Geely's Lynk & Co to enter Europe in Q4

Geely Holding Group said on Monday its upscale Lynk & Co brand will enter Europe in late 2020 to speed up its globalization campaign.

"We're not changing our plan. As scheduled, we will land in Europe in the fourth quarter," said An Conghui, the group's president, at the annual results meeting of its listed arm, Geely Automobile Holdings.

He did not give details about where it will launch, but said the move will make it the first Chinese car brand to sell in "major European countries".

An said Lynk & Co will enter Europe using Volvo's resources. The first model to hit the European market will be made in East China's Zhejiang province.

Positioned as a global brand, Lynk & Co was launched in Berlin in late 2016. It now offers four models, and their total sales in China reached around 260,000. An said two new models will join Lynk & Co's lineup this year.

Geely will launch another four models under its Geely and Geometry marques this year, which are expected to help the carmaker reach its sales goal of 1.41 million in 2020.

"Despite the coronavirus pandemic, we are confident and will not scale down our target. And there is no change in our long-term development plan," An said.

Geely sold 1.36 million vehicles in 2019, down 9 percent year-on-year. This is mainly due to the slump in the overall vehicle market. However, its market share grew to 6.5 percent in 2019 from 6.2 percent in 2018.

In February, Geely said it was planning to merge Geely Auto and Volvo, but the brands will remain independent. After the merger, the company will be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and later in Stockholm, Sweden.

Gui Shengyue, CEO of Geely Automobile Holdings, said the two companies are pushing forward with the merger, which will improve the marques' competitive edge in the global auto industry.

Geely purchased Volvo in 2010 from Ford. Over the past few years, the Swedish brand has grown into an international marque with production facilities and sales networks in Europe, the US and China.

Last year, Volvo's total sales passed 700,000, of which around 160,000 were delivered in China, its largest market worldwide.