Lincoln lures Chinese customers

From left: President of Lincoln China Robert Parker, Chinese actor Hu Jun and Anderson Liu, general manager of consumer and retail experience at Lincoln China, attend the launch ceremony of the full-size luxury SUV Navigator at the ongoing Guangzhou auto show. Photos Provided to China Daily

Innovative and individual customer experience fits with luxury marque, Li Fusheng reports.

American luxury carmaker Lincoln believes a new way of purchasing and owning a car will matter more in China as customers grow more and more discerning.

"People were buying everything brought here but this continues to diminish ... they are not going to put up with an inferior ownership experience," said Robert Parker, president of Lincoln China.

"They are now difficult about products and they should be. Our focus is to deliver a new type of ownership experience to Chinese luxury customers that reflects their individuality and personal needs."

Since its launch last year, Lincoln has been establishing itself with The Lincoln Way as an innovative new model of car purchase and ownership tailored for the Chinese market.

As China is forecast to surpass the United States and become the world's largest luxury car market worldwide in 2016, Parker said he believes the brand's innovative hospitality approach and world-class products will win over more Chinese customers.

Lincoln now has four products available in the Chinese market. It introduced its midsize sedan MKZ and medium-sized utility MKC last year.

The medium-large sized SUV Lincoln MKX hit the market in October and the full-size SUV Navigator was unveiled at the ongoing Guangzhou auto show.

Both the MKX and the Navigator are SUVs as the segment has been booming in China despite the slowdown of the overall auto market.

Statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers show that China's SUV sales from January to October surged 48.4 percent year-on-year.

"We knew what our customers wanted," Parker said. The medium-large sized SUV segment alone accounts for 14 percent of the luxury car market and that ratio would grow to 18 percent in the next two years, he said.

The Navigator is believed to further strengthen Lincoln's position in the SUV segment.

Parker said the model has retained some of the most loyal following in the segment for more than a decade.

"This iconic model will continue to set the standard for versatility, style, comfort and prestige."

Parker said Lincoln would continue to enrich its lineup in 2016 with the addition of the Lincoln Continental.

It is widely known in China that many celebrities were owners of the Continental, including Elvis Presley and Clark Gable. It was even the choice of some US presidents, including John F. Kennedy.

The brand's expanding network of dealers around China is supporting its development.

Lincoln now has 23 dealerships and plans to have at least 25 across the country by the end of this year.

"It is a great team and we have created a family atmosphere," said Parker.

He said things are going even better than his expectations as some investors came back wishing to open more dealerships.

The carmaker said the number of dealerships would rise to 60 by the end of 2016.

Lincoln is complementing its sales network with The Virtual Lincoln Way, an online move to deliver Chinese customers a personalized ownership experience.

The second phase of The Virtual Lincoln Way was unveiled at the Guangzhou auto show, which enables customers to have real-time interactions with Lincoln's representatives through China's popular messaging app and social media platform, WeChat.

When fully implemented, the initiative will allow customers to manage everything from touring a Lincoln dealership to taking possession of their new Lincoln vehicle online, according to the carmaker.

Lincoln has joined with popular car-hailing app Didi, through which people can book test-drives of Lincoln cars.

Parker said those who have test-driven Lincoln cars are far more likely to make a purchase as they know they will have a different customer experience at the brand.

"The single most important task for us in 2016, 2017, 2018 and beyond is to deliver a level of customer service that separates us from the pack.

"What distinguishes us is how we deliver the products, through engineering, through retail experience. That makes the difference."

Parker believes those differences will make Lincoln a top luxury brand in China. Though it may take some time, he said Lincoln has the patience to catch up and even surpass those brands that have been in the Chinese market from five to 20 years.

"We are here for the long term. And that is going to matter."

Contact the writer at lifusheng@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 11/23/2015 page12)