Ericsson partners with Lynk & Co to enhance car connectivity

Communications technology and services leader Ericsson on Wednesday partnered with Lynk & Co, the world's 'most connected car' to enhance the future of car connectivity.

Owing to Ericsson's connected vehicle cloud service and its leadership in cloud and Internet of Things (IoT), Lynk & Co demonstrated the world's first built-in share functions.

Research suggests that most cars sit unused more than 90 percent of the time. Ericsson's digital key and Lynk & Co's car sharing platform provides access to a car through a smartphone enabling a car's owner to remotely grant access to their car.

Via the Lynk & Co app, car owners can control, monitor and share their vehicle from their smartphone - or directly from the car.

The brand was launched in October 2016 by Chinese car manufacturer Geely, which also owns the Volvo brand. The Lynk & Co 01 is the first car born completely in the digital age.

Applications displayed on a large central screen are permanently connected via on-board telematics to the Lynk & Co cloud which is powered by Ericsson. This opens up an ecosystem with almost limitless opportunities for the creation of features and services.

"Our cars are built on a number of technology fundamentals and Ericsson is our obvious partner of choice in the development of our digital car. The digital key solution was born out of an innovative co-creation exercise and through cloud technology we are able to offer a complete new service and functionality for our customers," said Alain Visser, Chairman, Lynk & Co.

"In combining our unique expertise in IoT and cloud with Lynk & Co's deep market understanding we have been able to jointly develop the secure and reliable platform they require to deliver on their brand promise. Our partnership also has positive impact on our core business by driving traffic in the networks we provide," added Charlotta Sund, Head of IoT at Ericsson.