For enterprises, after a hundred years of prosperity, it can basically be called a myth of the times.
China's automotive industry is in a major change that has not been seen in a century, as a luxury car brand with a century-long history, Lincoln is always aware of the rhythm of the times. Under the wave of electrification, Lincoln continues to write a new century of legends, and the first pure electric concept car, the Lincoln Star, has made its global debut, thus announcing Lincoln's official move towards the era of electrification.
Looking back at Lincoln's century-old history, it has led many industry innovations and created a number of classic models. However, it never blindly chases hot spots, nor does it follow the tide in the fiercely competitive market, unique but frequently "out of the circle", has repeatedly become the object of much attention in the luxury car market, and has trained the "hot search physique".
Standing at a new starting point, Lincoln is full of confidence in the future of electrification, intelligence and digital transformation, and the global debut of the pure electric concept car Lincoln Star has once again aroused widespread concern in the industry.
At a time when the auto market is weak and the aftermath of the epidemic has not dissipated, Lincoln has chosen a more challenging but more meaningful path in China. In the view of Mao Jingbo, president of Lincoln China, it is more important to find a path that suits you than to blindly try new things. "Rome was not built in a day, the achievements of any enterprise are not a day's achievements, the market test is the enterprise's lasting innovation ability and long-term control of market opportunities."
Mao Jingbo, President of Lincoln China
01 Rush to the hot search to see how the century-old brand moves into the future
On the occasion of the brand's 100th anniversary, Lincoln opened a new chapter in electrification.
As an important step for Lincoln towards the new century, the First Pure Electric Concept Car, the Lincoln Star, leads the design direction of Lincoln's future electrification product lineup, showing the Lincoln brand's unlimited imagination of the intelligent connection and electrification product lineup.
With The Lincoln Star, customers can feel the new experience created by its unparalleled "inner state" whether they are driving or resting, which is the essence of this concept car.
In Lincoln Star, we see the evolutionary direction of Lincoln's brand design DNA, rich in connected technologies and intelligent solutions.
In order to vividly interpret the all-round evolution of Lincoln's product design language, Lincoln Star's body contour is more fluid and dynamic, integrating the four dimensions of "natural beauty", "human nature", "soaring wings" and "inner realm" of Lincoln brand design DNA. Lincoln Star interprets the design language of Lincoln's future products through a new design from the inside out.
Thanks to the pure electric scalable architecture that supports the rear-drive and four-wheel drive layouts, the Lincoln electric model represented by the Lincoln Star will no longer be bound by the internal combustion engine, gearbox and fuel system of traditional fuel vehicles, and will become the "third space" for customers to enjoy life. This all-electric, scalable architecture allows engineers and designers to bring the ultimate imagination of the interior space experience to life, presenting customers with a unique Lincoln brand product experience.
With the new Lincoln Connect system, the functionality of the "Digital Assistant" has also been taken to a whole new level, which not only enables vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure connectivity, but also has the next generation of leading intelligent driver assistance features such as Help Me See and Park for Me functions.
As an important part of Lincoln brand American luxury, the sense of ceremony has also been taken to a whole new level on the Lincoln Star concept bodywork. The three rejuvenating and comfortable modes will be coordinated with the Lincoln Embrace welcome sensor system to control the sound, fragrance and atmosphere lights of the entire cockpit, coupled with the high-definition animation and symphonic melody of the screen, allowing users to immerse themselves in the digital "inner realm" and become the ideal "third space" for customers.
With the arrival of Lincoln Star, Lincoln's electrification strategy has been unfolding. By 2025, Lincoln plans to launch three pure electric models to achieve the goal of more than 50% of the global market's pure electric vehicle sales, which also makes the industry more looking forward to Lincoln's electrification future and a series of "big moves" this year.
02Why are we so looking forward to Lincoln's "rising star"?
Faced with the severe challenges of repeated epidemics and chip shortages, the sales of many luxury brands declined in the first quarter of this year. According to the data, in the first quarter of this year, luxury car sales reached 861,000 units, down 10.2% year-on-year.
In such a big environment, Lincoln China bucked the trend and set a record sales volume of 19471 vehicles in the first quarter, which can be described as a "high-energy start". Following a 48.3% year-on-year increase in the domestic market in 2021, Lincoln set another new milestone.
From Lincoln Adventurers and Lincoln Aviators to Lincoln Navigators to the new Lincoln Z, Lincoln has now formed a new domestic product matrix covering the compact, mid-size, large luxury SUV and mid-size sedan markets.
Among them, Lincoln's first domestic model Adventurer sold a total of 10,915 vehicles in the first quarter of 2022, becoming the quarterly sales champion of Lincoln's single model; the new generation of Medium-sized American luxury SUV Lincoln Voyager sold 5105 units, becoming an indispensable backbone in Lincoln's product lineup; the new Lincoln Aviator of large American luxury SUV performed steadily, with a total of 2216 units sold in the first quarter.
After Lincoln's "Three Musketeers" gained a firm foothold, Lincoln once again expanded into new areas and launched the first Chinese "smart" car tailored for Young Chinese people - the new Lincoln Z. Naming the Z is both a nod to Lincoln's classic sedan named Zephyr in the 1930s and an emotional connection to China's younger generation of customers.
Lincoln Z also lived up to expectations, listing on the "hot search", as of the end of March cumulative orders exceeded 5600 vehicles.
From the "Three Musketeers" of the SUV camp to the Lincoln Z in the luxury car market, Lincoln's localization growth rate is gradually accelerating, with another record high of first-quarter sales, a series of achievements and actions to Lincoln covered with a "hot search halo". As we enter electrification, the arrival of the Lincoln Star should have become the focus of market attention.
Lincoln is named after the "star", Lincoln Star is like a star, leading the process of the future electrification era of the Lincoln brand, perfectly interpreting Lincoln's accumulation and calmness after a hundred years of history.
03 New century and new journey, in the era of electrification, more understanding of Chinese car owners
Behind Lincoln's repeated screen hot searches is to let users perceive the real Lincoln.
Lincoln, who has been in the century-old luxury club, knows the "no break, no standing" way.
Entering the era of electrification, Lincoln knew that innovation at the product level alone was not enough to capture the favor of young people. Under the premise of adhering to the classics, Lincoln communicates in a way that is acceptable to young people and conveys brand value.
In terms of customer operations, Lincoln has created a "social tribe" dedicated to young people , the Club Z community , through rich activities and fresh information, to attract young people to actively participate, encourage real-time sharing and content co-creation.
Since its launch in November last year, Club Z has more than 50,000 registered users, with a monthly activity rate of nearly 70%. Users can log on to the Lincoln e-commerce platform, in the exclusive Channel Z activity area, and the manufacturer for direct one-click interaction, in addition to 360-degree panoramic viewing, but also online booking.
Through digital marketing and fan incubation, Lincoln gradually captured the favor of young people.
At the same time, "Lincoln's Way 2.0" opens up online and offline contacts, realizes the experience journey covering the whole life cycle of car purchase and use, refreshes the new height of "American luxury", and makes "luxury has its own way" truly deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
Lincoln has accelerated the modernization of the network layout, innovated to create a new retail model that subverts the industry's tradition, and has 7 new Lincoln Way Experience Centers put into operation. Different from the function and design of traditional car 4S stores, the Lincoln Way Experience Center with the design concept of "American Luxury Club" creates a flexible and diverse social space of American luxury, vitality and ease for customers, redefines the new retail experience, and creates a "trend vane" of architecture, experience and social networking. Up to now, Lincoln's dealer network in China has reached 153 in 95 cities.
Product strength and marketing power with the times, coupled with a unique customer experience, is an important factor for Lincoln to catch up, but also achieved Lincoln's "hot search physique".
In the era of electrification, Lincoln also insists on doing the right thing, every step is solid, while reflecting the century-old brand history, it also highlights the courage of youthful reform, and as always, creates pure American luxury products and experiences for car owners.