Dutch car designer Ivo Groen will switch from DS to Lynk & Co. on 1 March. After working for Groupe PSA for a total of 31 years, he becomes Vice President Head of Creative Design at the Chinese brand, which is headquartered in Sweden. Techzle spoke to Groen about his new step.
Ivo Groen has had a long career as a car designer. He started at PSA 31 years ago, of which he was chief designer at DS for the last 7 years. In addition to his work as a designer, he is also a columnist for Techzle Classics. Now he says he wants to pass on his experience to a younger generation and start a new challenge. “I am very happy with this opportunity that I get to work with the excellent team of Lynk & Co”, Groen responds to his switch to Techzle. According to the designer, his motives for making the transition lie in, among other things, ‘the hunger of learning’, but Groen also wants to use his experience to coach younger colleagues. “We are going to experience something powerful there and I feel that with Lynk & Co it will also be something useful. Something that the new ‘mobility users’ desire. I also want to share my experience and coach young talent. That is really motivating.”
What appeals to Groen in particular in the Lynk & Co brand is that it is completely ‘design-driven’. “The groundwork that has already been laid by designer Stefan Rosén and his team for a completely new brand of the Geely Holding is a fantastic basis for designing a complete ‘User Experience’ for the future. behind us, “said the designer. Time will tell how this will come to fruition. It is not yet known who will succeed Ivo Groen at DS.
European ambition
Lynk & Co was founded in 2016 as a subsidiary brand of Geely. In terms of positioning, the brand is in between the cars of Geely and Volvo. In China Lynk & Co already has quite a few models on the market and in Europe it is trying to gain a foothold with the 01, a crossover that is on the same CMA platform as the Volvo XC40. At Lynk & Co, the difference is not only in the car itself, but especially in the associated subscription model. You can drive the car for € 500 per month and reduce the monthly amount if you share the car with others. At the end of October, the brand opened a store at the Rokin in Amsterdam, but it is not yet known when the first copies of the 01 will be delivered to consumers.