Volvo will build the Lynk & Co 01 alongside the XC40 in Belgium

The Lynk & Co 01 – the first car from Volvo’s Geely stablemate – will be built alongside its ‘sibling under the skin’, the Volvo XC40, at Volvo’s Plant in Belgium.

The Lynk & Co 01 is the first production car to be revealed by Geely’s in-house competition for Volvo, taking the underpinnings of the Volvo XC40 and building a less Premium looking car to tap in to a market sitting a notch or two below Volvo’s.

It’s a potentially dangerous game to play, but the overwhelmingly positive reaction to the ‘Premium-ness’ of the new XC40 has probably taken some of the sting out of the comparison, and put some fresh air between the cars.

Geely clearly don’t think there will be too much cross shopping between the Volvo XC40 and the Lynk & Co 01, but it’s hard to see how buyers won’t compare the two now we learn the 01 will be built for Europe alongside the XC40 at Volvo’s Plant in Ghent, Belgium from next year.

Lynk & Co are planning to sell 125,000 cars a year for Europe by 2021, and that will include not just the 01 SUV but also the o2 Crossover – teased this last weekend – and the 03 saloon.

Alain Visser, Lynk & Co Senior VP, said:

We will manufacture in Europe, for Europe, focussing initially on hybrid-only electrified derivatives of our new range of cars.

Our vehicles share the innovative Compact Modular Architecture (CMA) with Volvo, therefore it makes absolute sense that we commence European production for Lynk & Co alongside a brand with the absolute trustmark and global recognition in safety, quality, design and international appeal. We could not wish for a better start in our home markets.

It’s good news for the workforce at Volvo’s Ghent Plant – and for Lynk & Co – but we can’t help wondering how all this will pan out for Volvo.