What is Lynk & Co, the brand halfway between automotive and car sharing

This Sunday Lynk & Co will arrive in Milan for the first leg of its Italian tour, which will also touch Turin and Naples, with a pop-up in City Life that will last from 5 to 13 September. A whole week during which you can discover the world of the new mobility brand halfway between the car manufacturer that sells cars and a car sharing service that allows subscribers to rent cars in the area for a monthly subscription. A new concept of urban movement that is present in the territory through a series of clubs that act as operational centers for the brand but also as a social hub for subscribers and car owners, where you can meet, participate in workshops and meetings, discover new products but also relax in the lounge area or participate in events. After the success in Sweden, Lynk & Co opened its third club in Antwerp, Belgium, at the beginning of August, will open another one in Berlin - the next one will be Italy. The goal of the monthly subscription service is to reduce the presence of cars on the roads (and therefore the problems of parking and traffic) and open mobility to a wider and more inclusive range of people allowing even those who do not have cars to move around the city, borrowing a vehicle from other members who have purchased the car and paying only for the kilometers traveled.

If the mission of the traditional car manufacturer is to sell cars, the goal of Lynk & Co is to expand its community, also trying to propose to the new and old generations of drivers a more efficient and sustainable model of resource management. The keystone of the entire system is digital technology: a sharing platform that through a dedicated app subscribers to the monthly service and car owners can use to manage reservations and share the location of the vehicle. Lynk & Co's models have a share button, which allows car owners to make money by sharing their car. Owners are then able to monitor their car thanks to a dedicated app and gather in Lynk & Co clubs. At the moment the brand's clubs are present in Goteburg and Amsterdam, but at the beginning of August one was opened in Antwerp while in mid-September a new one will arrive in Berlin, in the Mitte area – in Italy the tour experience will arrive in Milan from 5 to 13 September and then move also to Turin and Naples. There will be drinks and ice creams, murals and installations, a selection of lifestyle products and, of course, the chance to try the 01 on the road.

The Lynk & Co model 01, a hybrid electric SUV with a panoramic sunroof, touchscreen, wireless charging for mobile phones, online browsing, WiFi hotspot, intelligent parking assistance system, personal settings on the cloud but also a built-in camera to take selfies or take the view from the car – with the ability to transfer shots to the phone or post them on social media directly from the car – with the possibility of transferring the shots to the phone or posting them on social media directly from the car. The car is also the first in the world with seats in sustainable Econyl, and that also thanks to its performance has won the first place for the Best Green Emission Initiative by the editorial staff of Marie Claire UK. 

Lynk & Co's commitment to sustainability goes beyond organizing more efficient urban mobility and protecting the environment, but also includes sustainability and equality in the workplace. According to research by Statista, in fact, the automotive sector is one of the lowest ranked for gender equality, with an average of 15% of women working in it against an overwhelming majority of men. For this reason, the brand has committed to achieving a fair distribution of 50% of the genders among its employees by the end of the year which, by 2023, will also lead to a fair division between genders also for managerial positions. Currently the company holds a percentage 3 times higher than the industry average, with 45% of the team and 33% of executives identifying with the female sex, while gender equality has already been achieved on the company's board of directors. In this regard, we interviewed Telma Negreiros, Vice President PR & Communication for Europe at Lynk & Co on the occasion of the opening of the Antwerp club:

«From the Lynk & Co perspective, the topic of gender equality and diversity is part of our DNA, our strategy, of who we are as a brand. We want to be a brand that is attractive to women to apply, to other minorities to apply. […] We did a study that shows that having more women in management increases profits, it promotes a better working structure, more opinion, different ideas, inspiring ideas. […] Besides the fact that it’s time for a change, it’s also good for business. This is why we have weekly meetings about gender equality and diversity».