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Lincoln in 2021 can be called a dark horse in the luxury brand, under the aura of the BBA, against the epidemic, chip shortage debuff, sales increased by nearly 50%, and it is only one foot away from the 100,000 mark.
How beautiful Lincoln is today, how bitter the past is. Lincoln came to China as early as the 1980s and became the earliest "American luxury car" in the minds of a generation. Later, due to various reasons, Lincoln's sales in China were sluggish, and he eventually withdrew from China in a dismal end.
Lincoln returned to China in 2014, and after a period of steady development, he began to emerge in the last year or two. Today, we will talk about the history of the Lincoln brand in China's ups and downs.
First time in China
Feathers returned
He entered China in the 1980s
Bring the earliest "American luxury"
Some people say that Lincoln entered China too late and missed the opportunity, but this is not the case. As early as the 1980s, Lincoln cars entered the country through parallel imports. This time is not too late, to know that Audi almost also entered China in the 80s.
Pictured above is the city of Lincoln
Lincoln cars have not disgraced the brand, taking the City Car as an example, in the era when cars are still luxury goods, this car with a large body, unique appearance and luxurious interior brings people a great shock. From the 1990s to the early 2000s, the extended version of the city began to be equated with the "wedding car".
Pictured above is a stretched version of the Lincoln City wedding car
In addition to the city, the old navigator also left a high-end and domineering impression on the Chinese people. It can be said that at the beginning, Lincoln's brand tone was still very high. For some elderly people, they first saw what "American luxury" is from Lincoln.
Pictured above is the old navigator
Lincoln had come, but not quite
In order to help Lincoln open up overseas markets, Ford has been looking for a "feng shui treasure land". In 2005, Ford selected China and announced that the new Navigator would enter China as an official imported car, and the Navigator became the first Lincoln car to enter China through official channels.
The picture above shows the "new" navigator who entered China for the first time
However, the navigator was sold through Ford's channels, and the official did not set up a separate marketing channel for the navigator, nor did it officially introduce the Lincoln brand. In a sense, it is only the navigator who has entered China this time, not the Lincoln brand.
Although the Lincoln brand did not come, but look at the navigator can also know the tone of the Lincoln brand. This is a jumbo with a width of more than 2 meters and a length of more than 5 meters 2, equipped with a heroic 5.4L V8 engine + time-sharing four-wheel drive system. Although the peak power of the engine is "only" 300 horsepower, the daily comprehensive fuel consumption can reach about 20L/100km. Obviously, it does not meet the mainstream needs of the country.
The advantages of the navigator are actually quite a lot, such as its interior luxury is very strong, the seat and suspension comfort are very good, and the configuration also has a door password lock and a ceiling-mounted DVD, which were very high-end and novel configurations at the time.
If other American cars are like a ship, the navigator is a luxury yacht. However, even if it is a galactic battleship, it is not enough to support a brand from sales. Moreover, its guidance price was at least 700,000 that year, and in 2005, when most people had little money, the navigators were destined to be high and low. When the financial crisis hit in 2008, Lincoln's sales in China were not good, and he had to withdraw from the Chinese market.
Ford's history of self-help
At about the same time that the navigators entered China, the Ford Group was plagued by the after-effects of the frenzied expansion. At that time, Ford had 8 brands with nearly 100 models, and the entire group was not lost. In 2006, Ford suffered its biggest loss since its inception— about $12.7 billion.
Alan Mulally, then CEO of Ford, was determined to "break the wrist of a hero", leaving only Ford and Lincoln in 8 brands, and the model was also reduced to about 25.
After the 2008 financial crisis, Ford began to focus on its home in North America, cutting off many overseas projects, and letting Lincoln withdraw from China may be just one of the means of self-protection.
In the end, Ford succeeded, and during the financial crisis, only Ford, among the three major car companies in the United States, did not accept government relief.
Lincoln missed the bonus period
Now it seems that the introduction of only a pilot who is doomed to not go, and the establishment of a separate channel for it, shows that Ford was just testing the waters at that time. However, testing the waters is not necessarily Ford's original intention, if conditions permit, I believe Ford is also willing to let Lincoln deeply cultivate the Chinese market.
Unfortunately, they were facing huge losses at that time, and the company's self-help was a top priority, so it was naturally difficult to be distracted by Lincoln's prospects in China. Let the high-end model navigator and Ford share the channel to China to brush Lincoln's popularity, which is low investment and low risk.
Originally, Lincoln may have been just a idle move in China, and Ford's expectations for it may have been nothing more than "inadvertent willow shading". But before the navigator could brush up the popularity, the 2008 financial crisis came first. To let Lincoln leave China in order to save himself was forced to be helpless, but it was also logical.
But fate played a joke, shortly after Lincoln withdrew, China's luxury car market entered a period of rapid development. In 2010, China's luxury car sales exceeded 800,000 vehicles, of which Audi's annual sales exceeded 200,000 vehicles, Mercedes-Benz BMW exceeded 100,000 vehicles, and many second-tier brands also achieved their best results since entering China. As a result, some people called 2010 china's "first year of the luxury car market"; in 2012, China's luxury car sales exceeded the 1 million mark.
I think that Ford must have initially seen the potential of China's luxury car market and would let the navigators enter China; later they withdrew the navigators, on the one hand, they were forced to be helpless, on the other hand, they probably did not expect that in just a few years, the Chinese luxury car market experienced explosive growth.
Unfortunately, Lincoln's first entry into China ended in sales and popularity.
Navigator: Actually, I don't want to go, in fact, I want to stay
Second entry into China
Initial success
Learn the lessons and make a comeback
In 2014, Ford recovered from the financial crisis. After seeing the vitality of China's luxury car market, Mark Fields, then CEO of Ford, announced the entry of the Lincoln brand into China. It can be said that this is the first time that the Lincoln brand has entered China.
This time they learned to be obedient and launched two more grounded cars, the MKC and MKZ, which were sold through Lincoln's proprietary channels as official imports.
The picture above is Lincoln MK C, the 2014 guidance price of 33.98-43.88 million
The picture above is lincoln MK Z, the 2014 guidance price of 315,800-39.58 million
Whether it is from the perspective of model positioning or price, these two cars are more suitable for the Chinese market than the navigators of the year. In 2015, Lincoln, who had just returned to China, achieved annual sales of more than 11,000 units. In the subsequent 2016-2018 years, Lincoln's annual sales rose steadily, once exceeding 55,000 units. Among them, the sales volume of MKC models accounts for about 60% to 70%.
However, Lincoln's annual sales in 2019 fell to 46,000 vehicles, which to a certain extent shows that the product strength of this generation of models can not be sustained, and the fresh energy of consumers will also pass. Fortunately, lincoln realized as early as around 2017 that localization, reducing costs and expanding sales were necessary. As planned, the first domestic Lincoln model Adventurer will be available in 2020 and replace the predecessor MKC.
Value for money, best weapon to use
Later, everyone knows that in 2020, the domestic adventurer was successfully listed. This guide price of 24.68-34.58 million compact SUV, which is about 100,000 cheaper than the predecessor MKC when it first entered China.
The price of adventurers after domestic production is low, but the product strength does not decrease, and there is no dead end. First of all, its appearance is beautiful, the interior is very luxurious, and the space is also very large, which is a car that is easy for people to like from the senses.
In addition, the domestic adventurer series is equipped with 2.0T+8AT as standard, and the configuration of full LCD instrumentation, seat heating, soundproof glass, L2 level driver assistance and so on can be completed at 280,000. It can be said that in terms of design, space, configuration, performance and other aspects, adventurers have shown full sincerity.
At least for now, consumers are quite appreciative, with the sales of adventurers exceeding 50,000 in 2021, accounting for more than half of Lincoln's total sales.
Truly misplaced competition
With no dead ends of the product force and sincere pricing, domestic Lincoln models have truly achieved misplaced competition. For example, the price of 250,000-300,000 is the entry price of a luxury brand compact SUV, but many people here will face a problem: if you want to pursue the identity brought by the brand, it is bound to compromise at the level of power, luxury, space, configuration and so on.
The picture above shows the adventurer
Such problems are more obvious in the BBA's X1, GLB, Q3, and cannot be completely avoided in the same class of lexus, Cadillac, Volvo and other brands. And the adventurer is one of the few cars that can go uncompromising in all of the above.
Pictured above is a navigator
The other two domestic Lincolns also have their own unique advantages. For example, the Navigator, its high-end model is equipped with a 2.7T V6 engine, 322 horsepower + 500N·m data is very eye-catching, the quality of the 6-cylinder engine is also comparable to the 4-cylinder engine of the same level of models; the aviator is the standard 3.0T V6 engine of the whole series, the starting price is only 500,000, which is at least 100,000 cheaper than the 3.0T competitors of the BBA.
Pictured above are the aviators
In addition, Lincoln's domestic sedan, the Lincoln Z, has begun pre-sale and may soon be on the market. We think this car is still worth looking forward to, it has highlights in space, power, and intelligence.
Pictured above is Lincoln Z
In addition to improving the cost performance ratio
What else did Lincoln do right?
Lincoln can turn over, and the cost performance is indeed a big factor, but the cost performance alone may not be enough. We think Lincoln still has some things that get it right.
1. Try to maintain the original price and maintain the brand tone
In a sense, luxury cars need to be distinguished from ordinary cars through high prices, and frequent large discounts will only reduce their own price. If a luxury car reduces its own price, its target group will not only not feel that it is cost-effective, but will feel that it is not glamorous to buy this "bargain car".
For example, Jaguar, nicknamed "Sevenfold Leopard"
Lincoln's strategy is to pull the guidance price lower, but it does not mean that Lincoln has given up the tone of luxury brands. We understand that the terminal price of Lincoln models is basically not preferential, or only 18,000 discounts. Just like a person, the posture can be lowered, but the waist bar should be hard.
2. High service level
In addition to the luxury of the product, the luxury of Lincoln service is also very strong. Lincoln is very willing to invest in the storefront, and the design, experience and service quality of the 4S store are very high in the luxury brand. All of this creates a feeling for Lincoln consumers that my money is not in vain, and the brand is worth a lot.
When it comes to brands with service as the selling point, it is easy to think of those ultra-luxury brands or new power brands, but we think lincoln's service quality is also very good, but they rarely put good service on their lips.
Our expectations
Of course, Lincoln is only a preliminary success now. We want Lincoln to do the following:
1, so that buying a car, using a car more convenient
According to our understanding, there are only about 150 Lincoln 4S stores in the country, and most of them are concentrated in first- and second-tier cities. We hope lincoln can build more 4S stores while maintaining service levels.
In addition, now that social networks are so developed, many car companies regard their user communities as the "second battlefield". I hope lincoln can do a good job of operation and listen to the opinions and suggestions of users.
2, do a good job of quality control, maintain the hard-won reputation
Although today's Lincoln sales are all the way promising, but Lincoln is not worth our purchase, I think we need a longer line of observation. In a latest car reliability ranking released by Consumer Reports this year, the Lincoln brand ranked first from the bottom among 28 brands.
Of course, this report reflects the situation of Lincoln models sold in the United States, and it only has a certain reference for domestic Lincoln. We have not heard of the domestic Lincoln reliability scandal, but the oldest domestic Lincoln is still a new car in 2020, which needs to be tested by time.
Write at the end
It can be said that Lincoln's initial success is caused by many factors such as product, price, service, strategy, etc., and we are willing to see it loved by consumers. At the same time, we noticed that the current Lincoln SUV product line is very complete, and future sales may rely more on cars if they want to go further.
But the competition for sedans is destined to be more intense than SUV, and it is hoped that Lincoln will continue his advantage in SUVs to sedans. As for the upcoming Lincoln Z, at least we think it is still worth looking forward to, but we are more looking forward to Lincoln launching more competitive cars and providing consumers with more choices.