The luxury car market is another hardcore game breaker. Under the background of the "lack of core" and repeated epidemics in the global automotive industry, Lincoln still achieved a contrarian upward trend, continuously refreshed new sales records, and the "Lincoln phenomenon" widely respected by the industry successfully continued.
In 2021, Lincoln's sales in China exceeded 90,000 for the first time, reaching 91,621 units, up 48% year-on-year, becoming the fastest growing luxury car brand. At the same time, this figure also surpassed the US market for the first time, making China the largest single market for the Lincoln brand in the world.
"Every step of Lincoln's growth has benefited from our insistence on doing the right thing. I don't think Lincoln did anything earth-shattering or did a 'miracle'. In this era of change, it is not easy not to be arrogant. Lincoln can come step by step, I think it is 'integrity innovation', with Lincoln's 'four modernizations' innovation to embrace the future. Mao Jingbo, president of Lincoln China, said.
Intelligence and electrification are the irreversible trends in the development of automobiles at present. Under this trend, the fierce competition of luxury brands is also intensifying, and the pace of new product launches and product competitiveness of major brands are particularly important. Lincoln seized this opportunity and quickly implemented the localization process.
In just two years, the domestic SUV "Three Musketeers" adventurers, navigators, and aviators have successfully listed, and sales have increased steadily, and the "Three Musketeers" contributed 90% of Lincoln's sales, with cumulative sales of more than 82,000 vehicles in 2021. Among them, the annual sales of adventurers exceeded 50,000 for the first time, an increase of 57% year-on-year, becoming a well-deserved "explosive" model in the market segment.
Lincoln's level of intelligence was also outstanding enough. As Lincoln's first masterpiece towards the "new century", the new Lincoln Z is equipped with some functional configurations that are proud of the same level. The Lincoln Nebulas human-computer interface brings interconnection between screens; the fourth generation of Lincoln SYNC+ Intelligent Travel Interconnection System, which has more abundant in-vehicle Internet functions and localization applications; and the C0-Pilot 360TM2.0 intelligent driving assistance system, which can realize L2+ level intelligent assisted driving. Excellent product power helps Lincoln to expand its territory in the Chinese market, achieve "Chinese speed" in product renewal, and promote the brand to achieve continuous success with solid Chinese "intelligent" manufacturing quality.
It is not uncommon for luxury brands to exchange preferential prices for sales, and Lincoln has no price advantage in the same level, but it still cannot resist the enthusiasm of consumers to buy it, which can only show that consumers have a high degree of recognition of Lincoln's brand value and product strength.
In order to repay this trust of consumers, Lincoln is also constantly improving its services.
In response to the user's concerns about vehicle value preservation, on June 1, 2021, Lincoln's officially certified used car business took the lead in opening service pilots in five cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Chengdu, and the business is gradually radiating to all authorized dealers in Lincoln China, thus forming a closed-loop service from car purchase to car sale.
Buying luxury brands is not only for the product, but also for the experience. In September 2021, the first Lincoln Way Experience Center was put into operation, marking another milestone in Lincoln Way 2.0 innovation and representing Lincoln's official entry into the "New Retail 2.0" era. Different from the previous Lincoln 4S store, lincoln way experience center is divided into nine areas: digital brand wall, star car exhibition car, social restaurant bar, craftsman studio, Lincoln life, high-tech interactive area, owner space, private guest lounge and guest rest area, and can provide online and offline customer experience services, the purest American luxury experience, vivid and rich integration of digital interconnection, diversified and ecological customer co-creation experience space.
From products to services, Lincoln has shown an attitude of sincerity, and such a brand should be recognized by the market.
In addition to continuously launching new products in the Chinese market, Lincoln continues to challenge the traditional in its marketing methods and has its own faction in the luxury car market. At the online launch of the new Lincoln Z, Lincoln began with a nearly 20-minute feature film, telling the story of the young group of Generation Z chasing emotional resonance, and every time Lincoln Z and Tim (B station top 100 UP masters, the video is known for excellent picture quality, nearly 5 million fans), the emergence of the bullet screen can cause active interaction of the bullet screen.
Ms. Mao Jingbo, President of Lincoln China, said: "The new Lincoln Z is for young customer groups, it perfectly interprets the American luxury design DNA, has super high value, breakthrough in imagination of intelligent technology and full sense of ceremony, condenses global wisdom, and has the 'trump card plus' of China's 'wisdom' hard core strength, tailor-made for young Chinese groups, to meet all expectations of Dream Car." Arguably, for a brand celebrating its 100th anniversary, Lincoln made a bold, successful attempt in marketing.
In fact, this is not the first time Lincoln electrocuted Station B, at the end of last year, Lincoln became the official partner of Station B New Year's Eve Party, the peak number of online people at this New Year's Eve Party exceeded 309 million, and even exceeded the 2020 Spring Festival Gala.
The dual-model design of the new Lincoln Z also echoes the theme of the "Parallel Time and Space" evening, and the audience can choose their favorite program according to their needs. This curious, satisfying experience makes the new Lincoln Z hot search and taste the sweetness.
Traditional luxury car brands and two-dimensional video platforms, two seemingly unrelated things are actually inextricably linked. The user genes of Station B are closely related to the underlying connotation of Lincoln Z, and not superstitious traffic stars are piled up and seeking differentiation are the typical characteristics of this group of users.
Through the positioning of youth, the new Lincoln Z has changed the stereotypical routine of traditional car companies to "stuff information into your brain", choose to deeply understand the preferences of young people and participate in them, play with young people, find out the underlying logic of Generation Z consumption, and invisibly pass brand information to the target audience, with half the effort.
As Chen Anning, president and CEO of Ford China, said: "Lincoln Z, like the current young Chinese group, has no limits on the future and is beyond imagination. ”
With the release of the new Lincoln Z, we can clearly perceive that Lincoln is making great strides towards a youthful and athletic direction. This is most evident in terms of design, with the new Lincoln Z pinching the preferences of young users and incorporating a large number of elegant and sporty elements, thus exuding the high-end temperament that a luxury car should have. The 2.0T high-power engine, the riding space comparable to that of medium and large cars, and the 12.3-inch + 27-inch through-channel panoramic screen are equipped with the exclusive consumer demand of the Chinese market. Apparently, Lincoln was making friends with young people.
In addition, the "Lincoln Way" has entered the 2.0 era, accelerating digital transformation at the same time, Lincoln is also increasing the network modernization layout, opening up online and offline, bringing customers an immersive new way to open; focusing on digital marketing and fan incubation, creating an exclusive Club Z community, building a "social tribe" for young people, encouraging real-time sharing and content co-creation, and so far more than 40,000 registered users.
In recent years, the revolution of automobile intelligence has intensified, while the transformation of traditional luxury brands has been very slow. However, Lincoln took the lead in insight into the changes in China's car market, in Lincoln's view, today's young generation in China is not only a "visual faction" advocating appearance, but also an "emotional faction" that dares to express, and has the courage to create every precious emotional experience. That's why we see a newer design, smarter car systems, and a more exclusive luxury experience on the all-new Lincoln Z. It is believed that with the new Lincoln Z as a new starting point, Lincoln will usher in faster development in China and continue to write the legend of "new century"!