Text | Joey
In 1899, a young man named Henry Ford left the Edison Electrical Company and joined the automotive industry. Since then, there has been one less electrical engineer in the world and one more car giant.
But leaving does not mean that he has a friendship with the inventor Edison, in fact, as a neighbor, Ford is still paying close attention to Edison's research on batteries and hopes to apply it to his own products.
In 1914, Henry Ford brought an electric car and became one of the first electric models in the world. However, the birth of the starter motor supporting the internal combustion engine temporarily stopped the era of electric vehicles. With this stop, the time came more than a hundred years later.
A hundred years of a big cycle, a hundred years of a new starting point.
Just two days ago, luxury brand Lincoln unveiled an electric concept car named after Lincoln Star. This century-old hero seems to be "old man talking about juvenile madness", and what he wants to become more is: both years to look back on and vitality to show the future. At this moment, its goal is very clear, that is, to start with the Lincoln Star concept car, to achieve the Lincoln brand in the global automotive market, electric vehicle sales accounted for more than 50%.
This clear brand planning indicates that the Lincoln brand, which has crossed a hundred years of wind and frost, has made great strides towards the era of pure electric power. More importantly, the Lincoln Star's debut is a simultaneous appearance in the Chinese and North American markets.
Like the two-faced god Janus in Roman mythology, it has two faces, one looking back at the past and the other looking at the future. In my opinion, the release of this concept car also has two meanings:
The first is Lincoln's emphasis on the Chinese market, which has given great feedback to brands in the past few years; on the other hand, Lincoln has a clearer understanding that if there is any place in the future that is the most important market for electric vehicles in the world, it must be China.
This judgment is based on the mushrooming of many new electric vehicle brands in china's electric vehicle market, and all of them have good development prospects; based on the Chinese market environment and the chinese consumers, the high acceptance of electric intelligent vehicles; and based on the lincoln brand since 2014, the great success achieved in the Chinese market.
Came late, but came well
I still want to say that when Lincoln returned to the Chinese market, the pattern of the Chinese auto market, especially the luxury car market, was basically fixed, and the Top Three Ashkenazi had achieved mental occupation for many ordinary Chinese consumers. In addition, brands such as Jaguar Land Rover, Lexus, cadillac, which also focus on luxury positioning, also have a large number of their own fans, and have begun to gradually achieve the pace of localization through joint ventures to strive for a larger market share.
What advantage does Lincoln rely on to win a thriving life for himself in such a fierce market?
I think it was the timing that really suited it.
Lincoln did not blindly rush into the market during the period of rapid growth, but quietly observed from the side. Of course, this may cause Lincoln to lose some of the huge sales and profits brought about by the blowout period. But it also avoids decision-making mistakes that can be made because of the market's frenzied demand. And it further clarified the temperament and preferences of Chinese consumers, and understood what kind of products and services they needed.
In fact, from the beginning of his return to the Chinese market, Lincoln began to take his own steady pace. What is particularly rare is that in the impetuous market environment, Lincoln's brand strategy is a complete set of ideas, fully integrating Lincoln's whole system of advantages from products to sales to services, rather than a scattered project.
It seems to prove to the automotive circle that the brand's system investment and construction are still the most lucrative in this market, and it is still the most win-win for the entire industrial chain. The end result is:
Lincoln reshaped the image of his luxury brand in the hearts of Chinese consumers in the shortest possible time. With the continuous enrichment of the product line, so that consumers with different needs can find the most suitable Lincoln products.
In 2021, Lincoln set the brand's highest sales record since entering China — 91,621 vehicles. This record has enabled Lincoln to achieve nearly 50% year-on-year growth, and china has surpassed the North American market and become the largest single market in the world for the Lincoln brand.
Even in the first quarter of this year, when the industry was crippled by a lack of cores and the epidemic made a comeback, Lincoln still achieved a new single-quarter sales record with sales of nearly 20,000 vehicles (including 4,624 units sold in February, an increase of 34% year-on-year), achieving positive year-on-year growth.
No matter what kind of environment, the market will still reward brands that do the right thing as scheduled.
If we say, the Chinese market provides Lincoln's brand rejuvenation with a huge enough market capacity. Then Lincoln, with his own meticulous craftsmanship of products and profound insight into the market, has spelled out his own market space in the fierce market competition, won his own market share, and still has the energy to sprint further upwards and run forward.
There is no doubt that today's Lincoln is very alive in the luxury car camp.
Electrification, the time has come
Dynamism means that Lincoln has the ability to observe and grasp all possible changes in the market environment, as well as changes in consumer demand for cars. Among them, electrification is undoubtedly the most mainstream direction of change at present.
In 2021, China's annual electric vehicle sales reached 2.91 million, which has exceeded 10% of the country's total automobile sales (China's total car sales in 2021 are 26.1 million). This data accounts for more than 60% of global electric vehicle sales.
Therefore, Lincoln's involvement in the field of electric vehicles at this time is also a good time. But a good time does not mean losing your strategic determination and pace. In the era of automotive electrification and intelligence that will inevitably come, Lincoln still maintains his own pace: that is, in a silent way, constantly entering the market in small steps and running.
According to Mao Jingbo, president of Lincoln China, "Lincoln will seize the historical opportunity of electrification and change, turn the beautiful vision of smart travel in the future into reality with unique American luxury, and inject new vitality into the sustainable development of Lincoln in the Chinese market." ”
Such a concept has begun to appear in the Lincoln Z model launched by Lincoln in March this year. On the Lincoln Z, Lincoln took the lead in adopting a 12.3+27-inch through-channel panoramic screen and a Lincoln Nebula human-computer interaction system on the basis of maintaining the traditional form of energy. Now, with the release of Lincoln's first all-electric concept car, the Lincoln Star, it marks a step forward in Lincoln's form of energy.
Regarding The Lincoln Star, first of all I think we shouldn't just see it show the evolution of lincoln brand design DNA. At the same time, the focus is not just on the sense of luxury projected in its interiors and the degree of technology that is ahead of its time.
What we should pay more attention to is actually the technical nature of the electrified car of the Lincoln Star concept car. Further, it is Lincoln's efforts at the core technical level of pure electric vehicles.
On top of the Lincoln Star concept car is a pure electric scalable architecture that supports rear-drive and four-wheel drive layouts and the next-generation Lincoln Connect system, which shows that Lincoln has long been concerned and understands the mystery of pure electric vehicle manufacturing. With these mature and advanced platforms and manufacturing technologies, what can be brought about is the large-scale and rapid mass production of Lincoln electric intelligent vehicles in the future.
Under these efforts, Lincoln strives to create a truly flexible "third space" for users. Within this space, the car will become a private leisure place for customers and will also become an extension of the office scene. Whether it's relaxing or productivity, you'll find a whole new place to drive.
The automotive industry has been proposing this concept for more than a decade. However, at that time, the realization of these concepts did not have advanced technical support and mature market environment support. Just as Henry Ford tried to build electric vehicles in 1914, it is the best time to say that this is the best time to achieve it.
Of course, there's something hidden in lincoln's concept car, but I believe there's another key detail that's already being tried out in the design — smart driving technology.
According to Lincoln's plan, the concept car will become the blueprint for Lincoln's electrification products. By 2025, three new pure electric vehicles will be launched and zero-emission model sales in the global market will account for more than 50%. A fourth all-electric model will also be launched in 2026.
There is no doubt that Lincoln is not the first person to shoot every time, but as long as he shoots, he will be able to fully consider it. The pace of launching traditional energy vehicles is like this, and the comprehensive service of creating Lincoln Way is so. Today, the launch of a new electrified concept car and the official entry into the field of electric vehicles are also the same.
Based on such a grand and ambitious plan, the Lincoln Star concept car is no longer as simple as a concept car. It is also a shining "day star" that illuminates the road to the electrification of the Lincoln brand.
And for every ordinary person, including me, there is every reason to have enough expectations for lincoln, a steady and stable high-end luxury brand, the electrification road, and quietly wait for the Lincoln Star concept car, what kind of electric, intelligent future will be brought to us, belonging to Lincoln.
The vast starry sky, we are optimistic about this rising star.