China's auto market is undergoing a transformation that is far deeper and broader than expected.
In 2023, the first-class war in the auto market will become more and more intense, the involution of car companies has become white-hot, and the market share of fuel vehicles will continue to be eroded by new energy vehicles. Price reduction is becoming a forced choice, and after a whole year of passive fighting, companies have become a little powerless.
After the initial sales stimulus, the war not only exploited profits, but also did not bring lasting satisfaction to consumers. At the moment when there is more and more involution, if you want to break through, you can only fight with value.
As the first car from the United States, after entering the Chinese market in 2014, Lincoln has always adhered to a different American luxury. In 2023, in the fierce environmental competition, Lincoln has always insisted on not being kidnapped by sales, refusing to exchange price for volume, and fully tapping the value of products and services, starting a value war.
At the brand level, Lincoln has established its brand value, maintained the profitability of dealers, and continuously consolidated Lincoln's market positionAt the product level, Lincoln brings a number of unique standard equipment in the same class and leading ultra-high luxury configurations to provide users with a first-value car experience that exceeds expectationsAt the service level, Lincoln pursues the "Lincoln Way" service concept to provide customers with a full-journey luxury value experience from car purchase to car use.
With customers as the core and always putting the interests of customers first, Lincoln has comprehensively improved its competitiveness in the industry, enhanced the popularity and recognition of customers, and built its own brand moat while further expanding its market share.
By the end of 2023, Lincoln will harvest its 500,000th Chinese car owner in China, which is an important result of the brand's continued commitment to the Chinese market.
Lincoln's leap from 0 to 500,000 units is behind the 500,000 Chinese users' love for Lincoln's American-style luxury cars, the recognition of brand values and the recognition of excellent user experience, all of which are the fruits of Lincoln's accumulation in China. Ms. Zhu Meijun, President of Lincoln China, said. "Next year, Lincoln will bring more American luxury surprises to the market and users, and set sail with the spirit of piloting and start a new journey for the 10th anniversary of entering China!”
In the Chinese market, Lincoln did not come early, but it developed fast enough.
In 2014, Lincoln officially entered the Chinese market, and started the steady development of the brand in China with excellent pure American luxury products and the "Lincoln Way" customer experience, which is known as the industry benchmark. In the following two years, Lincoln successively launched the Lincoln MKX, a mid-to-large luxury SUV, the Lincoln Navigator, a full-size luxury flagship SUV, and the Lincoln Continental, a mid-to-large luxury sedan, bringing more meta-American luxury options to Chinese customers.
In December 2017, Lincoln China reached the milestone of 100,000 car owners, becoming the first luxury automaker in China to achieve such a feat in three years, creating the industry-acclaimed "Lincoln Speed".
In 2020, Lincoln successfully opened the first year of domestic production, and completed the commitment of "three new domestic cars launched in three years" ahead of schedule within two years.
On the occasion of the brand's centennial renewal, Lincoln launched two blockbuster models, the new Lincoln Navigator and the new Lincoln Adventurer, in April this year, which have become the cornerstone of the brand's sales. In August, Lincoln also launched a new generation of Lincoln Navigator Hybrid, taking a solid step towards the new energy era.
Over the course of the year, Lincoln has not only stabilized its market share, but its dealer return on sales (ROS) has also been higher than the industry average, and its gross profit margin (GP2) with rebates is the only positive value among many luxury brands.
As of September, most of Lincoln's dealerships are profitable, accounting for 65%, which also shows that in such fierce competition, Lincoln has always adhered to the "value marketing" has been effective, which not only maintains the profitability of dealers, but also protects the healthy development of the brand. In addition, the Lincoln GP2 is the only luxury car brand with a positive value, which means that Lincoln is profitable for every new car sold. Not only that, but the Lincoln Inventory Depth is only 10, ranking second in the luxury market, second only to Lexus. This series of data fully proves that Lincoln has neither fought a first-class war, nor passed on inventory pressure to dealers.
For a long time, the value retention rate is one of the important indicators to measure the comprehensive strength of the brand's product power, recognition, reputation and so on. According to the overall data performance in 2022, the Lincoln brand's first-year vehicle age retention rate is better than that of major second-tier luxury brands, ranking fifth. Among them, in the corresponding class of each model, the Adventurer ranked second, the Navigator ranked third, and the Navigator and Aviator ranked fourth. The three-year vehicle retention rate still leads the major second-tier luxury brands, ranking sixth.
No matter which indicator you look at, after about 10 years in China, Lincoln is healthy and stable.
In the view of Philip Kotler, the father of modern marketing, value marketing is a strategic choice based on the customer's perceived value. Customer perceived value refers to the customer's perceived benefit to the product or service minus the cost paid. Therefore, companies should increase customer satisfaction and loyalty by creating unique value that exceeds customer expectations.
In August 2023, Lincoln's discount rate was 115%, which is better than many luxury car brands such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi. In the case of new energy vehicles greatly encroaching on market share, compared with the same period last year, Lincoln's discount rate decreased by only 04 percentage points, which is also much lower than the market at the same level.
In order to achieve this, Lincoln's choice is to speak with the product, with a number of unique standard configurations in the same class and leading ultra-high luxury configuration, expressing sincerity and stabilizing the foothold.
Take the all-new Lincoln Adventurer as an example, with nearly 100 luxury standard features, and 30+ advanced configurations. All of its models are equipped with the strongest 2The 0T+8AT power combination, as well as the largest 27-inch panoramic screen in the same class, the only 24-way electrically adjustable seat in the same class, and the addition of massage function, combined with the ambient lighting and fragrance function in the car, greatly enhance the luxury atmosphere. In addition, Lincoln is also equipped with the class-leading AAR fresh air butler system as standard, creating an intimate and healthy cockpit for users.
The Lincoln Navigator has 24 front electrically adjustable seats, seat cushion massage function, left and right independently adjustable leg rests, and dual 23The 6-inch surround ultra-high-definition screen and other unique luxury configurations in the same class, and also have the largest body size and interior space performance in the same class. In addition, the Navigator is not only in the visible configuration and space of the same level of leadership, in the consumer invisible passive vehicle passive safety also made full of sincerity, the Navigator vehicle in accordance with the US-NCAP and C-NCAP double five elements of safety standards design, with the world's most stringent, the safest body in the same class to build a movable land safety house, a comprehensive refresh of the luxury medium and large value benchmark.
As the first domestically produced large luxury SUV in China, the Lincoln Aviator is priced at 50With a starting price of 80,000 yuan, it is the only one in the same class that is equipped with top-level pure natural semi-aniline high-grade leather and 3The 0T V6+10AT gearbox, which produces 355 hp and 533 Nm of torque, is combined with the only CDD adaptive suspension system in its class and 30 electric adjustments for the front seats, raising the driving experience and comfort to a whole new level.
Luxury full-size SUV pioneer Lincoln Navigator with 100The starting price is 80,000 yuan, with the largest majestic size in the same class, and the whole system is equipped with 3The surging power of 5T V6, the 28-speaker Ruiwei immersive audio and the use of top-quality Venetian leather seats (with heating, ventilation and massage functions for the whole car) and many flagship luxury configurations, showing the charm of American luxury.
It is worth mentioning that in line with the market trend and in response to the voice of users, Lincoln took the opportunity of the launch of the new model to officially announce the reduction of the manufacturer's suggested retail price of the Lincoln Navigator and the Aviator, and launched the black and gold version of the model.
Zhu Meijun said, "Lincoln has actively gained insight into the market and customer needs, responded quickly to market changes, dared to be the first, and had the courage to break through the situation, leading the reshaping of the global luxury car market, allowing more Chinese customers to 'enjoy' the top American luxury, and becoming a game-breaker leading the Chinese luxury car market." ”
When intelligence becomes the direction determined in the future, Lincoln actively makes up for the shortcomings. The L2 BlueCruise intelligent driving assistance technology equipped with the vehicle integrates more than 20 driving assistance functions, carefully builds a meticulous and comprehensive driving protection system, and has won the first place in the score of the authoritative American magazine "Consumer Reports".
Carrying the banner of American luxury, Lincoln has been bringing a different alternative to Chinese consumers since entering the Chinese market.
On November 23, Ms. Wei, a professor of the piano department, received the car keys of the new generation of Lincoln navigator Nautilus, becoming the 500,000th Lincoln owner.
To commemorate this special milestone, Lincoln presented Ms. Wei with an exclusive and personalized handover ceremony. Because Ms. Wei not only loves the first class, but is also keen to share the art with everyone through public welfare, so on the day of the delivery ceremony, Lincoln also customized a public welfare piano recital for Ms. Wei, bringing the first class into Hope Primary School, so that more children can feel the charm and joy of the first class, and record this beautiful moment of life.
This is not an isolated case, Lincoln Moments has hosted 2,500 events to make the best moments of our customers' lives happen in Lincoln.
In 2015, Lincoln proposed the "Lincoln Way" to tailor advanced services for consumers before users think. Four years later, the "Lincoln Way" entered 2The 0 era has brought about the upgrade of digital and data-based experience. In 2020, Lincoln unveiled a new brand proposition, "Luxury in its Own Way", which fully reflects the brand's vision of being unique in the highly competitive luxury car market and insisting on creating American luxury experiences for customers.
In every contact with Lincoln, you can always feel the pure American luxury experience. In the Experience Center, Lincoln will reserve two-thirds of the space for consumers, and the first theme of customers entering the store is not to see the car, but to browse the journey of the Lincoln brand. In the star model display area, the vehicle is discharged in an orderly manner, and customers can also control the steering of the car platform through the digital stand, so as to achieve an all-round appreciation of the new car.
In addition, the Lincoln Experience Center focuses on everyone's leisure needs, providing a gathering area, a nail art area, a massage and relaxation area, an office area and a children's rest area, creating a variety of leisure options for each family member. With an exclusive "Her Way" space for women, a business meeting area for men, and a space for kids to entertain, there's something for everyone in Lincoln.
After driving the car home, there is no mileage limit for Lincoln after-sales door-to-door pick-up, and Lincoln owners can enjoy unlimited pick-up and delivery services in the same city for 1 year. In addition, Lincoln has also cooperated with Peet's Coffee to provide high-quality specialty drinks that are "Lincoln Exclusive" to every customer and potential customer who comes to the store.
There are many more such examples. From beginning to end, the Lincoln brand has been pursuing the "Lincoln Way" service concept, people-oriented, customer first, through exclusive space design and innovative social interaction, constantly improving customer satisfaction, providing customers with a full-journey luxury value experience from car purchase to car use.
Those who chase the wind will only be carried away by the wind, and those who lead the wind can go with the wind. Zhu Meijun said at the 2023 Shanghai Auto Show. At present, opportunities and challenges coexist, and in a market full of uncertainty, Lincoln looks forward to standing at the forefront of the trend. With value as the first, Lincoln is riding the wind. 2024 will be the 10th anniversary of Lincoln's second entry into China, and it is worth looking forward to how high Lincoln can fly.