Can Lincoln and Caddy Find Fans in China?

At the entrance to a luxury auto showroom in Shanghai’s Pudong district, doormen greet potential customers. Visitors can relax in a tearoom or enjoy a massage before checking out the cars’ various colors and features on a 46-inch interactive video screen in the dealership’s Personalization Studio. All this coddling isn’t to peddle some German luxe sedan or Italian sports car. This showroom, where each customer is served by at least three specialists—from the front desk, sales, and the service department—is for Ford’s Lincoln brand. “Our services are of the same standard as a five-star hotel,” says Wan Disheng, marketing manager at Shanghai Yongda Lincoln.

Service—at-home test drives, live videoconferences with maintenance and repair staff—is a central piece of Ford’s plan to boost Lincoln sales in China. The brand entered the country in October 2014 with only three showrooms; by yearend 2016, there will be 60.