"Ford, is this going to be a comeback?" Wu Maolin, the founder of "Car 314", summed up Ford's performance in the Chinese market in 2021.
On January 14, Ford China finally released sales: Data shows that in 2021, Ford China sold a total of 624,802 vehicles in the whole year, an increase of 3.7% year-on-year. Among them, the Lincoln brand market performance is eye-catching, with annual sales of 91,621 vehicles, an increase of 48.3% year-on-year, setting a record for the brand's annual sales in China!
In 2021, when Honda, Nissan, Mazda, Volkswagen and other brands have declined, such achievements are undoubtedly very valuable! From another point of view, Ford China has shown a warming trend in China.
Sales "stop falling back", Ford finds "sense of belonging" in China
Friends who pay attention to the car circle should know that Ford currently has two joint ventures in China, one of which is Changan Ford, which produces family cars and SUVs; the other is Jiangling Ford, which produces cars. At present, under The New Brand Strategy of Ford China, Jiangling Ford is also currently shouldering the heavy responsibility of producing passenger cars!
However, based on the sales data of previous years, Ford's data in the Chinese market is not too good, and the downward trend is serious, especially Changan Ford's cars and SUVs, so the industry also has a "century of Ford, destroyed by Changan" statement.
According to the data, Ford China created a peak sales volume of 1.27 million vehicles in 2016, when Changan Ford also ushered in its own highlight moment, with annual sales reaching 950,000 vehicles, only "half a step away" from the million-vehicle mark.
However, after this, because of Changan Ford's "three consecutive falls", Ford China's sales have also become sluggish! In 2017, Changan Ford sold 828,000 units, down 12.3% year-on-year; in 2018, sales of 378,000 units, down 54.0% year-on-year; in 2019, Changan Ford fell sharply again, and finally ended with 184,000 units.
And in 2021, Changan Ford's sales have picked up significantly! According to the data, in 2021, Changan Ford's annual sales reached 304,682 vehicles, an increase of 20.29% year-on-year.
In fact, in addition to Changan Ford, Lincoln Has also helped Ford's sales in China a lot!
Just after New Year's Day in 2021, Lincoln Motors can't wait to release the brand's sales data in 2021, which shows that relying on the SUV product matrix composed of adventurers, navigators and aviators, Lincoln's total sales in 2021 are 91621, an increase of 48% year-on-year. It should be noted that this is also the first time that Lincoln's sales in China have surpassed the United States since it was domestically produced!
Key models have made all-round breakthroughs, and the market heat of high-end models has risen
In addition to quantity, from the sales data released by Lincoln China, the models sold by the brand are also particularly concerned about quality! With the help of official statements, the stable performance of Ford brand SUVs and high-end cars has become the highlight of Ford brand passenger cars in 2021. Among them, the first to become the main force of sales growth is the Ford Explorer, Ford Sharp Andr and Ford Sharp Edge as the representative of the Ford SUV model camp, of which the Ford Explorer annual sales increased by 43.4% year-on-year.
Not only that, models such as the new Ford Lingyu and Ford EVOS Light Chaser also have a very good heat, which has helped the brand sales growth a lot. Judging from the recent pace of new cars in the Ford family, the brand will continue to bring us new models such as Ford Lingrui and Ford Mondeo in the next time, and later or become a new increment in the market.
In the Lincoln family matrix, in addition to the "three musketeers" mentioned earlier, Lincoln's "smart collar new generation car" new Lincoln Z has also shown good popularity since the Guangzhou Auto Show opened pre-sale. Referring to official information, as of now, the order volume of this car has exceeded 2300 units, although there is still a certain difference with the head of the BBA, but to some extent, Lincoln's car market can further boost brand sales in the later stage.
Compared with passenger cars, the performance of the commercial vehicle market is more general, and the data shows that Ford brand and Jiangling brand commercial vehicles sold a total of 264,237 vehicles in China throughout the year, slightly lower than the same period last year. However, some models of the brand still showed a relatively strong upward trend, including the light bus model represented by Ford Transit and Jiangling Teshun, which achieved a 4.9% increase, which is still relatively rare in 2021 when the market is down.
Layout of the pure electricity market, "Ford China 2.0" accelerated the full landing
Among Ford's rising sales in China, there is another detail to pay attention to, and that is electrification. Specifically, the domestic Ford Mustang Mach-E has begun to be officially delivered in December last year, and Ford has also launched a series of subversive business models in China, including direct sales models, such as a more convenient charging network and charging experience, it is certain that in the future for a long time, electrification will also become a new increment for Ford vehicles.
About Ford's "electric", it is not difficult to understand! Referring to the previous sales data of the China Automobile Association, in 2021, the production and sales of new energy vehicles in China reached 3.545 million units and 3.521 million units, respectively, an increase of 1.6 times year-on-year, and the market share reached 13.4%, 8 percentage points higher than that of the previous year. It should be known that as early as the beginning of 2021, the annual sales of new energy by the China Automobile Association are expected to be only 1.8 million vehicles.
Electrification is a manifestation of the accelerated landing of "Ford China 2.0", in addition, intelligence and customer experience have also ushered in an upgrade in 2021.
The first is intelligence, taking the models currently on sale as an example, it has been equipped with SYNC+2.0 intelligent interconnection system, the new BlueCruise L2+ level of active driving assistance and other technologies; for example, in terms of customer experience, the brand has also upgraded dealer showrooms and services, integrated digital channels and experiences, and further improved the new customer relationship of full-time and all-round.
It can be seen that in order to better meet the needs of domestic consumers, Ford China has carried out a wide range of optimization and upgrading compared with the past. In 2022, with the comprehensive advancement of various initiatives, Ford China's domestic market sales may be able to go further on the current basis.
Conclusion:
If you fall behind, you will be beaten!
Judging from the development trend in recent years, the domestic automobile market is still in the transition stage from the early stage of popularization to the late stage of popularization, and the "stock" state is particularly significant. For Ford China, after experiencing "three consecutive falls", it has obviously shown an attitude of "knowing shame and then being brave"! Whether it is the layout of the model, the localization of Lincoln Motor, or the release of the "Ford China 2.0" strategy, everywhere reflects The sincerity of Ford's change.
Although sales in 2021 are not high, the weak growth of 3.7% still illustrates a problem - Ford China has found a "sense of belonging" in the domestic market.