My car company is like Netflix and Airbnb – you can drive a premium SUV for peanuts and I bring it to Britain
It’s not often someone starts their own automotive business.
But that’s exactly what Alain Visser had to do – after convincing the people who paid him, that is.
3
You meet a few car CEOs in this gig and believe me, Alain is not your usual car CEO.
He worked in car manufacturers like Opel and VOLVO for more than 30 years, but got tired.
Win a £58,000 BMW M3 or alternative cash
SUN readers can win a BMW M3 or £58,000 cash.
We’ve teamed up with 7days Performance to give you a special chance to win some amazing cars this week.
Using code SUN10 will get you 10p off the regular price of 99p.
Enter the competition HERE
Full terms and conditions can be found here
Commercial Content Notice: Subscribing to any of the offers featured in this article may result in payment to The Sun. 18+. The T&Cs apply.
“Automakers like to tell you how innovative they are, but in reality, they really aren’t,” Alain said in an interview with The Sun.
“They are so big and deciding anything takes years – I wanted to do it differently.”
Alain had the opportunity while working for Volvo and came up with the idea of Lynk & Co..
It’s all backed by Chinese giant Geely, but he admits it wasn’t easy to convince the costumes that it was a good idea at first.
“Lynk & Co is a club, most don’t own the car, they subscribe to it and you can cancel after a month if you want.
“At first the Geely guys weren’t enthusiastic!”
But he persisted and now Lynk & Co has just opened its 10th clubhouse, with plans to open in London in early 2024.
“Pavilions are not concessions,” explains Alain, “it’s a place where people can meet, relax and hopefully learn more about Lynk & Co.
“We have DJs, art classes and local businesses that sell products. In some cases, we don’t even have a car!”
In most of Europe you pay Lynk & Co a flat rate of 550 euros (£470) a month, which gets you a premium plug-in hybrid five-seater SUV called the 01.
It is based on a Volvo XC40 but has its own unique look and this monthly payment includes all insurance, taxes, maintenance and tires. One payment, that’s all.
The 01 is the only model in Europe, comes in a single trim level which is stacked with equipment and you have the choice of blue or black paint only.
“Some automakers have billions of combinations to choose from,” Alain said, “but I like the idea that we’re offering two.”
Like Netflix, it’s all on a monthly basis, so you can have the car for a month or 100, it’s up to you.
When you’re done, just drop it off at your local hub, or it can be picked up if you live close enough.
But Lynk & Co is also like Airbnb, because if you don’t use your car, you can rent it out to people to use and earn money.
You can even set it to be used for free if you’re feeling charitable.
“We calculated that your car is not used for 96% of its lifespan,” Alain said.
“It’s crazy. With us, you can download the app, install it when you’re not using the car, and choose how much people pay per hour.
“We have people in Holland who actually make over 550 euros a month with their car. I think that’s great.”
When Lynk & Co hits London, it will launch with an all-new SUV to subscribe to.
Alain was not authorized to confirm exact details, but it will be an all-new all-electric five-seater that we have here.
Whether you use it like Netflix or Airbnb, subscriptions and car sharing are likely to become big business in cities in the near future.
Lynk & Co seems very well placed to be at the forefront when everything starts.
3
3
Comments are closed.