Recently, Lincoln Motors released its global sales data for 2021. According to the data, the annual sales volume in China surpassed the United States for the first time and became the largest seller of the product, helping Lincoln Automobile to complete a new milestone.
This is due to the in-depth cooperation between Lincoln Motor and Changan Automobile, and after the localization of Lincoln Motor, the total sales volume of Lincoln Automobile in China will exceed 91,000 units in 2021, an increase of 48% compared with 2020. In contrast, Lincoln's total sales in the United States in 2021 were 86,929 units, down 18% from 2020 and a record low since 2013.
Lincoln Motors' growth path in China
In 2014, Lincoln Automotive opened its first dealership in China. At that time, its layout speed was far behind that of its luxury rivals at the same level. As a result, Lincoln Motors began to focus on Chinese consumers, and then they created a unique car buying experience in China, officially called "Lincoln Way".
Lincoln Motors hired Eight Inc., a San Francisco-based American design firm, whose best-known case was the genius design for Apple. The tone of their showroom for Lincoln is warm and welcoming, with tea rooms, waterfall displays and the brand's historic walls. The designer insisted on placing a small number of exhibition cars in the exhibition hall and placing these exhibition cars on a base with special lighting. In dealership training, the focus is on the customer's sensory experience and doing everything possible to take care of their feelings before selling. This dealer model was subsequently replicated and rapidly promoted in several Lincoln franchise stores in the U.S. region.
Lincoln has an exclusive model in China
As sales of the Lincoln brand in China climbed rapidly, Lincoln decided to sell some exclusive vehicles in China, which was in stark contrast to the United States. Lincoln Motors decided to stop selling Lincoln continental cars in the United States, while Looking at China, not only maintained the sales of Lincoln continental, but also launched a new car last year, officially named "Lincoln Z".
Lincoln Motors' main goal at present is to localize the production of all products and reduce exports from the United States as much as possible, mainly to reduce the cost of sales caused by tariffs and further improve the profit of bicycles. Although the localization has led to a significant increase in sales, it still has not achieved the annual sales target.
Will Lincoln become an exclusive brand in China?
When Lincoln opened its first store in China in 2014, then-CEO Mark Fields predicted that by 2020, the brand would use regional sales in China to bring its global sales to 300,000 units. However, officials abandoned that goal in 2018.
Although Lincoln's sales in China currently exceed those in the United States, Ford has no plans to make the Lincoln brand exclusive to China. Kumar Galhotera, president of the Ford Group, said in an interview with the media: "This is an iconic Brand in the United States, although it has a considerable part of the appeal in China. The Chinese market is huge, but we are also very active in regions like the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, and these markets are also important to us. ”
Master Horn wants to say:
At present, the sales data of the Lincoln brand in China is still far behind BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi, and even less than Cadillac and Volvo. With the soaring sales of Tesla and the launch of some domestic self-owned brand high-end car series, the Lincoln brand will face more competition and challenges in China in the future.