Lynk & Co 20 charges in 12 minutes, the European 02 in 30
The Chinese Lynk & Co 20 shows what Europe's 02 is still missing
Lynk & Co launches the facelifted 20 in China, and it is the same car Europeans buy as the Lynk & Co 02. The update, on sale since 28 September, adds an 800-volt silicon carbide platform, standard lidar and a limited-time starting price of 118,800 yuan, about €15,500. The European 02 has not had any of it yet, and the gap is widest where drivers feel it most: at the charger.
Lynk & Co 20 charges from 10 to 80 percent in 12 minutes
The new Lynk & Co 20 goes from 10 to 80 percent in about 12 minutes, at a peak of more than 440 kW. That is 6C charging: the battery takes in six times its own capacity per hour. Two lithium iron phosphate packs are offered, 61.5 and 70 kWh, rated at 545 and 630 km on China's lenient CLTC cycle. A single rear motor makes 333 hp in every version, and the body grows 35 mm to 4,495 mm.
The European Lynk & Co 02 stops at 150 kW and 30 minutes
The Lynk & Co 02 sold in Europe uses a 66 kWh nickel-based battery, a 272 hp rear motor and a DC peak of 150 kW, which puts a 10 to 80 percent charge at around 30 minutes. It carries more energy than the smaller Chinese pack, yet charges at roughly a third of the new car's peak rate. Geely has shown far faster hardware in China than it sells in Europe before, and the 02 is now the clearest example. It shares its SEA platform with the Volvo EX30 and the Zeekr X, and launched here in late 2024 at €35,995 in the Netherlands.
Lidar and G-ASD H5 are standard on all five Chinese versions
Every one of the five Chinese versions gets a roof-mounted lidar sensor and Geely's G-ASD H5 driver-assistance system, fed by 28 sensors and able to park the car itself. The European 02 is sold without lidar. Lynk & Co says it took 14,663 firm orders in the first hour after launch, a figure for orders rather than deliveries, and the regular list price of 123,800 yuan returns once the introductory offer ends.
Lynk & Co sales fell 37 percent in August before the 20 arrived
The facelift arrives while Lynk & Co is losing ground at home. The brand sold 17,027 cars in China in August, 37.4 percent fewer than a year earlier, and 177,624 over the first eight months, down 14.8 percent. The outgoing Z20 had found 47,723 Chinese buyers by early July. Standard lidar, 800 volts and a lower price are Lynk & Co's answer to a market where BYD, Leapmotor and Xpeng now sell similar equipment for similar money.
Volvo Cars becomes Lynk & Co's European distributor in January 2027
Volvo Cars takes over sales, retail and after-sales for Lynk & Co in Europe from January 2027, completing the move first signalled in April. That puts the 02 in Volvo showrooms next to the EX30 it shares a platform with, and alongside the 408 hp Lynk & Co 07 shooting brake due the same year. Lynk & Co has not said when, or whether, the 800-volt update will reach European cars.
AutoNext Take
The Chinese 20 is the better car, and it costs less than half of what Europeans pay for the 02. The European version remains a sound buy, with a well-sized battery and a strong motor, but a 30-minute stop on a 150 kW charger is one generation behind the car's own twin. Lynk & Co has done the engineering already. The only open question is when Europe gets it.
Volvo should make the 800-volt 02 its first Lynk & Co launch, and it can: the hardware exists, the platform is shared and the distributor changes in January. If the 12-minute car reaches European showrooms before the end of 2027, the 02 goes from a pleasant alternative to one of the quickest-charging compact EVs Volvo's dealers sell. That is a good problem for a new distributor to have.
