Lincoln drives forward in China

Automaker sees bright future after record 2015 sales, as Du Xiaoying finds out.

Buoyed by record sales figures in 2015, the first full year for the brand in China, American luxury carmaker Lincoln sees a bright future in the world's second-largest premium vehicle market.

The automaker sold 11,630 vehicles in the country last year, accounting for 11.5 percent of its global sales, which were the brand's best sales performance since 2006.

"China is a very important market for Lincoln," said Robert Parker, president of Lincoln China, who views the market as having great potential and opportunities.

Parker predicted that China's premium vehicle market will be the main driving force of its auto market, despite sluggish sales currently in the industry.

Statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers show that 24.59 million vehicles were sold in China in 2015, an increase of 4.68 percent year-on-year. Parker said although the market is growing more slowly than 10 years ago, it is still growing and, considering the remarkable size of the total market, it is still very attractive.

Lincoln is the first luxury automaker in China to sell more than 10,000 units within just over a year of entering the market, the company said.

"In the past 10 years, many automakers took three to five years to reach their first 10,000 sales," Parker said.

Lincoln said last year was fruitful for the brand in several of its key markets, including the United States, China, Canada and South Korea.

China sold 1,744,103 premium cars in the first 11 months of 2015, according to LMC Automotive Consulting (Shanghai).

Zeng Zhiling, managing director of LMC, predicted China would surpass the United States to become the largest premium auto market in the next few years.

Full portfolio

Lincoln, which entered the market in April 2014, offers its full SUV lineup in China - the mid-size premium utility Lincoln MKC, the medium-large premium utility Lincoln MKX and the full-size luxury SUV Lincoln Navigator, as well as its popular mid-size premium sedan, the Lincoln MKZ.

It also plans to launch a full-size Continental this year. The model is scheduled to reach the Chinese market at the end of the year, which will further round out Lincoln's product portfolio in China.

"The Continental name has long been associated with ultimate in Lincoln beauty and luxury," said Kumar Galhotra, president of Lincoln. "With the all-new model, we are focusing on creating more human, personally tailored experiences for our clients, providing what we call quiet luxury."

The Continental will be Lincoln's flagship model this year.

Once the Continental is available here, Lincoln expects to cover about 80 percent of the luxury segments in China, the company said.

The MKC is Lincoln's best-selling model in China. The success of the model, as well as the brand, is partly because of the red-hot SUV sector here.

According to the CAAM, China sold 6.22 million SUVs last year, a surge of 52.39 percent year-on-year that was much higher than all other sectors in the auto industry.

Last year, Lincoln exceeded its dealership expansion plan by having 33 Lincoln stores in China, eight more than planned. The sales performance of those stores has been strong and three of Lincoln's top 10 dealerships globally in terms of sales in 2015 are located in China.

The company said many of its dealers have already seen profits, earlier than expected. In 2016, Lincoln will continue its expansion in China, and plans to have 60 dealerships in 50 cities by the end of the year.

"We are very encouraged by the consumer response to Lincoln in China," said Parker, "Our sales growth and rapid network development are proof that consumers are looking for a new way to shop for luxury products and they are finding it with Lincoln's one-size-fits-all approach."

Apart from the extension of its dealer network, Lincoln regards customer experience as vital for the development of the brand.

In September, the company launched The Virtual Lincoln Way, an online endeavor that allows customers to tour a Lincoln store, video chat with a Lincoln host and make an appointment for an at-home test drive.

The company said its customer's profile in China is different from that in the US. In China, customers are younger, mostly aged 35 or below. Many are younger than 25.

Chinese customers are also looking for unique, personalized products. "They are fashion leaders who wouldn't dress like everyone else," said Parker. "And they wouldn't like to drive a car that you can see everywhere."

To allow more people to experience Lincoln's vehicles and to gain more customers, the company also cooperated with Didi Chuxing, formerly known as Didi Kuaidi, a popular ride-hailing app in China.

Parker said that from his experience of working in the United States, Europe and Asia, letting customers sit behind the wheel is the best kind of promotion, and a key driving force for real purchasing in the future.

The app's users can book test drives of Lincoln cars through the platform. Lincoln also teamed with Didi to offer driving services for Lincoln owners who have been drinking in January and February, the time of the Chinese New Year holiday when many people drink alcohol.

Founded in 1917 and headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, Lincoln is a luxury auto brand that has been under Ford Motor Co since 1922. It is committed to creating compelling vehicles that provide an exceptional ownership experience.

Contact the writer at duxiaoying1@chinadaily.com.cn