automotive industry

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Lynk & Co reveals the 02 crossover SUV and details European rollout plans

Geely’s Lynk & Co is one of the more interesting young automotive brands, with an approach to sales and marketing that more closely resembles modern gadget and lifestyle brand go-to-market strategy than traditional automaker sales. The Lynk & Co 01 SUV, designed to sit somewhere between Geely’s line on one end and Volvo’s vehicles on the other, debuted last year; now the company is revealing its 02, a more compact crossover SUV, again designed with mobility, connectivity, and the potential for shared use in mind.

The 02 was designed and engineered in Sweden, Lynk & Co says, by a team of international talent. It has a sportier look and feel when compared to the 01, but also clearly shares design traits with the original Lynk & CO. vehicle. The car is intended to capitalize on the rapidly growing crossover SUV model, which is particularly strong in Europe, where Lynk & Co is also finally revealing its market rollout plans after initially kicking off sales in China in 2017.

Lynk & Co will aim to start European sales of its vehicles in 2020, and will skip the traditional dealer model to launch what it’s calling “Offline Stores,” which sound in practice a lot like Tesla’s global showrooms: “Small, sociable brand boutiques in urban districts.” The automaker will also sell online via its Lynkco.com site, which is a trademark of its conception (again something seemingly derived from the Tesla playbook) and it’ll also have a rolling pop-up shop that can make visits to spots that won’t have a permanent Offline Store boutique.

Another bit of news from Lynk & Co this morning: They’re creating a design collaboration with online commerce platform Tictail . This will be a line of both clothing and home good that will be designed by Tictail’s designer community and sold via its platform, and it’s going to be called “The City Dweller Series.” It’s a bit heavyhanded, but it fits overall with Lynk & Co’s strategy of positioning itself as the brand of connected young professionals.

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Ford takes aim at Toyota’s hybrid market lead with its new SUV lineup

Ford detailed a bunch of its roadmap for the next few years at a special media event today, and one of the key takeaways is that it’s going all-in on hybrids with its SUV lineup. Ford estimates that SUVs could make up as much as half the entire U.S. industry retail market by 2020, and that’s why it’s shifting $7 billion in investment capital from its cars business over to the SUV segment. By 2020, Ford also aims to have high-performance SUVs in market, including five with hybrid powertrains and one fully battery electric model.

These will include brand new versions of the Ford Escape and Ford Explorer that are coming next year, and two entirely new off-road SUVs, including a new Bronco, and a small SUV that has yet to be named. There’s also that “performance battery electric utility” that will make up part of its overall SUV lineup, which is set for a 2020 release and will spearhead a plan to release six electric vehicle models by 2022.

With this big hybrid push on the SUV side, Ford expects to go from second to first-place in the U.S. hybrid vehicles market by sales, surpassing current leader Toyota by 2021, thanks also to the forthcoming hybrid Mustang and F-150.

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Volkswagen has locked down $25B in battery supplies for its electric vehicle push

 Automaker Volkswagen’s ramping up for its big EV push, with $25 billion in committed battery supplies and plans to outfit 16 factories to build electric cars by the end of 2022, up from three with that capacity in the VW stable right now. Thus far, Volkswagen’s focus is on battery suppliers in Europe and China, its two largest markets, and likely the two that will be most important… Read More

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Tesla Semi does its first production cargo run with batteries on board

 Tesla is putting its new electric Semi to work, with its first run as a “production” vehicle — for a familiar client. Tesla itself is the customer, as the trucks were equipped with trailers loaded up with battery packs fresh from the Gigafactory assembly line, heading to the Tesla Fremont car factory in California. Read More

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Honda intends to actually put its retro Urban EV concept on sale in 2019

 Honda’s adorable little Urban EV Concept stole hearts at last year’s Frankfurt Motor Show, and at the Geneva Motor Show this week, the automaker confirmed that it’s making a production version of the car, with a target street date of late 2019 for the cute little guy, though it’ll be a European exclusive at first. The Honda Urban EV concept features a two-door,… Read More

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Porsche’s Mission E Cross Turismo is the EV crossover you want

 Porsche unveiled a new concept version of its forthcoming Mission E all-electric car today at the Geneva Motor Show. The Mission E Cross Turismo is a crossover utility vehicle with all-wheel drive, four doors and a larger cargo capacity for making sure you have plenty of room to stow your skis before you hit the slopes since this is definitely the kind of car that appeals to people who ski.… Read More

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Volkswagen’s I.D. Vizzion electric sedan aims for 2022 production

 Volkswagen’s big centerpiece for this year’s Geneva Motor Show is the I.D. Vizzion, the latest in its I.D. EV lineup and the car that’s designed to lead the pack as a premium offering. Volkswagen talked a lot about the Vizzion’s future-focused design and features yesterday during a special pre-show press unveiling, but on Tuesday it also detailed some more realistic… Read More

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Volkswagen’s latest I.D. concept EV is a stunner self-driving sport sedan

 Volkswagen has revealed its latest I.D. concept vehicle at the Geneva Motor Show in Switzerland: The I.D. Vizzion, which is a lot less sleepy than all those ‘Zs’ might suggest. The Vizzion is by far my favorite of the I.D. line in terms of pure design, with sporty lines on a roomy but sleek sedan that packs all-wheel pure electric drive, an estimated range of around 413 miles… Read More

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Jaguar reveals the new all-electric I-PACE SUV

 Jaguar has finally fully revealed the official I-PACE all-electric SUV, a vehicle with just under 240 miles of range and a 0 to 60 mph time of under five seconds. The car can also charge to 80 percent from empty in 40 minutes using special quick charger hardware, and a 15-minute top-up is good for around 62 miles of additional range. The I-PACE looks like Jaguar’s best attempt to do a… Read More

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Porsche’s EV lead takes shots at Tesla while hyping the Mission E

 Porsche is readying its Mission E for launch, with a 2019 target sales date. The all-electric Tesla Model S competitor has a lot of car fans excited, and has been drawing covetous looks since the concept’s unveiling back in 2015. Now that launch is drawing closer, however, we have some new info about the car, how it charges and its performance. Porsche EV lead Stefan Weckbach told a group… Read More

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