Articles by Jack Quick

Imagery of Lynk & Co’s latest vehicle, the 10 EM-P, has been published online ahead of a Chinese market launch in the third quarter of 2025.As reported by Car News China, the Lynk & Co 10 EM-P is a new, flagship plug-in hybrid sedan for the Geely sub-brand. It’s a sibling to the recently launched Z10 electric sedan.According to Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) filings unearthed by Car News China, the 10 EM-P is powered by a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine that produces 120kW, as well as an rear-mounted electric motor allowing for a total system output of 390kW and 755Nm.This electric motor is fed by either a 18.4kWh or 38.2kWh battery pack, depending on the variant. Claimed range is up to 100km and 192km, respectively, according to lenient CLTC testing.The Lynk & Co 10 EM-P measures in at 5050mm long, 1966mm wide and 1487mm wide, with a 3005mm wheelbase. This makes it around the same size as a Porsche Panamera.Depending on the battery size, this car has a kerb weight between 2137kg and 2257kg.On the design front, the 10 EM-P has been shown off in a new ‘Xirallic’ exterior body colour that mixes golden and green shades.In terms of specifications there are either 19- or 21-inch alloy wheels, air suspension, an active rear spoiler, flush door handles, and a LiDAR sensor on the roof.We’re yet to see imagery of the 10 EM-P’s interior, but it’ll likely mirror what the Z10 has. It has a minimal setup with a large central touchscreen and a thin digital instrument cluster ahead of the driver.At this stage it’s unclear whether this car will ever be offered outside of China, but earlier this year Zeekr Australia General Manager William Zhou said, Lynk & Co now falls under Zeekr and is on the cards for a local launch.“For us here, in a right-hand-drive market, Lynk & Co previously didn’t have right-hand-drive products, so we’re working on that,” said Zhou.“Also, because in Australia we know that EVs stand for technology and innovation, but when it comes to daily use plug-in hybrids should be another major choice.“So we’re confident the current product from Lynk & Co with petrol and hybrid technology will do really well in Australia, so we’re pushing to have Lynk & Co products, but under one brand, Zeekr.”At this stage it’s still unclear whether this means the Lynk & Co branding will be retained in Australia, or if the models will be rebadged to Zeekr.

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After years of ruling out plug-in hybrid (PHEV) technology locally, Skoda Australia is gearing up to potentially roll out two PHEV models as early as the end of this year.The Czech carmaker is currently testing its new Superb PHEV locally ahead of a potential launch either in late 2025 or early 2026.Speaking to CarsGuide, Skoda Australia head of marketing and product Kieran Merrigan said local testing for this model has been underway for a month.“The Superb everyone’s asking about, the plug-in hybrid that’s available in Europe, is under evaluation ,” said Merrigan.“Maybe two things to note with that is, first thing we actually have a car here doing some local testing.“We’re about a month into that, and some really, really positive results so far. There’s probably a couple months to go.“Just to highlight … it is important for us to do local testing on our cars.“The second part is we need to evaluate and get the pricing nailed for the current market.“So those two things are happening in parallel, but we do hope to have Superb PHEV offered in market toward the end of this year or early next year," he said.In addition to the Skoda Superb PHEV, the brand is also currently evaluating the new Kodiaq PHEV as another model to launch locally.Both of these models are equipped with the Volkswagen Group’s second-generation plug-in hybrid system for vehicles built on the MQB platform.They have a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine that’s capable of producing 110kW of power, as well as an 85kW electric motor integrated into the six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission that’s fed by a 25.7kWh battery pack.Claimed range for both the Superb and Kodiaq PHEVs is over 100km.The reason why these PHEVs did launch at the same time as the turbo-petrol range is apparently down to lack of testing, according to Merrigan.“We did some overseas testing, and it’s just that our climate is different to some of the European markets,” he said.“So there was some testing done in South America or Central America, which … was the first tick, and then that gave us the ability to actually fly some cars out from … a European market and test locally.”Beyond PHEVs, Skoda has confirmed it’s currently evaluating mild-hybrid (MHEV) powertrains for a number of models and could launch them locally as soon as 2026.It’s these new powertrain technologies, along with a refreshed vehicle line-up that Skoda expects will help uplift its slump in local sales.In the first five months of 2025 a total of 1784 Skoda examples were sold in Australia, which is down 22.0 per cent year-on-year.The current best-seller is the Skoda Kodiaq (572 sales), which was recently launched in new-generation guise, followed by the Kamiq (311 sales) and Octavia (291 sales). The latter recently launched in mid-life updated guise.

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