TMCnet News

Lincoln designs new models with China's market in mind
[January 14, 2013]

Lincoln designs new models with China's market in mind


Jan 14, 2013 (Detroit Free Press - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Lincoln should be popular in China and all Lincoln products have been developed with that huge potential market in mind, said Jim Farley, head of Lincoln as well as the Ford leader for global sales and marketing.



"We can launch the brand from scratch," Farley said, an opportunity filled with both promise and challenges.

China's consumers love American heritage but as a new challenger brand, dealers must also work to educate them about Lincoln's rich heritage, Farley said in interviews following the unveiling of the Lincoln MKC compact crossover that will go on sale in the U.S. next year. It was shown at the North American International Auto Show today.


Vehicles for China need large and well-appointed back seats. Farley won't say if the cars will be stretched to provide more room in back.

But the real dilemma is the front end.

In China the tastes are very different.

"We've done our homework to understand the cultural reasons for the difference," Farley said.

In China, for example, they like big headlights, more vertical while the West, and Ford in particular with its new design, is going towards smaller, sleeker, horizontal headlights.

Cars in China also have big bold grilles with lots of chrome.

-- RELATED STORY: The other challenge in China is design, Farley said. Ford's hopes on new MKZ and MKC to spur growth in Lincoln sales -- FULL COVERAGE: Visit freep.com/autoshow In the U.S., Farley thinks the new Lincoln MKC compact crossover is a strong bet because it is such a vibrant new segment without dominant players.

Had Lincoln chose to do a small sedan instead, he does not think there would be as much growth potential.

And small luxury crossovers are high image vehicles, Farley said. 'It's a moment where they (customers) can switch brands because it's new," Farley said, noting mid-size crossovers have gotten large in size, leaving more room for vehicles positioned below them.

The revival of the Lincoln brand is taking a major step with the unveiling of the MKC crossover, the smallest vehicle to ever carry the Lincoln name, but a large piece of Ford's strategy to return its remaining luxury brand to prominence.

The task will take years, cost billions and runs the risk of proving as ineffective as previous attempts.

But the top of the Glass House is undeterred.

Before joining Ford in 2006, Mulally thought of Lincoln as a quintessential American brand. "I had a wonderful impression of Lincoln," Mulally told the Free Press last week in an exzclusive interview. "When I got to Ford, I wondered where Lincoln was." Named for America's beloved 16th president, Lincoln has slipped from the nation's leading luxury brand in 1990, with sales of 231,660 to near extinction. Lincoln ended 2012 with sales of 82,150, a 4% drop when luxury car sales industrywide rose nearly 12%.

Today, Lincoln's U.S. sales rank last of eight luxury brands. Restoring Lincoln was quickly added to Mulally's to-do list early in his tenure, but the initiative with items such as bringing back the Taurus name, producing competitive cars again and leveraging global assets. But reviving Lincoln kept getting pushed farther down the list by more urgent matters, such as borrowing nearly $24 billion to ensure the company's survival during the financial crisis.

"When I arrived in 2006, the first profit forecast I saw was a $17-billion loss, and we achieved it," Mulally said.

He decided quickly that Ford, which in the late 1990s went on a luxury carmaker buying spree, could not continue to be a house of many brands. With Ford and Lincoln accounting for 85% of business, the decision was to invest in them and divest the rest, including Jaguar, Aston Martin, Land Rover and Volvo. Job One was fixing the Ford brand. The second act is reinvigorating Lincoln. Mulally and his new head of Lincoln, Jim Farley, insist the focus truly is on the luxury brand now.

It's no accident that the first two products of what Lincoln says will be four all-new vehicles over the next four years are a midsize sedan -- the MKZ -- and the compact MKC. The growth in the luxury market is fueled by younger buyers looking for smaller, fuel-efficient and affordable status symbols.

The MKC won't go on sale until 2014 but the concept car shown today is very close to the production car.

"We're setting ourselves up for a really nice opportunity to grow in the next 24 months with these two vehicles," Farley said last week.

Most of the Lincoln's anticipated 18% growth this year will come from the MKZ, which is rolling into showrooms now.

MKZ generated 1,000 orders before it was shipped -- the strongest pre-sale demand ever for a Lincoln, said Matt VanDyke, director of global Lincoln marketing. Mulally and Farley hope the MKC will stop cynical critics from asking when Ford will axe Lincoln.

"The next four-five years are the most critical first step," Farley said. Resale values for the current lineup are in the 50% range, global platforms are in place for future products and dealers have been trained to pamper their customers with the same zeal shown by BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Lexus.

Here are reasons why this time may be different: Ford is taking its luxury brand back to its roots and original name: Lincoln Motor Co. A new advertising campaign touts its heritage and reinforces independence from the Ford brand.

Lincoln is shooting a Super Bowl ad. The last time any Ford brand advertised during the big game was in 2006, the year the company posted a record $12.6-billion loss.

Lincoln's promise of seven new or upgraded models by 2014, including four all-new vehicles over four years: the MKZ, MKX, MKS and new MKC. Lincoln goes on sale in China beginning in the second half of 2014. A dealer network is being established now.

The U.S. dealer network in the top 130 metro markets was pared to 300, and dealers are committed to personalized, concierge-like service.

"People will always question the decision to continue Lincoln," said Rebecca Lindland, HIS Automotive director of auto industry for the Americas. "But the constant question about Ford's commitment to the brand may be answered." Back in 2006, Mulally realized there was a problem. "Ford had moved away from Ford and Lincoln to a house of brands: Aston Martins and Jaguars and Land Rovers and Volvos," he said.

"I came to find out the only reason that Lincoln hadn't been growing is that we had all these other premium brands. I looked at the distribution network -- the Ford and Lincoln stores around the world. And it was all there. What we just needed to do was get focus." Under Mulally, Ford sold all the other luxury brands and discontinued Mercury. "We can take Lincoln absolutely flying and provide this much more reasonable exciting, more valuable premium brand," Mulally said. "All the great automobile companies have a great volume brand and a premium luxury brand." Mulally said Lincoln has learned a lot from Lexus, partly because he was a loyal customer for years during his earlier career at Boeing.

"I was very influenced by Toyota. My whole life, I grew up through Toyota and Lexus. I had every Camry, a Lexus ES300, then a LS300," he said.

That, in part, led him to hire Farley from Toyota in 2007. At the time he accepted the offer, Farley was general manager of Lexus.

Re-animating a languishing brand is a huge challenge.

General Motors set about reinventing Cadillac a decade ago when Mercedes-Benz and BMW were not as entrenched in the U.S. Despite major improvements throughout its lineup, Cadillac still ranks fifth among luxury brands in the U.S.

Mulally said starting in today's tougher climate is not a big factor because Lincoln has modest goals. He recognizes even moderate success will take time. Farley said the goal is bringing luxury to all Americans, rather than catching up with the Germans.

"We're not interested in being an elitist brand," he said. ." Lincoln is not pretending to go head-to-head with the established German brands.

"Their expectations are realistic." Lindland said. "They are not trying to be all things to all people. They are more surgical in their approach." But even a measured approach costs billions, she notes. Lincoln can afford to be patient. It is profitable today, even on modest sales. Farley said Ford's mainstream brand has attracted many new customers in the last five years. As they get older and the economy grows stronger, they will be looking for more upscale transportation.

Founder Henry Ford once said, "You can't build your reputation with people by telling them what you're going to do." Like the company founder, Mulally said he will let new vehicles like the MKC do the talking.

So on Monday, the news media horde, industry leaders and luxury competitors will look closely at what Lincoln has to show.

"When they see the MKC," said Mulally, "they're going to go, 'Whoa.' Ford really has a better idea about Lincoln." Contact Alisa Priddle: 313-222-5394 or [email protected] More coverage Facebook: Follow us at Facebook.com/detroitfreepress and Facebook.com/freepautos for the latest auto show photos & videos! Twitter: Follow @freep & @freepautos with hashtag #naias. For live coverage, follow our Twitter list: http://twitter.com/freepautos/detroit-auto-show Live blog: Follow the action at Cobo on Freep.com with our live blog Instagram: We'll be Instagram-blogging on Freep.com; also follow @detroitfreepress with hashtag #naias for more On your phone: Download the Detroit Free Press app on your iPad, iPhone or Android phone and tap on "Auto Show" for complete coverage Live Twitter feed from #NAIAS hashtag ___ (c)2013 the Detroit Free Press Visit the Detroit Free Press at www.freep.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]