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Lincoln maps out China strategy, sees learning lab for world

3K views 34 replies 19 participants last post by  joseodiaga4 
#1 ·
Lincoln maps out China strategy, sees learning lab for world
Automotive News
April 17, 2014
by Bradford Wernle


Lincoln set up a showcase called The Lincoln Space in a busy pedestrian area of central Beijing today to outline its strategy for entering the world’s largest auto market.

An initial presence of eight dealerships in seven cities this fall will grow to 20 stores by the end of the year. By the end of 2016, Ford Motor Co.’s luxury brand plans to have a network of 60 dealerships in 50 cities, operating independently of Ford-brand stores.

The strategy fulfills a plan revealed in 2012, as the storied 97-year-old U.S. brand attempts to chip away at much-bigger German rivals who rule China’s landscape for premium cars.

As in the United States, Lincoln will be banking on novel approaches to customer service to set itself apart.

“Success in China is key to our efforts to build Lincoln into a global luxury brand,” said Jim Farley, Ford’s executive vice president of global marketing, sales, service and Lincoln, in a statement.

First cities

Lincoln’s initial cities will be Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Xi’an, Guangzhou, Huangzhou and Chengdu.

When the dealerships open, they will offer just two models, both of them exported from North America: the MKZ sedan and the MKC compact crossover. The refreshed Lincoln Navigator SUV follows in 2015.

Lincoln plans to show a concept at the Beijing auto show on Easter Sunday, but has not set a production date.

Other models, possibly including a large sedan, are also planned.

China will give Lincoln added sales volume to justify investment in new products -- spending not justified by Lincoln’s dwindling U.S. sales in recent years.

Lincoln is entering a crowded and hotly contested Chinese luxury market populated by formidable competitors, particularly the German brands that hold 80 percent of the segment. Unlike Lincoln, they already operate globally.

Last year, Audi topped China's luxury market with 492,000 sales, ahead of BMW (326,444) and Mercedes-Benz (228,000).

Lincoln sales in its primary market, the United States, fell to 81,694 last year, less than half of its 1998 peak. This year’s U.S. demand is up 36 percent through March.

Full article and images at link.
 
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#2 ·
This is how Caddy dealers should look like in Europe. No excuses.
Good luck in China Lincoln. Hopefully good products will follow.
 
#8 ·
Looks good. The lighting probably won't make it to production, though. Disappointing.

Looks like a bigger MKC from the teaser, which isn't a bad thing.

I wish it were the MKS :(

This really needs to happen in the United States as well. Since Mercury died, volume was lost and a lot of the Lincoln stores were folded into Ford franchises. Jim Farley was one of the folks behind Lexus' success in North America and he knew from the onset that (with few exceptions) Lexus stores needed to be separate and apart from Toyota franchises or people would think of them only as tarted up Toyotas.

As Lincoln gains more and more product to stand alone, I hope the will re-implement such a plan so that Lincoln vehicles aren't viewed as Fords with chrome.


I wonder what this could possibly be? A c-segment product to sell in world markets perhaps? Or a flagship model to replace the MKS?


That could possibly be it. Although, the current MKX is an attractive package. Seeing this video, I wonder if it couldn't also potentially be a replacement for the MKT?

Probably won't see an MKT replacement til there's a new Explorer.
 
#7 · (Edited)
By the end of 2016, Ford Motor Co.’s luxury brand plans to have a network of 60 dealerships in 50 cities, operating independently of Ford-brand stores.
This really needs to happen in the United States as well. Since Mercury died, volume was lost and a lot of the Lincoln stores were folded into Ford franchises. Jim Farley was one of the folks behind Lexus' success in North America and he knew from the onset that (with few exceptions) Lexus stores needed to be separate and apart from Toyota franchises or people would think of them only as tarted up Toyotas.

As Lincoln gains more and more product to stand alone, I hope the will re-implement such a plan so that Lincoln vehicles aren't viewed as Fords with chrome.

Lincoln plans to show a concept at the Beijing auto show on Easter Sunday, but has not set a production date.
I wonder what this could possibly be? A c-segment product to sell in world markets perhaps? Or a flagship model to replace the MKS?
That could possibly be it. Although, the current MKX is an attractive package. Seeing this video, I wonder if it couldn't also potentially be a replacement for the MKT?

 
#9 ·
I sincerely hope there is some editorial freedom from AutoNews in this article, as I hope it is obvious to FoMoCo China is actually behind the world in terms of how their market works, not ahead of it. China is trying to condense a hybrid of European and American markets in the latter half of the 20th century in one decade, but the patterns there are still a throwback to what stopped working in the "West", and will probably never catch on elsewhere.

The Chinese car market is a bubble, and it will burst at some point as consumer patterns will move as Chinese economy matures and stops growing at seemingly endless breakneck pace, while development will begin to emanate in a more subtle, fragmented patterns. People will still want a nice, comfortable life, but the obvious trade-offs will become apparent. Some of the guys who absolutely need to have a new shining large car will need to double-take if they want to sacrifice so much for it. In China's larger cities it is starting to get as hard and costly to own and drive a car as it is e.g. in Singapore or Denmark. China also gave up on trying to take the automotive industry by storm after their own automakers failed to make a dent in global markets and lost market share even at home, which the latest liberalisation decisions show.

For now, China is where you go to use all your experience from the 20th century, not to explore the future. Europe and, to some extent, North America is where innovation happens, with some interesting developments in less prominently covered markets, such as South America or India. China is where you have to get in, earn a good byck quick and get a good position to observe where their large market will be heading. You learn how to be futureproof elsewhere.
 
#17 · (Edited)
Good to see Lincoln get some money spent on them, have been too long a Ford forgotten, overlooked Cinderella poorly treated brand at Ford left to long to rot, whilst the two ugly sisters Jaguar/Land Rover money pits had billions lavished on them every year by Ford with huge massive losses handed back in return, whilst Lincoln had to keep flogging old Town cars forever with nothing ever getting invested spent on them.

Great news well done Ford, l hope Lincoln can kick BMW & Mercedes Benz butt nothing would please me more, but they are going to need something RWD to do it with.
 
#26 · (Edited)
This has been one of Mulally's goals since arriving at Ford and removing an ineffective VP overseeing China,
frustrating because he had to fix North America and Europe before Ford could be effective in China.

Last year, Ford's production and sales in China took a huge jump as it finally started roll out more plants there.
So you can see the plan is evolving - expand Ford production and then add those Lincoln products as high series
value adding production. China looms as Lincoln's salvation, a market that's open to a premium buyer experience
and products that reflect that image.

This is pretty much a lay up for Lincoln provided that Ford does the roll out of product correctly and Lincoln dealer experience meets the needs and desires of its Chinese buyers. It's also a great opportunity for Lincoln to have the Chinese market fund development of more compact luxury vehicles, I'm thinking Focus and Mustang would be great feedstock for compact sedan and Coupe.

In terms of entry price and appointments, Lincoln needs to walk the line between high series Buicks and entry-mid series Cadillacs, do that and a whole new market opens up.
 
#32 ·


Relatively old picture, I guess, but it's apparently only from last May.

It doesn't look any different, except now it sells Lincoln, too. Saw a Navigator, three MKZs, a Fusion, a Mustang, an Edge, a Fiesta... all in the same showroom!

Classy place, that Lincoln dealer. They have a play area for your kids.

As a frequent MKX owner, I'm pretty excited to see the new one. Sadly, I think this is going to lag the Edge debut by quite a chunk of time. The 2015 Edge will likely be in showrooms in November, the MKX probably much later. Employees at Ford were told that there will be no 2015 MKX and they'll skip to 2016. So I'm guessing a good 6-12 month lag between new Edge and new MKX production, not too dissimilar to 2013 Fusion and MKZ. This can't be a sustainable way of doing business btw, ending production of your Lincoln for months because you share a line with the Ford? I imagine the MKC debut is lined up to absorb these customers...although not this one!

Anyway, it does look like a beefier MKC from these teasers, but without the clamshell hatch...this is where I think they will differ significantly...no more wrap-around taillight (so I heard, which is why Edge got it).
MKX will probably come out around when the new SRX comes out. I suspect the MKX will slap it around, if the MKC is any indication of what they'll bring to the table.
 
#28 · (Edited)
As a frequent MKX owner, I'm pretty excited to see the new one. Sadly, I think this is going to lag the Edge debut by quite a chunk of time. The 2015 Edge will likely be in showrooms in November, the MKX probably much later. Employees at Ford were told that there will be no 2015 MKX and they'll skip to 2016. So I'm guessing a good 6-12 month lag between new Edge and new MKX production, not too dissimilar to 2013 Fusion and MKZ. This can't be a sustainable way of doing business btw, ending production of your Lincoln for months because you share a line with the Ford? I imagine the MKC debut is lined up to absorb these customers...although not this one!

Anyway, it does look like a beefier MKC from these teasers, but without the clamshell hatch...this is where I think they will differ significantly...no more wrap-around taillight (so I heard, which is why Edge got it).
 
#29 ·
Yeah I'm not sure why they did that, especially with what should be a bread-and-butter crossover. The next MKX has the competitive SRX to deal with and I think we're close to the debut of the next RX, the king of this sub-segment in sales. And the next MKT (if it keeps that name) should probably be based on the Explorer. A three-row crossover to compete with the Q7 or GL-Class is fundamental for Lincoln's sales and profitability. Granted, I'm clamoring for a new RWD platform on which to base a number of new Lincolns such as these, but regardless of the platform Lincoln needs this and at least one halo to drive brand appeal.
 
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