Geely’s Lynk & Co Marks Official ASEAN Debut In Vietnam

Geely’s Lynk & Co brand made its regional ASEAN debut this week in Vietnam. The marque entered the Vietnamese market through distributors GreenLynk Automotives – a subsidiary of Tasco Group. The latter firm officially launched the first Lynk & Co flagship store in Vietnam’s capital of Hanoi too.

The flagship store’s opening also doubled up with the official launch of the Lynk & Co 09 model for Vietnam. Priced from VND2.199 billion (approx. RM420,175), Vietnamese buyers are now able to book said model with deliveries slated to start within the first quarter (Q1) of 2024 too.

Through distributors GreenLynk Automotives, Lynk & Co officially entered Vietnam this week. It's first model on offer is the Lynk & Co 09 - a full-sized, three-row premium SUV that's not too dissimilar from the Volvo XC90.

Two other models were announced too – the Lynk & Co 01 and 05. However, these were merely previewed, but both are expected to go on sale in Vietnam early next year as well. For now though, the 09 model stands as the first offering from the marque to go on sale in said ASEAN nation.

As the brand’s largest SUV offering, the 09 underpins the same Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) as the second-generation Volvo XC90. It’s also similar in size to its Swedish ‘cousin’ mentioned – 5,042 MM long with a 2,984 MM wheelbase, 1,977 MM wide, and 1,780 MM tall.

The similarities with its Swedish 'cousin' is apparent on board through the three-row seating layout, as well as the digital displays up front.

The similarity with the Volvo model mentioned continues inside as the Lynk & Co 09’s cabin boasts three rows of seats to accommodate up to up to six occupants – it has a variant with second-row captain seats available. It also boasts digital displays for the instrumentation and central infotainment.

At the heart of the 09, it harnesses a 2.0 litre 4-cyl turbo petrol mill that’s paired with a 48-volt mild hybrid (MHEV) system, altogether outputting 254 PS (251 HP) and 350 NM. Said outputs drive all four wheels via an all-wheel-drive (AWD) and 8-speed automatic transmission setup.

Also previewed in Vietnam were Lynk & Co's 01 (top) and 05 (bottom) models. Essentially, the latter is a coupe-bodied version of the former, which is also the first Lynk & Co production model that debuted some six years ago.

As for both the 01 and 05, these are smaller-sized premium crossover SUV offerings that feature a more traditional two-row seating layout instead. The 01 is in fact Lynk & Co’s first ever production model that was introduced some six years ago whilst the 05 stands as a ’coupe’ version of the 01.

Both the 01 and 05 share the same 2.0 litre 4-cyl turbo heart outputting 218 PS (215 HP) and 325 NM in the 01, and peppier figures of 254 PS (251 HP) and 349 NM in the sportier-styled 05. Both are paired with an 8-speed automatic box that sends drive to the front wheels.

Lynk & Co's entry into Vietnam first make sense given that the brand's current line-up are all left-hand drive (LHD). Next, the marque is set to expand into another LHD market - the Philippines.

The move to enter Vietnam first makes sense considering that Lynk & Co’s current models are all left-hand-drive (LHD). The marque notes that expansion in ASEAN will continue next in yet another LHD market – the Philippines.

Entry into other ASEAN markets was mooted prior, and there was even speculation that parent company Geely could capitalise on its partnership with national carmaker Proton and use the latter’s Tanjung Malim facility as a hub to produce right-hand drive (RHD) versions of Lynk & Co models.

In Vietnam, deliveries of the Lynk & Co 09 are slated to kick off sometime in the first quarter (Q1) of next year.

Should that plan get executed through Proton’s AHTV transformation effort for its Tanjung Malim facility, we won’t discount the possibility of seeing the Lynk & Co brand enter more ASEAN markets, as well as the local Malaysian market space, in the coming years.

Would you fancy this left-field alternative marque over its established crop of premium European rivals? As usual, share your take on things in the comments section below, as well as our social media pages…