OREANDA-NEWS. December 14, 2015. Lincoln, has announced its entry into Ningbo with the Ningbo Yongda Lincoln Store. Located in China’s prosperous Zhejiang province, Ningbo has been a commercial center for centuries and is now famous for its robust private sector and high volume of international trade.

Now with 29 Lincoln Stores in operation across China, the historic American luxury brand is expected to open 60 dealerships in 50 cities across China by the end of 2016.

“We are excited to see a new Lincoln dealership joining the Lincoln family,” said Robert Parker, president, Lincoln China. “With our personalized service of The Lincoln Way and competitive product offering, Lincoln is serving a new breed of luxury customers in China and promises them a unique brand journey.”

The Lincoln Way, for a New Generation of Customers

The Lincoln Way is the main pillar of Lincoln’s development in China. Rooted in the brand’s heritage of personal service, and developed over years of research across luxury retail experiences in different sectors, The Lincoln Way creates lasting relationships through personally crafted experiences.

Key elements of The Lincoln Way include a distinct, welcoming environment featuring a relaxing tearoom, and intuitive personalized technology with an exclusive Personalization Studio, where customers can customize and preview life-size versions of their vehicles.

Personalized test drive routes can be arranged at any dealership or online; full maintenance transparency is available in each Lincoln dealership with a live video feed; and service hours can be extended to fit clients’ busy schedules.

To better provide personalized services and cater to clients’ schedule, Lincoln recently launched The Virtual Lincoln Way. When fully implemented, The Virtual Lincoln Way will allow customers to manage everything from touring a Lincoln store to taking possession of their new Lincoln vehicle online.

The Virtual Lincoln Way began its roll out on WeChat, China’s largest social network, earlier this year. The first phase, “Explore”, launched in September, gives customers a 360-degree virtual experience of a Lincoln Store. The second and most recently launch phase, “Shop”, allows customers to chat and interact live with a Lincoln Host.

Expanding Product Portfolio Enhances Personalized Experiences

Complementing Lincoln’s comprehensive expansion plans — both in Lincoln Stores and the brand’s online presence — is an expanding and competitive product portfolio.

The latest addition of this lineup is the Lincoln Navigator, a full-size luxury SUV that pioneered the segment in the late 1990s. Known as an icon of this segment, the new Navigator delivers great versatility with a powerful 3.5L twin-turbo charged EcoBoost engine, and an array of intuitive technologies. Standard leather seats offer three rows of luxurious accommodations. The second and third row fold flat to make room for extra cargo space providing additional flexibility.

Beyond the Navigator, Lincoln boasts a lineup of class-leading vehicles, including the Lincoln MKX, a medium-large premium utility vehicle; the Lincoln MKC, a medium-sized premium utility vehicle; and the Lincoln MKZ, a midsize premium sedan.

“All of these products are positioned in popular market segments and have more offerings at key price points,” said Lin Haiguang, general manager, Ningbo Yongda Lincoln Store. “Lincoln will be a key player in the local automotive market and will bring unprecedented excitement to local customers.”

Adding another nameplate to Lincoln’s lineup in China, the much-anticipated full-size sedan, the Lincoln Continental, will also launch before the end of 2016.