Lynk & Co wants to become the first "global" Chinese brand

Lynk & Co, a subsidiary of Chinese automotive giant Geely which also owns Volvo and Lotus, plans to be "the first brand steered from China to be global".

The company's CEO, Alain Visser, told industry source, Automotive News Europe, that the company will be a brand that "challenges the car industry" with new ways of approaching consumers.

In case you've missed it, Lynk & Co uses Volvo's 'Compact Modular Architecture' (CMA) chassis and engines as a base for its range of (surprisingly good looking) cars, which so far have been sold only in China. The brand also plans to not only sell cars but offer them as a subscription-type car-share service.

While it's easy to dismiss the upstart brand, its 01 and 02 SUVs as well as the 03 sedan have sold over 120,000 units in China - more than Mazda sold in Australia altogether last year.

Geely, with its eyes on world domination, and the successes of other car brands in shaking up the industry, plans to use Lynk & Co as a way of eliminating dealerships by selling cars directly to customers via the internet and flagship stores, just like Tesla.

Lynk & Co is easily one of the more premium brands to come out of China.

Not content with simply eliminating dealers, the brand also has plans to use its brick & mortar establishments to sell everything from "espresso cups" to furniture.

The brand told Automotive News Europe that it had already had a "large number" of companies interested in selling its products alongside Lynk & Co vehicles.

The brand could be some time off for an Australian launch, but predicts success when it opens its doors in Europe next year, from there it is cautiously eyeing off the U.S. in 2021.

No word on Lynk & Co for Australia just yet.

Geely has so far shunned Australia with its own-branded vehicles like the just-launched Xing Yue SUV, but could be responsible for Proton (which it co-owns) returning to our market.

Would you rather automakers bypassed dealers and sold direct to customers like Tesla does? Tell us what you think in the comments below.