later extended to Belgium, Germany, Italy, and France, initially caught on more than envisioned. To an extent, the brand became a victim of its success while dealing with shortages and long delivery times like every other brand in the sector.

Since July 2022, Lynk & Co has had to raise its monthly subscription price for the 01 SUV PHEV from €500 to €550 (VAT incl.) or a complete 10% for all new contracts. And that was only the beginning.

Despite the efforts to rapidly establish a service and support organization with a number of ‘clubs’ in major European cities, most of the client contacts are online, and the system often shows signs of being on the blink, with many complaints showing up until today.

Visser vanishing suddenly

In December 2023, Belgian Alain Visser, founder and driving force behind Lynk & Co, unexpectedly left the company and ‘vanished’ from the European car scene. Until now, it’s unclear why he was forced out, but likely parent companies Geely and Volvo lost their patience to see Visser’s idea turn out to be profitable.

Without Alain Visser, the idea of an affordable car subscription – somewhat like you subscribe to a streaming service like Netflix – will likely be even further on trial.

Visser was succeeded as CEO by Nicolas Lopez Appelgren, a 28-year Volvo veteran and former Head of Retail Operations at Volvo Cars. Meanwhile, monthly subscription fees for the Lynk & Co PHEv are raised by over 20% to 600 or 640 euros (with a towing hook) or means, in some cases, to be more than 770 euros VAT included.

We’ll have to wait and see what the Z10 means (and costs) in this context if the luxury sedan is meant to cross the ocean after all.