Lincoln opens first stores in China

LINCOLN, the luxury automotive brand of Ford Motor Company, has recently launched a unique new automotive ownership experience for Chinese luxury customers, with its first three new stores in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hangzhou. The dealerships will offer The Lincoln Way, with specially trained staff will provide customers with a warmer, more engaging purchasing and ownership experience. 

The Lincoln MKZ midsize luxury sedan is among the first two vehicles now for sale in Lincoln stores in China (Photo: Business Wire)

The new stores in China will offer the all-new MKC small premium utility vehicle and the MKZ midsize premium sedan, followed by the Lincoln MKX, the Lincoln Navigator and an all-new full-size luxury sedan. They will have brought five new vehicles to China by 2016 per the company’s commitment.

Developed over three years based on research of luxury retail experiences across different sectors, The Lincoln Way will serve the younger and more discerning luxury customers in China. Its key elements include a dedicated Lincoln Team that has spent the last three years studying the new luxury automotive market in the country, including behavior models, expectations, and market segmentations.  

The Lincoln Way also comprises a home-like environment with a relaxing tea room, intuitive personalized technology with an exclusive Personalization Studio, and complete sales and service transparency.  

Lincoln president Kumar Galhotra said the launch of The Lincoln Way and the first stores in China marks an important milestone for the company’s reinvention as a global luxury automotive brand. It is the result of the research work of its global team on a wide range of luxury brands. 

The firm will open five more Lincoln stores in China by this year’s end. It hopes to build a total of 60 stores in 50 cities across the country by 2016. All these stores will adopt The Lincoln Way.

Based on research findings indicating Chinese luxury customers seek to express their individuality, the Lincoln team built a fully functioning prototype dealer facility in Shanghai last year. This was used to research, test, and refine all aspects of the Lincoln customer journey across the purchase and ownership processes.