Lincoln to bring hip-hop favorite Navigator SUV to China
David Beckham drove one. Hip-hop star Chris Brown raps about it. This year, Chinese consumers who want a piece of celebrity glamour will be able to buy the full-size Navigator SUV.
Ford Motor Co.'s premium Lincoln brand is introducing the Navigator, along with the midsize MKX, in China this year, the company said this week. It declined to specify exactly when the vehicles will go on sale.
Ford is counting on the popularity of SUVs in China to boost sales of Lincoln. The Dearborn, Mich., carmaker is competing against Audi AG and BMW in what's expected to be the world's top luxury-vehicle market by next year.
"The Navigator is Lincoln's flagship SUV," said Yale Zhang, Shanghai-based managing director of Autoforesight Shanghai Co. "It is a big, robust, American-style SUV. You'll find people in big cities here that like it and see it as a trendsetter."
While it might help establish Lincoln's image in China, the Navigator could be too pricey to contribute large volumes to the brand's sales, Zhang said. He estimates it will cost about 1 million yuan ($161,000).
An Audi Q7 SUV, the largest offering in the segment from the German brand, starts at 828,000 yuan. Per capita disposable income of urban households in China was 28,844 yuan last year, according to the country's National Bureau of Statistics.
SUV sales
Sales of SUVs in China surged 36 percent last year, outpacing the 9.9 percent growth in the overall passenger vehicle market, according to the state-backed China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
Besides the two SUVs, Lincoln will be showing the Continental Concept sedan during Shanghai's auto show this month. The sedan is expected to be introduced next year, the company said in a statement.
Lincoln started sales in China last October with the midsize MKZ sedan and the MKC crossover. The company declined to provide Lincoln sales figures for China.
Lincoln imports all its vehicles into China, and the company said it has no plans yet to start building them locally. The brand expects to have 60 dealerships in China by the end of next year, compared with 11 now.
Lincoln's sales in the United States, its largest market, increased 16 percent last year, largely driven by its SUVs.
Ford is counting on the popularity of SUVs in China to boost sales of Lincoln. The Dearborn, Mich., carmaker is competing against Audi AG and BMW in what's expected to be the world's top luxury-vehicle market by next year.
"The Navigator is Lincoln's flagship SUV," said Yale Zhang, Shanghai-based managing director of Autoforesight Shanghai Co. "It is a big, robust, American-style SUV. You'll find people in big cities here that like it and see it as a trendsetter."
While it might help establish Lincoln's image in China, the Navigator could be too pricey to contribute large volumes to the brand's sales, Zhang said. He estimates it will cost about 1 million yuan ($161,000).
An Audi Q7 SUV, the largest offering in the segment from the German brand, starts at 828,000 yuan. Per capita disposable income of urban households in China was 28,844 yuan last year, according to the country's National Bureau of Statistics.
SUV sales
Sales of SUVs in China surged 36 percent last year, outpacing the 9.9 percent growth in the overall passenger vehicle market, according to the state-backed China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
Besides the two SUVs, Lincoln will be showing the Continental Concept sedan during Shanghai's auto show this month. The sedan is expected to be introduced next year, the company said in a statement.
Lincoln started sales in China last October with the midsize MKZ sedan and the MKC crossover. The company declined to provide Lincoln sales figures for China.
Lincoln imports all its vehicles into China, and the company said it has no plans yet to start building them locally. The brand expects to have 60 dealerships in China by the end of next year, compared with 11 now.
Lincoln's sales in the United States, its largest market, increased 16 percent last year, largely driven by its SUVs.
