Lincoln Motor, named after the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, is making this great name "shame."
In 1990, Lincoln Motors achieved a peak sales of 230,000 units worldwide, ranking first in the US luxury car brands. However, in the following 20 years, Lincoln's car sales have been declining year by year. By 2013, the global sales volume was only 81,649 units, only half of Cadillac. One-fourth of Mercedes-Benz's sales in the US luxury car sales list fell to the bottom. eighth. What is even more embarrassing is that the current Lincoln car has completely fallen, and in addition to having a place in the United States, there is almost no achievement in other countries and regions outside the United States.
As early as the 1980s, Lincoln began to enter China, the time is similar to Audi, but there is a world of difference in performance, the latter is the leader in luxury car sales, the former is not the hair on the tail of the sheep - - The lack of brand power directly led to Lincoln Motors encountering Waterloo. In 2008, Lincoln Motors had to withdraw from the Chinese market and retreat to the United States. At that time, the global economy was in a serious recession, and the Chinese economy was the only one. The other luxury car brands have stepped up their efforts to make the Chinese market a "life-saving straw."
The exit from the Chinese market completely turned Lincoln into a regional brand, and even almost sold out or disappeared forever. Lincoln's owner, Ford, has a tradition of selling luxury car brands. Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo have all used to It is a luxury car brand owned by Ford, but now it has changed hands, leaving only Cadillac and Lincoln, two local brands created by Henry Madian Leland, the master of the American automotive industry.
Returning to the Chinese market Unpopular products make the brand unsound and sales are sluggish, which is the root of Lincoln's exit from the Chinese market. The unwise decision was made by Ford CEO Mulally, who put his main energy on Ford. During his tenure, he refused to invest in Lincoln beyond the normal level, and even considered selling the brand. Therefore, Lincoln was in the long run. Shelved state.
For Lincoln Motors, it is fortunate that Mulally has been rolled out in July this year, and his successor, Mark? Mark Fields can't wait to correct its mistakes and prepares to reincarnate Lincoln. He plans to invest $5 billion in the next five years to build a brand new luxury car, produce a new Lincoln car, and realize the full renaissance of Lincoln. Hope in 2020 In the year, it increased its global sales by 2 times to 300,000 units.
As an extremely important part of this great revival plan, Lincoln Motors has to return to the Chinese market in November this year, with the opening of the Beijing Furui Lincoln Center, Shanghai Yongda Lincoln Center, Hangzhou and Cheng Lincoln Center. Car Lincoln MKZ and compact SUV model MKC, the price is quite affinity, of which the small and medium-sized Lincoln MKC SUV exclusive version of the market guide price is 339,800 yuan, Zunya version of the predecessor market guidance price is 379,800 yuan, Zunya version of the all-wheel drive The market guidance price is RMB 397,800 and the Zun Yao version market guidance price is RMB 438,800.
From the official announcement of the progress, Lincoln Motors is very ambitious for the booming Chinese luxury car market, and promises to develop 5 4S stores by the end of the year. By 2016, it will open 60 4S stores in 50 cities across the country. Although Lincoln Motors is not willing to disclose the specific figures for sales in China at the time, industry veterans estimate that Lincoln Motors will achieve 300,000 global sales in 2020, and it is possible to sell at least 100,000 vehicles in the Chinese market.
For Lincoln Motors, which once failed in the Chinese market, raising sales from zero to 100,000 in just five or six years is undoubtedly a very difficult task and has a long way to go.
Hot ass stuck on the cold bench?
In order to please Chinese consumers, Lincoln Motors, which has made a comeback, has been working hard to reduce the body and strive to show people with a new look.
When it first entered China, Lincoln Motors used the Ford channel. However, on the one hand, it is impossible for Lincoln to bring the target consumer customers. On the other hand, Lincoln Motors will be overwhelmed by Ford Motor [microblogging], and it is impossible to highlight its own advantages. Now Lincoln Motors learns lessons and independently operates its own exclusive 4S store. However, at the same time, it faces the problem of brand promotion and market cultivation. It is estimated that there is no actual effect for a long time, which tests the determination and patience of Lincoln Motor.
In terms of products, Lincoln Motors has made changes to the hometown as much as possible. The MKC and MKZ models have undergone considerable adjustments in body design, rear space and interior to cater to Chinese consumers. In terms of product prices, let's get to the end, close to the atmosphere, and adjust the price of the "President's seat" luxury car brand to a level acceptable to the Chinese affluent class and even the middle class.
In this regard, can Chinese consumers open their minds and accept them?
It is still too early to draw conclusions. But from the analysis of history and status quo, it is not difficult for us to speculate on the results through some clues.
First of all, Lincoln is only a regional luxury car brand. In addition to the United States, in other countries and regions, brand awareness and recognition are not strong. Even in the US market, which is dominated by time, location, and people, Lincoln Motors is now declining, and its sales and market share have been “double-declining†for many years. This has to worry about the overall fortune of Lincoln Motors.
Secondly, in the Chinese market, Lincoln Motors has ended in failure. Now that it is coming back, whether it will repeat the mistakes of the past is difficult to make judgments. Although Lincoln is working hard, but in China, Lincoln Motors also worked hard. When Lincoln first entered the Chinese market, the luxury car market was still a blue ocean. It is now a red sea with bloody hurricanes. In addition to the first-line brands such as Audi, BMW [microblogging], and Mercedes-Benz, the second-line Cadillac, Lexus, Volvo, Infiniti, etc. are all working hard, the speed of their products, the changes they make in the product - Localization is an important measure for making changes. Their price concessions will form a strong run on Lincoln. Why does Lincoln Motors break through?
Lincoln Motors wants to break through, in addition to the advantageous price/performance ratio, there is a key to eliminating the gap between Lincoln's positioning and the "Lincoln" in the minds of Chinese consumers. In the United States, Lincoln is the president's car. In China, the crown of the "head of state" gave the flag of the FAW. If you go to the name of the head of state, Chinese consumers are more willing to choose the red flag. Lincoln's positioning in China is very embarrassing: the price is high, and the price is high. The price is low, and it is easy for consumers to question whether it matches its distinguished status. Because in China, if consumers are willing to pay for Lincoln, it must be running. Going with its unique identity.
The Chinese market may not be the same as the consumption habits of other markets. When a new brand comes to the ground, it is first to take advantage of the price advantage to achieve a breakthrough in sales. Consumers are more likely to hold the currency. If you first cut into high-end products, form a breakthrough and radiation in the brand, and then push the low-end brand, it is easy to open the situation and get immediate results. Therefore, Chinese consumers may be more willing to buy Lincoln's higher-priced Lincoln pilots than the Lincoln City series – the main model series that Lincoln Motors has launched in the Chinese market. The choice of Lincoln Motors to launch MKZ and MKC in the Chinese market may not be a wise decision, because in the eyes of Chinese consumers, Lincoln is not a brand that sells low-end products.
New and old-fashioned Since 1939, Lincoln has been selected as the President of the United States by the White House for its outstanding performance, elegant style and unparalleled comfort. In the United States, Lincoln Motors is closely linked to the president, celebrities, and underworld.
These user characteristics are not in the pursuit of new changes, following the trend of the times, but in the security and solidity, which makes Lincoln unable to keep up with the changes in mass consumer demand, appears to be out of touch with the market.
Lincoln has targeted consumers in the new class in China. The so-called "new" is young, that is, younger; the so-called expensive is taste and identity. The taste of young people is the most individual, the most difficult to adjust, which means that it is particularly picky. Therefore, Robert Parker, president of Lincoln China, said: “Today's luxury car consumers in China need to be personalized and reflect their personal style.†This shows that the previous failure in the Chinese market has deepened Lincoln's market for China. Consumer awareness. Based on these valuable experiences, Lincoln Motors has made corresponding changes. For the new design of MKT in 2013, the only horizontal strip of the front grille is decorated with more dense strips of vertical slats, and the protective bar is changed to a three-bar pattern, which is more slender.
But overall, Lincoln Motors has not made fundamental changes to the Chinese market. The old style, backward design, and aging interior are still prominent features of Lincoln. The overall design lacks extravagance, and the materials and workmanship are not graded. Compared with compatriot Cadillac. As long as the interior is "European", high-grade, and refined, it is clear that Lincoln is slower than just a shot. Compared with other first-tier luxury car brands, it is not in a grade.
Of course, Chinese consumers are also questioning the sincerity and quality of Lincoln Motors. For example, the Lincoln Motor MKC New Car is actually based on the Ford Group Ford Kuga, which is also made by the domestic Maverick, basically it is not changing the soup. The Lincoln Motor MKZ hybrid car was recently recalled 7153 vehicles on a large scale due to transmission failure. In October of this year, the United States announced that due to the possible erosion of the fuel tank reinforcement bracket, it may cause fuel leakage, cause a fire, recall 204,000 SUVs, including the Ford Ruigai and Lincoln MKX.
Lincoln Motors has missed the golden decade of the Chinese market. As the North American market gradually fell out of favor, Lincoln Motors had to return to China to try to get rid of the current situation of over-reliance on the US market. But from the performance of Lincoln Motors in the US market and the Chinese market, it may be said that the era of Lincoln cars has passed.
Chongqing Huanyu Automobile Sales Company , https://www.nbhuanyuauto.com