Lynk&Co Releases First Official Images of New 03 Saloon

The first official images of the Lynk&Co 03 saloon being put through its paces have been released. The car goes on sale in the company's Chinese home market first, but the 03 could eventually find its way to European markets, along with the 01 crossover and the 02 SUV already confirmed for the region. Like the 01 and 02, the 03 saloon is based on the Compact Modular Architecture (CMA) platform co-developed with Volvo, and will be sold in both traditional combustion engine and electrified formats.

The first models to go on sale are expected to be powered by 1.5-litre and 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engines. A plug-in hybrid variant capable of running on electric-only for a range of around 40 miles, will follow. Connected technology is a big feature of Lynk&Co's philosophy. The 03 is expected to come equipped with large touchscreens to operate a wide variety of systems, and full internet connectivity. It will probably also include the share button seen in the 01, which lets other users access the car using a digital key sent from the owner's smartphone.

An all-electric 03 is also likely, as the CMA platform it's built upon is also going to be used for Volvo's first EV, due to arrive next year. The images of the 03 have the car covered in a heavy camouflage, but it's easy to see a number of design features it has in common with the 02 and 03. It has a traditional four-door saloon design, which, although going out of style in markets like Europe and North America, is still in high demand in China.

Perhaps because Lynk&Co, Volvo and Volvo's Polestar sub-brand are all owned by parent company Geely, when the 03 does go on sale many cars are expected to be acquired on a short-term contract basis, a lot like a smartphone, in the same manner as the Polestar 1. Lynk&Co may be an unfamiliar name to European and American consumers, but it won't be for long. Its models are already in huge demand in its home market, and when the 01 went on sale, a staggering 6,000 orders were placed in the first 137 seconds, creating a new world record for the fastest-selling car of all time.