Lynk & Co has changed its playbook.

On September 28, the all-new Lynk 20 was launched in Chengdu with a limited-time exclusive price starting at 118,800 yuan. In an interview after the launch event, Fan Junyi, Executive Deputy General Manager of Geely Automobile Group (ASX: 00175) Sales Company and General Manager of Lynk & Co Sales Company, for the first time systematically elaborated on Lynk & Co's operating philosophy nearly two months after taking up his new post.

In early August, Geely Automobile (ASX: 00175) established its Sales Company, with Fan Junyi concurrently serving as General Manager of Lynk & Co Sales Company while also overseeing Galaxy Sales Company. This appointment placed two new energy brands with adjacent price bands and shared technology resources under the same manager, pushing the "One Geely" integration from R&D, supply chain and capital levels to the sales end closest to the market.

What he took over was a brand under growth pressure. In the first eight months of this year, Lynk & Co's cumulative sales reached 177,600 units, completing only a little over 40% of its annual target of 400,000 units. More than 220,000 units need to be sold in the remaining four months, meaning monthly average sales must more than double compared to the first eight months. The Lynk 20 received 14,663 firm orders within one hour of launch, a good start, but Fan Junyi talked more about how to prevent operational actions from becoming "distorted."

Avoiding low-configuration price wars, not pushing inventory onto dealers, and redrawing the boundaries between Lynk & Co, Galaxy and Zeekr constitute the core of his statements.

Redrawing the Boundaries

Fan Junyi's adjustments can only be clearly understood against the backdrop of Geely Automobile (ASX: 00175) establishing its Sales Company in early August. Previously, the "One Geely" integration mostly occurred in equity, R&D, manufacturing and supply chain areas. The new organization directly coordinates brand marketing, channel policies and user operations, pushing integration to the sales end closest to the market for the first time.

Fan Junyi concurrently serves as General Manager of Lynk & Co Sales Company while also overseeing Galaxy Sales Company. With two brands of adjacent price bands and shared technology resources placed in the same person's hands, the front end must provide different purchase reasons: why should consumers choose Lynk & Co rather than the more mainstream and broader-coverage Galaxy?

His answer is to clearly re-articulate the brand positioning. "Zeekr is meant to move upward on the luxury route, Lynk & Co takes the middle route, and Galaxy takes the mainstream mass-market route," Fan Junyi told media including Wall Street Journal.

The middle route does not equal niche. As first-purchase demand decreases and replacement ratios increase, consumers no longer only buy the standard answer that satisfies the whole family's needs, but also begin to choose cars based on personal aesthetics, driving interests and lifestyle. The brand character Lynk & Co accumulated in the past may instead become a new growth opportunity.

But drawing boundaries is not easy. According to the "One Geely" plan for each brand, Lynk & Co's target market is 150,000 to 350,000 yuan, with the 200,000 yuan level as the main force. However, the Lynk 20 has pushed its limited-time starting price below 120,000 yuan, effectively approaching Galaxy's price band.

During the Chengdu Auto Show, Fan Junyi used "broadening" to summarize Lynk & Co's next-stage direction: the brand core remains unchanged while entering more energy forms, categories and usage scenarios. The question is, after covering more users, how can Lynk & Co avoid becoming another Galaxy? The market will give its answer before slogans do.

Channels are another focus. Fan Junyi admits the 400,000-unit target is under pressure, but Lynk & Co will not create short-term sales through configuration cuts and price reductions, nor will it pass unrealistic tasks onto dealers.

He uses "barrier lake" to describe channel inventory. Manufacturers push vehicles into channels, dealers then significantly cut prices to recover funds, ultimately causing losses, price chaos and brand damage. Short-term sales may be boosted, but market space for future months is also overdrawn in advance.

Over the past two months, Lynk & Co has begun adjusting some dealer assessments and product policies to bring targets closer to real market demand. Some settlement and business indicators can be adjusted with market conditions, but user experience and satisfaction cannot be relaxed.

"Improve a little every day, be a little better each month than the last." This is the new rhythm Fan Junyi has set for channels. Rather than sudden surges, he cares more about whether sales can be built on stable prices, reasonable inventory and normal dealer operations.

Beyond channels, Fan Junyi views reconnecting with users as another foundational task. After taking office, he participated in multiple user forums and Lynk & Co Co-owner Council meetings. Some long-time owners hope to continue replacing with Lynk & Co vehicles and are willing to directly point out problems in products and communications. In his view, these opinions that may not be pleasant to hear are the foundation for Lynk & Co to rediscover its brand "human touch."

Fan Junyi has worked at Geely Automobile (ASX: 00175) for 23 years, yet calls himself a "Lynk & Co newcomer." Regarding the "empty cup mentality" mentioned by outsiders, his interpretation is to pick up another cup: put in the experience useful for Lynk & Co from the past, then fill it with new opinions from users, dealers and R&D teams.

This means Lynk & Co's sales adjustment is not just about changing communication methods or increasing promotions, but first clearly re-explaining whom the brand serves, then calibrating products, channels and marketing accordingly.

The First Battle's Approach

The all-new Lynk 20 is the first product from this thinking to face market testing.

After Fan Junyi took over Lynk & Co in August, the new car launch rhythm was somewhat delayed, and sales and R&D teams re-discussed model configurations. Faced with opinions on whether to cancel some high-value equipment and launch lower-configuration versions to lower the starting price, Lynk & Co ultimately chose to reject them.

The all-new Lynk 20 has a limited-time price starting at 118,800 yuan, with the entire range equipped as standard with an 800V high-voltage platform, 6C ultra-fast charging, lidar and Qianli Haohan H5 assisted driving system, requiring about 12 minutes to charge from 10% to 80%. In a market where pure electric SUVs in the 100,000-plus yuan range generally differentiate prices through high and low configurations, Lynk & Co attempts to make all technologies affecting core experience standard.

Fan Junyi summarizes this approach as becoming a "value inclusivist" rather than participating in low-price competition. Low prices often come from configuration cuts, while value competition leverages Geely Automobile's (ASX: 00175) technology, supply chain and scale capabilities to bring down functions users truly need while preserving Lynk & Co's differences in design, driving and safety.

This is also a recalibration of Lynk & Co's pure electric route. Lynk & Co's most distinctive brand assets were formed in the fuel vehicle era, with models like the 03 establishing sporty and handling perceptions. After entering the new energy market, although Lynk & Co has already launched pure electric products, it has not yet formed equally clear labels in intelligence, charging efficiency and market expression.

The direction Fan Junyi gives is "inheriting dynamism, advancing electric sense." The so-called electric sense is not just replacing engines with motors and batteries, but making the 800V platform, intelligent assisted driving, electrified design and cockpit experience values users can directly perceive.

Lynk & Co will not abandon fuel products because of this. According to Fan Junyi's vision, the electrification and intelligence capabilities accumulated by new energy models will also be gradually applied to facelifts and replacements of fuel models like the 03. Lynk & Co's energy forms can continue to expand, but the brand labels of trend, personality and sportiness cannot change.

Product dimensions are also being re-examined. Over the past two years, large-size six-seat and large five-seat SUVs have been launched intensively, but some users found after actual use that they are still commuting alone in the city most of the time.

Fan Junyi judges that after the auto market enters the replacement stage, users will become more rational and more willing to buy a personalized product for themselves. The Lynk 20 is positioned as an A-class pure electric SUV, targeting "urban elites" who are young, live in cities and have requirements for quality and driving feel.

Competition in this market is not relaxed. Mature products such as BYD Yuan PLUS and Deep Blue S05 have price ranges highly overlapping with the Lynk 20, and in lower price bands there are also models like Leapmotor A10 and Yuan UP diverting users with cost-effectiveness. Whether the standard configuration strategy can let users perceive the difference directly determines whether the Lynk 20 can gain a foothold.

To truly bring these judgments into products, Fan Junyi is promoting earlier collaboration between sales and R&D. He and Kang Guowang, President of Lynk & Co Vehicle Research Institute, talk on the phone almost daily and hold meetings every two or three days, bringing user feedback directly into product planning, configuration adjustments and facelift discussions.

The past linear process of R&D completing products and sales being responsible for pushing them to market is being broken. R&D is no longer only responsible for technical implementation, and sales cannot wait until products are finalized to consider how to communicate. What users need and what problems products should solve must form consensus during the development stage.

Marketing rhythm has also changed accordingly. Fan Junyi does not approve of putting all budget before launch. After the new car is released, Lynk & Co will also leave resources for store experience, first-batch user service and secondary communication, then adjust subsequent communication content based on why users choose the Lynk 20 and what feedback they have from actual use.

Holding a dealer meeting immediately after the launch event is part of this approach. Compared to the short-term buzz created by a launch event, Fan Junyi values more whether a car can continue stable transactions months later.

More than 14,600 firm orders within one hour of launch is only the starting point. Continuous delivery, terminal prices and channel inventory are the next stage of testing.

For Fan Junyi, the significance of this car is not just adding a pure electric product. It needs to simultaneously validate Lynk & Co's new product logic, sales rhythm and brand boundaries. This is also the first test question for whether multi-brand collaboration can avoid convergence after the establishment of Geely Automobile's (ASX: 00175) Sales Company.