It’s been an exciting decade in the development of mobility. Electric vehicles and VC capital boosted innovation rates, and we’ve seen everything from the development of “flying cars” (EVTOL—electric vertical takeoff and landing) to a surge in “the Netflix of mobility” solutions, app-driven scooters, and a plethora of mopeds, motorcycles, and bicycles.
Lately we’ve seen something of a course correction. I’ve written before about the crash of Cake (see link below). The other day, electric motorcycle company STILRIDE (a former client, full disclosure) announced that they are pivoting the company to focus on its groundbreaking STILFOLD technology. On the business model side, we’ve also seen a correction. Geely-owned and Volvo-adjacent mobility company Lynk & Co recently announced a shift in management a step away from its former car-sharing concepts, and a step towards a more traditional manufacturing and distribution of cars.
In short, they want to sell more cars, not “subscribe” them out to a cohort of young and cool consumers.
I think about this as I travel to Madrid to experience the opening of Lynk & Co’s latest “club,” a centrally located retail outlet that is a more cool co-working place than a cranky old car dealership.
Attentive readers know that Lynk & Co is a collaborator to Scandinavian MIND through our Virtual Creativity Live podcast series we have been hosting in their Stockholm club throughout the winter. And while this column is not part of that collaboration, working closely with the brand has given me a sense of their commitment to creating a different retail experience. I guess hosting a fashion-tech magazine once a month is a testament to this ambition.
Arriving at the Madrid outpost, I was struck by the vividness of the 360 square meter space. Multiple rooms and spaces, designed by the Valencia-based architecture firm Masquespacio, delivered visual eye-candy, partly inspired by different movies (a yellow Kill Bill conference room, a blue Truman Show walkway), as well as inspirations from the Madrids teater La Zarzuela och Velázquez masterpiece Las Meninas. I especially liked the surreal bathrooms.
The crowd spoke of a different take on what a car brand should behave like. Sure, there was the blazer-clad crowd of distributors and partners, but at least half of the crowd consisted of expressive influencer types with a keen fashion sense. Clearly, Lynk & Co want to project more of a lifestyle experience and less showroom.
I’ve been critical of this move in the past. I’ve questioned whether their “clubs” actually do attract people to use the space as a kind of café/bar/co-working hangout, as it’s been intended in the past. They become more intriguing and interesting when looking at them purely as car showrooms. While most modern car companies have taken cues from Apple Stores and created sleek, minimalistic spaces that make for a cool photo but, in reality, feel like a luxurious surgery room in an upscale hospital, Lynk & Co has opted for something else. In their desire to create a modern hangout, they have managed to design a car showroom that feels cosy, interesting, and exciting to spend time in.
Speaking to the company’s newly appointed CEO, Nicolas Lopez Appelgren, I learned that the focus now is on expansion and selling more cars. This is pretty straightforward and also pretty far away from its disruptive brand origins of creating modern mobility solutions. The branding, however, was not created in vain, according to Appelgren, who believed that Lynk & Co has a strong identity perfectly suited to growing the business.
Perhaps that’s the key lesson here. Mobility needs to experiment less with business models and focus more on creating captivating experiences around its brand.
Creating spaces that you actually want to be in is a good start.
With Lynk & Co CEO Nicolas Lopez Appelgren.
