Not long ago, the sharing economy and large-scale car-sharing schemes were widely seen by automakers as a product of a misguided, bright-eyed utopian haze, perhaps with the same level of viability as the communal shoe pile at the college co-op. But sharing today is big business?big business we?re rapidly adopting as the norm, with Uber and Lyft for rides, or any number of car-sharing solutions for those of us who would still prefer to drive ourselves.
One company that sees the sharing economy as core to its business is Lynk & Co, a new vehicle brand and subsidiary of Volvo?s Chinese parent company, Geely. Lynk & Co was launched this past week in Berlin as ?a global collaboration of experts in design, engineering, software, and connectivity from industry leaders like Volvo, Microsoft, Ericsson, and Alibaba.? A pseudo anti-consumer hook permeates the marketing from this spin-off from multinational corporations: ?We?re a car company that isn?t trying to make you buy a car. Imagine that.? Lynk?s site also promises: ?No more garages, no more paperwork, no more insurance worries. Because why should this be your problem"?
A video recently released from the brand provides a glimpse of how its car-sharing scheme may work. An owner, Maria, arrives to work in her Lynk & Co 01 (the brand?s first model, to be closely related to the upcoming Volvo XC40) and, via a simple input on the touchscreen, opts to share her car until 7 p.m. that evening. Soon thereafter, a...