Lynk & Co. announces the 01, the world's most connected car

Lynk & Co. is a new automotive mobility startup spawned by Geely, the Chinese automaker that also owns Volvo. The startup's first new car is the 01, an electrified crossover.

The 01 was designed in Sweden and runs on the same CMA (Compact Modular Architecture) platform that will also underpin the next generation of Volvo's compact cars.

However, the Lynk & Co. 01 will be manufactured and built in China.

The 01 (and all Lynk & Co. vehicles to follow) will feature an electrified powertrain. For now, that means hybrid or plug-in hybrid. Whether a full EV will join the ranks remains to be seen.

The 01 will be followed by the 02, the 03, 04 and so on. It's not a very creative naming convention, but it's consistent.

Lynk & Co. aims to change the way that we buy cars in the future with fixed pricing in all markets. The 01 will go on sale in China in 2017 with other markets to follow.

The biggest gimmick here is the "Share" button in the infotainment stack. Users can, with the tap of this single button, mark their car for sharing by other drivers when they're not actively driving it.

Built with sharing in mind, the 01 uses radio signals for all of its locking and starting security.

Lynk & Co. have collaborated closely with Microsoft and Alibaba to build a whole new digital customer infrastructure for the car.

Customers will be able to access and monitor all of this sharing and the like via a Lynk & Co. app that keeps tabs on the 01.

It's only fitting that the most "connected car ever" has a complimentary app.