Ford announced its sales figures for the Chinese market, and the big news is that for the first time in history, Lincoln sold more cars in China than in the US. This is a result of Lincoln’s unprecedented growth in China compared to falling sales in its home market.

More specifically, in 2021, Lincoln sold 91,000 cars in China, representing an impressive 48.3 percent increase over 2020. On the other hand, the automaker sold 86,929 units in the U.S. during the same period, a 18 percent decrease over 2020. As reported by Automotive News, 2021 was Lincoln’s worst year in the U.S. since 2013.

The situation is quite different in China where Lincoln is “one of the fastest-growing luxury brands” according to Ford. A big chunk of Lincoln’s record sales numbers can be attributed to the Corsair SUV which sold more than 50,000 units in China, with a 57 percent increase over 2020 bringing it among the top five best sellers of its segment in 2021. Additionally, the Lincoln Zephyr sedan that debuted last November at the Auto Guangzhou 2021, already has more than 2,300 pre-orders.

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Kumar Galhotra, Ford’s president of Americas & International Markets Group, told Automotive News that a big part of Lincoln’s appeal in China is because “it’s an iconic American brand”. While he admitted that China is bringing great scale, he insisted that the automaker will remain in North American markets saying that “we have a very vibrant business in the U.S. and Canada and Mexico. Those markets are very important and will continue to be very important for us.”

Despite the growth, Lincoln – which landed in China in 2014 – is still behind rival luxury brands like Mercedes-Benz, Audi, BMW, Cadillac, and Volvo in terms of sales, while facing competition from newly established local marques.

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Ford’s sales mix in China prove that sedans are still popular

Ford China sales exceeded 624,000 units in 2021, with a marginal 3.7 percent yearly increase. Breaking down this number Ford sold 264,000 commercial vehicles (Ford and JMC), 237,000 passenger vehicles, and 140,000 SUVs in China, showing a very different sales mix compared to other markets. In terms of sedans, the Escort sold 39,000 units, the Mondeo followed with 34,000, while the Taurus sold 8,000 units. A good performer was the Ford Transit van with 51,000 sales.

Ford China said that 2021 was a transformative year since the automaker is getting ready for the electric era – Mustang Mach-E deliveries to Chinese customers started in December – while facing challenges like the ongoing semiconductor shortage and periodically pandemic-related restrictions.

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