As the fastest-growing part of the Ford China system, Lincoln Motor celebrated its centenary in 2022 after eight years in China. Originally, Lincoln wanted to present his centenary birthday with the sales of 654.38 million vehicles, but people were not as good as the sky. It happened that in 2022, Lincoln, who had been boosting sales in China for many years, pressed the pause button. The data shows that in 2022, the cumulative sales volume of Lincoln vehicles was 79,273 vehicles, down 13.4% year-on-year, failing to break through the 65,438+10,000 vehicle mark.
In fact, as early as June 2022, Lincoln's sales began to decline month by month. By June165438+1October, Lincoln's monthly sales volume was only 4576 vehicles, down 38% year-on-year. Obviously, Lincoln Z, who has made great efforts in publicity and promotion, failed to help Lincoln turn losses into profits, and its annual sales volume in one month was not as good as that of its competitors. The adventurer who once became the champion of Lincoln in a single month for 26 consecutive months, although he still plays the role of the main sales force in 2022, has been unable to shoulder the heavy responsibility of Lincoln's breakthrough again.
Mao Jingbo
In September, 2022, Mao Jingbo, Lincoln's "soul figure" and president of Lincoln China District, suddenly left his post and was replaced by Zhu Meijun. But in fact, in the first eight months of Mao Jingbo's term, Lincoln's sales still maintained a weak year-on-year growth. That is to say, after Mao Jingbo left, Lincoln's sales plummeted. If you combine the small growth in the first eight months, you can imagine what kind of situation Lincoln got into in the last few months!
Zhu meijun
They are both presidents of Lincoln China, and Mao Jingbo and Zhu Meijun have the ability to compete with each other. This has to make Uncle Che worry whether Lincoln can achieve the sales target of 654.38 million vehicles in 2023, because Lincoln has too many shortcomings.
Shell Ford
Lincoln has no other advantages except a serious premium.
In 2020, Lincoln announced that it would no longer update car products, focusing on SUV products, and its medium and large cars Lincoln Continental and MKZ also stopped production. But for the sake of China market, Lincoln made many changes, one of which was to launch a special version of the car, but this car has a very low presence.
In 202 1 year, Lincoln Z made its debut at Guangzhou Auto Show. Although it has many halo blessings such as sleek design, hatchback coupe and intelligence, Lincoln Z is still pointed out as "Ford Mondeo changing its shell".
And similar doubts have long existed. In 2006, after the Ford Motor Group launched the "One Ford" strategy, some overseas analysts said that Lincoln was not even a luxury brand of Ford, but more and more like an ornament of Ford models. After complete localization, the gap between Lincoln and Ford seems to be getting smaller and smaller.
In 2020, Lincoln's first domestic SUV adventurer was questioned as "changing the shell" for Ford Sharp. Both cars are based on Ford C2 platform, both of which are produced in Changan Ford Chongqing factory, but the price of adventurer is nearly 654.38+ 10,000 yuan higher than that of Sharp!
When some media put forward the question that "Lincoln Z is a Mondeo shell replacement, but it costs 65,438+10,000 yuan", a Lincoln 4S shop in Guangzhou gave an ambiguous answer, saying that although Lincoln Z and Mondeo use the same engine, each model will have different adjustments, and the performance will not be exactly the same. In addition, the positioning of the models is also different, so there is no need to worry that the two models are too similar.
However, apart from "the engine has different adjustments", the 4S shop did not list more differences between the two models. Salespeople also admitted that Lincoln focused on SUVs. Judging from the situation in the store, Lincoln Z doesn't see many customers, mainly SUVs.
In the face of media questions, Lincoln has not made any response so far.
In fact, it is not shameful to change the shell, but it will cost nearly 100 thousand yuan to change the shell. Is Lincoln too proud of his brand premium ability?
Common quality problems
Treat users like leeks
Although Lincoln positioned himself as a luxury brand, the quality of his products was criticized. Many car owners complained that the navigator software could not be upgraded, and the car body also had problems such as * * * vibration. Navigator, as the third model of Lincoln's localization, many consumers chose to trust Lincoln, but in the end Lincoln completely let them down.
Mr. Hu from Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province spent 450,000 yuan on a Lincoln navigator. On the third day of picking up the car, he found a hairpin in the front windshield, which he could see but could not take out. He feels terrible. After defending rights for half a year, Lincoln agreed to return the car under the pressure of large-scale media reports.
In addition, adventurers also have consumers complaining about the abnormal sound of their engines and gearboxes. Some models of Flyer have also been complained by consumers about the "abnormal sound" of gearboxes, while the owners of Lincoln Z complained that the big screen of the car was slow to respond and stuck.
Not only is the product quality worrying, but the service is also a "headache". Last year, the Lincoln App "Lincoln Way" appeared overlord charging clause, which was complained by 500 Lincoln car owners. The pilot owner complained that the Lincoln Road App popped up new service agreements, such as remote engine start, remote door locking/unlocking, vehicle positioning and other functions, and fees will be charged in the future. What makes the owners even more angry is that the agreement is mandatory. If you don't agree, you can't use any function of the App. What's the difference between this and extortion?
If we compare Lincoln's actual performance with his customer-oriented service concept, we can find how ironic it is that Zhu Meijun, president of Lincoln China District, said that the key to Lincoln's entry into users' hearts in China lies in "sincere dedication"!
Che Shu concluded
Again, treat users sincerely, users can feel warm, you can not say, but you must not say or do. As Lincoln, who regards customer service and experience as the core competitiveness of the brand, and Zhu Meijun, the president of Lincoln China District, if she doesn't want to be the next scapegoat, she should really reflect on the execution of the enterprise!
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