THIS VOLVO-BASED SUV IS BUILT FOR RIDE SHARING

Today in Sweden, Geely, the parent company of Volvo, launched a new car brand altogether: Lynk & Co. The new company aims to change the way we think of traditional car ownership with a car specifically made to be shared — like Uber or Lyft, but completely on your own.

The debut Lynk & Co model is a Volvo-based SUV, aptly named 01; subsequent models will be named 02, 03, 04 — you get the idea. Where Lynk & Co differ from other car manufacturers, as well as from Uber or Lyft, is that the car will be sold exclusively online, ready to share from day one by way of a digital lock and key in the form of the Lynk app. This means friends, family or coworkers can access your cars after you simply hit a “share button” or send them a digital key. This, of course, opens the door for ride-sharing possibilities.

With no traditional dealer network, Lynk & Co say customers will have their cars delivered directly to their doors and picked up when in need of service. It’s still unclear where Lynk & Co will operate from, but it would make the most sense to piggyback off existing Volvo dealerships. Pricing on the Lynk & Co 01 is still unknown, as is the exact date it will be made available, but we do know China will receive the first 01s in 2017 with Europe and the US following shortly thereafter.