THE LINCOLN WAY Archives — Auto Trends Magazine

Smart Car Technologies

Ford’s investment will provide funds to push for increased smartphone integration, vehicle autonomy and other so-called “smart car” technologies designed specifically for the Chinese market. In particular, the automaker is eyeing smartphone features that give drivers more control over their car systems by means of mobile chat. Ford’s Sync 3 system will play an important role in that endeavor when it is released next year, building on its current telematics initiative.

Ford Chief Executive Mark Fields disclosed the investment at a corporate event in Shanghai. He also declared that Ford will advance vehicle electrification in China by introducing its plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, the C-MAX Energi, as well as its Mondeo conventional hybrid. The Mondeo is sold as the Ford Fusion in North America.

“At Ford Motor Company, our goal is to make people’s lives better,” said Mark Fields, president and CEO, Ford Motor Company. “As both a product and mobility company, we are driving innovation in every part of our business. The result here in China will be a positive change for consumers in the way people move, the way they drive, the cities they live in and the communities in which we operate.

Pollution and Traffic Woes

The Chinese government has been pushing for vehicle electrification in a bid to reduce pollution, but the process has been slow due to a deficient infrastructure. Nevertheless, car manufacturers are responding to the push by introducing hybrids and pure electric vehicles.

Another problem besetting China is traffic. Despite just one in 10 consumers owning a vehicle (compared to eight in 10 in the US), the country’s traffic problems are enormous. Indeed, a highly publicized 50-lane traffic jam earlier this month following a week-long National Day break showed just how out of control the problem is with tens of thousands of drivers affected. Although certainly not a manufacturer problem, traffic woes can adversely affect consumer purchase decisions.

Passenger and Commercial Vehicle Partners

Ford sells its cars through two partners — Changan Ford Automobile (passenger vehicles) and Jiangling Motors Corporation (commercial vehicles). In August, the last month sales figured were published, the two partners combined to sell 79,608 vehicles, down three percent compared to the same time last year.

Ford’s China sales are down one percent year to date through August on just over 700,000 vehicles sold. In comparison, Ford’s US sales were up three percent through August on 1.685 million units sold.

Lincoln in China

Besides the Ford brand, the automaker has been touting its Lincoln marque in China. Lincoln got started in China only last year, introducing its compact MKC crossover and the entry-level MKZ sedan to consumers first. Two additional products, the midsize MKX crossover and the full-size Navigator SUV, are on tap for release this fall.

Although Lincoln’s Chinese footprint is small, it is making use of the Internet to reach customers through its virtual “The Lincoln Way” website, what tells the brand’s story to potential customers, especially for those without current access to Lincoln stores. This effort is designed to help educate customers as well as to enable dealers to build their customer base.

Photo copyright the Ford Motor Company.

Is China Lincoln’s promise land?

Alan Mulally, president and CEO, Ford Motor Company; Jim Farley, executive vice president, Ford global marketing, sales and service and Lincoln; and Robert Parker, president, Lincoln China at the April 2014 Lincoln roll out in China.

The Lincoln Motor Company is back. Well, at least the Lincoln brand has some life left in it. US sales are up by 35.9 percent through March 2014, well ahead of the industry average. Sales are still way below the hundreds of thousands of models that Ford’s luxury brand used to sell yearly about two decades ago, but its outlook is considerably brighter than in 2011 when Mercury was killed off.

On to China

Credit the all-new 2014 MKZ sedan with bolstering Lincoln sales and an upcoming MKC crossover with giving Lincoln dealers hope that additional customer interest is forthcoming. What also may help Lincoln’s visibility is its introduction in China, the world’s largest car buying market.

China is the auto industry’s lifeline, a market that quickly emerged as the global leader when US car sales tanked in 2009. Impervious to the recession, Chinese consumers snapped up nearly everything available to them, pushing year-over-year sales up by 30 percent or more for several years.

Though the Chinese market has since slowed down, analysts still expect that it may soon support 30 million cars sold annually, far above the 17+ million record for the US market. Ford, like all the other automotive players in China, wants to increase sales. Until now, only the Ford brand has been sold there — Lincoln sales start later this year.

The Lincoln Space

Leading up to the Beijing auto show, Ford formally introduced Lincoln, promising to bring a “new breed” of global vehicles to China. The Lincoln MKZ and MKC will kick things off this fall with three more models added by 2016. Those three include a midsize luxury SUV (MKX), a midsize luxury sedan, and the Lincoln Navigator — its full-size, body-on-frame SUV.

For China, Ford developed a unique customer education experience dubbed The Lincoln Space to introduce the brand to the Chinese. Ford describes it as a “bespoke environment” in a bid to convey a “personalized luxury vehicle ownership experience” for Lincoln shoppers. Following its Beijing appearance, the exhibit will travel to other cities including Shanghai and Chengdu.

Like other luxury brands, Lincoln has been attempting to upgrade the customer buying experience. With a new network for China that effort is now underway, what could lead to further improvements stateside.

The Lincoln Way

“The Lincoln Way” is an initiative whereby Chinese car shoppers are provided with a tea room, a personalization studio, and personalized technologies to help them choose and build their Lincolns.

“The Lincoln Way captures how Lincoln sells and services its vehicles and how Lincoln customers experience the brand,” said Jim Farley, executive vice president, Ford global marketing, sales and service and Lincoln. “It completely shifts luxury automotive ownership from a sales and service transaction model to an experience model. It was designed in China based on the unmet expectations of luxury customers here, and it will launch here first.”

Ford says that Chinese customers are looking at luxury cars as a way to express their personality. No longer content with buying such vehicles to demonstrate their wealth, the automaker believes that Chinese consumers want to develop a personal relationship with their brands.

Bringing Forth Innovation

The automaker also says that the Chinese market allows the company to innovate, by trying out new methods to reach their customers. The company believes that China ultimately holds the key to Lincoln’s success and assumes that it will one day become its largest market. If so, then China will likely account for more than 160,000 units sold — the sales number Auto Trends has forecast for the brand stateside come 2016 — once the Lincoln MKC has been established.

Given up for dead by many following Mercury’s demise, Lincoln may once again find its place among the luxury brands. It won’t have the products of a Cadillac nor the cachet of a BMW or Mercedes-Benz, but it may provide a match for Acura and deliver customer service not unlike Rolls-Royce.

Additional Lincoln Articles

Redemption: Lincoln MKZ is a Hit

Chicago Auto Show Debut: 2015 Lincoln Navigator

2015 Lincoln MKC Unveiled, Set for Summer 2014 Release

Photo courtesy of Lincoln Motor Company.

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THE LINCOLN WAY

Ford Designates $1.8 Billion for China