There are now two known direct Tesla rivals. These are fellow US-based EV makers Atieva and Faraday Future. It looks like Tesla Motors are attracting overseas rivals. Chinese SUV brand maker Geely Automobile is set to launch a hybrid-SUV in 2018. Their global brand Lynk & Co., in partnership with Volvo, developed the car.
The hybrid-SUV will be called 01. It has a 1.5 L three-cylinder gasoline engine with an electric motor. The Lynk 01 will have an automatic and seven-speed dual clutch transmission. It's perceived rival (in size at least) will be Nissan's "Qashqai," according to BBC News. It is the latter's best-selling compact crossover SUV to date.
The technical design is based on a modular architecture platform that Volvo and Chinese SUV brand maker Geely developed. The car was developed in Sweden. However, these cars will be made in China. Geely will aim for the middle market. Then Volvo will compete with high-end brands such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
Geely will add a compact sedan to their line-up. The name will follow the same pattern. Proceeding models will bear names 02, 03 and vice versa. These will all be plug-in cars. In the US, Tesla Model S has recently been the leading luxury sedan to date. It certainly had paved the way for new EV makers. Green cars have become the "it" vehicles preferred by most.
Chinse SUV brand maker Geely has named their global car brand Lynk. This is to refer to the link it aims to provide. The car's designer used to be with Ford and Volvo. He is Peter Horbury.
Andreas Nilson, Lynk design team head, mentioned, "The design brief for Lynk was simple: the cars should stand out from the crowd." He also added, ".. and appeal to a truly global audience," Automotive News reported.
For now, Lynk is not yet a direct Tesla rival. Tesla Motors still holds the market for fully electric cars. Since Lynk will venture on hybrid cars. One thing is for certain, everyone is going for green cars faster than expected.
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