The sales plan is definitely following Tesla’s lead, a fact acknowledged by Lynk & Co senior vice-president Alain Visser. The plan is to offer only direct sales in most major territories, including throughout the United States. “We’re learning from what Tesla has been doing there,” Visser told us at the launch of the brand in Gothenburg, Sweden, home of Volvo—also a Geely property. “It’s not easy, and we know that because Tesla is a ‘home’ brand it has an advantage. We know we will face problems, but we are starting from scratch and—at the end of the day—our model will create employment.” Visser claims the savings are potentially enormous since Lynk & Co models will be built in China and sold directly through a combination of online and “nontraditional” retail. We’re imagining lots of pop-ups at shopping malls. The brand also is considering following Tesla’s lead by paying existing owners for referral sales. “The average distribution cost in the auto industry is around 25 percent of the value of a car, and that’s conservative,” Visser said. “With our model, we can take out half of that and offer a top-quality, well-equipped car at the level of a volume brand.”
6