Lincoln lures Chinese customers

From left: President of Lincoln China Robert Parker, Chinese actor Hu Jun and Anderson Liu, general manager of consumer and retail experience at Lincoln China, attend the launch ceremony of the full-size luxury SUV Navigator at the ongoing Guangzhou auto show. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Innovative and individual customer experience fits with luxury marque

American luxury carmaker Lincoln believes a new way of purchasing and owning a car will matter more in China as customers grow more and more discerning.

"People were buying everything brought here but this continues to diminish … they are not going to put up with an inferior ownership experience," said Robert Parker, president of Lincoln China.

"They are now difficult about products and they should be. Our focus is to deliver a new type of ownership experience to Chinese luxury customers that reflects their individuality and personal needs."

Since its launch last year, Lincoln has been establishing itself with The Lincoln Way as an innovative new model of car purchase and ownership tailored for the Chinese market.

As China is forecast to surpass the United States and become the world's largest luxury car market worldwide in 2016, Parker said he believes the brand's innovative hospitality approach and world-class products will win over more Chinese customers.

Lincoln now has four products available in the Chinese market. It introduced its midsize sedan MKZ and medium-sized utility MKC last year.

The medium-large sized SUV Lincoln MKX hit the market in October and the full-size SUV Navigator was unveiled at the ongoing Guangzhou auto show.

Both the MKX and the Navigator are SUVs as the segment has been booming in China despite the slowdown of the overall auto market.

Statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers show that China's SUV sales from January to October surged 48.4 percent year-on-year.

"We knew what our customers wanted," Parker said. The medium-large sized SUV segment alone accounts for 14 percent of the luxury car market and that ratio would grow to 18 percent in the next two years, he said.

The Navigator is believed to further strengthen Lincoln's position in the SUV segment.

Parker said the model has retained some of the most loyal following in the segment for more than a decade.

"This iconic model will continue to set the standard for versatility, style, comfort and prestige."

Parker said Lincoln would continue to enrich its lineup in 2016 with the addition of the Lincoln Continental.