Lincoln's "Generation Z" is beginning to show its sharp edge

Looking at the pattern of the domestic luxury car market, the BBA is still in the unbreakable first camp. When asked who can change this situation, many people's eyes are locked on the new power brand that has emerged to take advantage of the trend of new energy.

In the author's opinion, the new power brand seems to be menacing, but in the end, it is far less than the traditional luxury brand that has accumulated for decades or even hundreds of years. What really makes the BBA feel crisis is still followed by traditional luxury brands, such as Lexus, Cadillac, etc., and today's protagonist - Lincoln is also among them.

01 Lincoln's way of "survival"

Survival was the biggest problem Lincoln had faced in the domestic market. Lincoln, who was not broken and did not stand, fought a battle against the water, later seemed to open the second vein of Ren Dou in an instant, and understood the truth. "Localization" is a free hand for Lincoln, and it is also the biggest killer for his "survival" in the domestic market.

Lexus has not been able to rank among the first lines, and the failure to achieve localization is one of the biggest reasons. Localization can not only effectively reduce the production and manufacturing costs, thereby directly reducing the purchase cost of the whole vehicle, but more importantly, it can be localized and adjusted. For the major luxury brands that want to gain the domestic market, this is the foundation of the foothold.

The domestic market has long been the world's largest single automobile market, and it is also the most diversified automobile market for consumers. When domestic consumers have crossed the initial state of "being able to walk on the line", the demand has become more and more complex. After all, China has the world's most complex car environment, and the practice of copying overseas models is far from satisfying domestic consumers who are experiencing consumption upgrades. At this moment, domestic consumers need "locals" who "know me and understand me". A clear example is that Lang Yi, who debuted as a "domestic special", can achieve today's results only because he is well versed in this way.

At that time, the domestic automobile market, SUV is still in the stage of barbaric growth, which naturally became the best opportunity for Lincoln to exert its strength. Subsequently, adventurers, aviators, navigators, Lincoln formed a "sea, land and air" SUV matrix in China. After localization, Lincoln has pulled the price below the average line of the same level of products, and the rich configuration and solid materials have allowed domestic consumers to experience the comfort brought by American luxury in an all-round way.

With the quality of the domestic SUV matrix, Lincoln has not only achieved a significant increase in sales in China, but also returned to the consumer's vision. In 2021, Lincoln sold a total of 91,621 new cars in the domestic market, an increase of 48% year-on-year. If compared with the sales volume before localization, the increase will be more obvious. It should be known that in 2018 and 2019, Lincoln's sales in China were only more than 50,000 vehicles, and now more than 50,000 vehicles are only the sales of its single model (Adventurer) in 2021.

The increase in sales volume means that Lincoln has a greater voice in the domestic market, and it also means that Lincoln has a stable foothold in the domestic luxury car market and has the foundation to pursue "life".

02 Lincoln's Way of "Living"

Gaining a foothold is clearly not Lincoln's ultimate goal in the domestic market, nor will it be the end of the "Lincoln Way." Lincoln, who has risen strongly with SUV, is now studying "how to live better"! It just so happened that the domestic SUV market had already passed through a period of barbaric growth, and Lincoln must have understood the situation, and his goal also turned to the larger market segment of cars. What's next? The arrival of the new Lincoln Z is the answer given by Lincoln.

Regarding the sincerity of lincoln Z, the pricing can be seen. The price range of 252,800-340,800 yuan is far lower than the price of BBA competitors, and even more advantageous than the Cadillac CT5, which is also American luxury. It can be said that the price of Lincoln Z is much lower than the average line of competitors at the same level. Some people may say that the price of some competitors after the terminal discount is almost the same as the Lincoln Z, but the Lincoln Z at the same price point gives you a product experience that is definitely worth the money.

Domestic consumers like "big" cars, then I Lincoln Z directly get a nearly 5 meters long; the pursuit of fast, then I fully series 2.0T high-power engine; reject double clutch, that I all series 8AT; require more configuration, that I directly "entry is luxury", 27-inch central control screen teaches you what is "technology to change life"; different preferences, then my entire double appearance let you choose. As a luxury brand, the price of the entry-level version is similar to the price of the Volkswagen Magotan and Passat top editions, or even lower. What consumers will choose, the judgment is high. It can be said that Lincoln Z may be the driving force behind some new generation consumers entering the luxury threshold.

Of course, Lincoln Z certainly did not stare at the potential users of the top-equipped Magotan, Passat, and LaCrosse, after all, that part of the small market is simply not enough to meet lincoln Z's big appetite, and its goal is naturally to form a fixed-end luxury brand mid-size car market. How many consumers can not take another look at the bigger, faster, and more Lincoln Z?

There may be consumers who listen to the saying that "no rear drive, no luxury", but according to the author's actual feelings, it is only a daily transportation, and most consumers are almost difficult to make the difference between front drive and rear drive. After all, consumers with a budget of 250,000-300,000 yuan to buy luxury medium-sized cars will not pursue driving control too much, and if they really have such a budget, they only consider control, BRZ, 86, MX-5 are better choices. Compared with the slight control advantage brought by the rear drive, the better riding space and storage space brought by the "horizontal front drive" layout are more practical for most consumers. From this point of view, Lincoln Z takes into account the larger orientation of the audience.

From the perspective of product strength, Lincoln Z occupies an advantage, high appearance, large size, space bar, strong power, good configuration, and cheap price, and almost no product in the current medium-sized luxury car market can confront it head-on, and it has almost formed a crushing trend! If you want to summarize the advantages of Lincoln Z in one sentence, it is to easily grasp the demand points of domestic consumers. If the Lincoln "sea, land and air" SUV family is trying to survive in the cracks of the BBA, then the Lincoln Z will be a direct predatory existence. Conservative forecast, Lincoln Z sales of more than 3,000 units a month, annual sales of 40,000 vehicles will not be too much of a problem.

03 Lincoln's Way is a school of its own

The difference between luxury brands and ordinary brands is not only at the product level, but also in terms of service. Since the Lincoln brand entered China, in addition to bringing pure American luxury products, the unique "Lincoln Way" has created a service benchmark for the automotive industry. The rise of the domestic economy has also made consumers begin to pursue the improvement of the quality of life, and the word "sense of ceremony" that has become popular in the past two years is the product of this pursuit.

Among the domestic luxury brands, the one that makes the author feel the most sense of ceremony is Lincoln, and under the blessing of the service concept of "Lincoln's Way", the word "exclusive" is very obvious. From the moment you enter the Lincoln 4S store, the exclusive service staff is always with you, the exclusive passage, the exclusive demand are reflected in every detail, and even the design and materials in the store allow you to fully appreciate the difference of the "luxury brand".

Even if the current car brands have begun to attach importance to service and develop "user co-creation" with their hearts, in the author's heart, Lincoln is still a unique existence. This is not only because of the benchmark image set earlier by the service concept of "Lincoln Way", but also because of the accumulation of many years of experience, they have created a set of service standards that are comprehensive to customer experience and needs. Because of this, in the domestic automobile market that pays attention to "differentiated competition", the service concept of "Lincoln's Way" is bound to help Lincoln "live better".

Master observation

Rising sales in the past two years have proved the success of Lincoln's direction choice. The sincere Lincoln Z allows the author to see Lincoln's attitude of actively embracing the "Generation Z". Lincoln Z, perhaps, will be the beginning of Lincoln's march to the front camp!