Lynk & CO Continues Promising 'Brutally Simple' Sales Strategy With No Haggling
Geely may be pushing the Lynk & Co brand as the most connected and tech-savvy in existence but its senior vice president Alain Visser believes its sales strategy should remain simple. With cars supposedly rolling out in Europe and North America for 2019, Lynk & Co is only planning to offer an extremely limited number of trim choices that rotate seasonally. It’s a fine strategy for an unknown element breaking into the marketplace but it does omit the ability to rake in the additional dough via optional extras. However, it also permits for lower production costs and a flat rate Lynk & Co claims buyers won’t need to bother negotiating.
How convenient for everyone.
“In Europe and the U.S. we will have a maximum of 10 variants and no options. It’s brutally simple, but we believe that is what consumers want,” Visser explained to Automotive News Europe. “You can imagine how this reduces complexity, reduces cost — and the cars will always be in stock.”
That brutal, savage, caveman-level of unsophistication appears to include an inability to haggle for a discount. Visser said one of the most perplexing aspects of the automotive industry is that it seems to be the only one where customers negotiate the product’s final price.
Newsflash: It’s because cars (like homes) are a major long-term expenditure of funds and prospective buyers don’t want to overpay. Bargaining over a sack of groceries is a waste of time but the same cannot be said for a shiny new SUV when the stakes are so much higher. It’s also part of our culture. Haggling on an automobile is as American as baseball or selling guns to a third world nation to fight a war you helped start but refuse to finish. We bargained with the horse; we do it with the car.
Interestingly Visser only mentioned the sales plan as it relates to Europe. Is that because he was addressing a European audience or because the United States’ dealer model could make negotiation-free pricing an impossibility?
Lynk & Co has specified in the past that it wants to implement flat fees and direct sales globally, but hasn’t been able to specify if that will be true for the U.S. The concept of a competitive and fairly priced vehicle you don’t need to argue about in a little room for two hours is a lovely dream, though.
Whether or not the United States is ready for it, Visser said the dream will be a reality in Europe.
“Our prices will be the same across a currency, so in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Spain [prices] will be exactly the same,” he explained. “Everybody compares with the competition in the market… for us, competition is also public transportation, Google, and Uber.”
In addition of normal ownership Lynk & Co will also be offering mobility service subscriptions which essentially serve as long term rentals. The brand also wants to provide full-time possessors the ability to rent their vehicles out to drivers in need using an in-car application that allows phone access similar to ZipCar. The Geely sub-brand claims it would be a good way for buyers to mitigate ownership costs or simply be a Good Samaritan to the neighbors.
Europe should have the Lynk & Co 01 crossover a few months prior to North America. It’s still unclear exactly how it will be sold in the U.S. but servicing is almost guaranteed to take place at Volvo dealerships.
[Image: Lynk & Co]
Consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulations. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, he has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed about the automotive sector by national broadcasts, participated in a few amateur rallying events, and driven more rental cars than anyone ever should. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and learned to drive by twelve. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer and motorcycles.
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Lynk, an unknown brand, is going to have to establish itself in mature markets with many well known and deep pocketed competitors. A "No Haggle" policy is one of the few ways they can quickly, simply, and easily differentiate themselves: that makes it worth trying. Most buyers hate haggling over a car and assume they are taken advantage of when they do haggle and KNOW the are taken advantage of if they don't. Arguably the only reason Saturn was successful selling otherwise unremarkable cars was the friendly and no haggle buying experience. If Lynk can replicate the Saturn purchase experience it may be enough to get potential buyers to walk on the showroom floor.
That crossover is an interesting mix of Rover and Jeep design cues. Before reading the headline I thought the picture was an ad for Rover.