Lynk & Co scope out a ute

Yet another Chinese ute could make Australia home - albeit a few years off yet.

Just eight years into its life as a car maker Lynk & Co has workshopped a pick-up truck that could one day be added to the global product portfolio as the brands look to expand and leverage its youthful focus.

Part of the giant Geely Auto group, Lynk & Co was conceived as a youth-focused spin-off of Volvo (another Geely marque) but is these days attached to sister brand Zeekr, which hit the Australian market in 2024.

And while no Lynk & Cos are currently sold in Australia the company believes a pick-up truck would make a nice addition to the growing range that is currently centred on sedans and SUVs.

“It’s no secret that we’ve been sketching and trying everything, we’ve even been sketching pick-up trucks,” said Stefan Rosen, head of design for Lynk & Co.

“We always experiment, we always put stuff in front of our top management and see what the interest is.”

While a ute would break new ground for Lynk & Co – a brand that only built its first car in 2017 – there’s history within parent company Geely, which recently started selling Geely-branded vehicles locally.

Having just launched the EX5 locally the company says it plans to sell the Riddara RD6 (also known as Radar) ute locally sometime in the near future.

Rather than the ladder frame utes more common in Australia – things such as the Ford Ranger and Toyota Hilux – the Riddara RD6 (also known as the Radar) is more on-road focussed and rides on an adapted version of the SEA platform that underpins various Volvo, Polestar and Zeekr EVs.

That means it would be more about surfboards and suburban cruising rather than loading up with tools or heading for the outback.

Still, Australians have an insatiable appetite for utes, albeit those tending towards the workhorse side of the ledger. 

However, Ford and Holden utes and others such as the Subaru Brumby have proven previously that there can be healthy demand for less hard core pick-ups.

And while utes from newcomer brands are smaller players compared with the Ranger and Hilux – which account for about half of all ute sales – they’re making a bigger impact.

That sales shift in the market looks set to grow with an imminent influx of new generation models.

Already GWM, LDV and BYD have made inroads into the Aussie ute market and plenty more from China are planning to take advantage of increasing interest.

JAC recently started selling its T9 ute, MG unveiled the U9 and LDV has the Terron 9, each slated for the second half of 2025.

Then there’s the Riddara RD6.

But a Lynk & Co ute is a long way from a done deal - and may never happen.

Lynk & Co’s design chief Rosen said any program to muscle in on the ute segment would come down to how big the market is and the required investment.

And while he says there are plans to present the ute sketches to management, he suggested there are bigger targets in the short term.

”Right now I think it’s not on top of their (management’s) priority list.”