Just before the start of the Chengdu Auto Show on Friday we received pictures of three Lincolns turning up near the exhibition hall. We were kinda surprised because Ford had just announced Lincoln would be launched in China in 2014. We couldn’t really figure out what the cars were so doing there. New pics however learn Ford had nothing to do with it…

The Lincolns, two MKT, two MKX and a Navigator were on the actually booth of a local Chengdu dealer-group. Gray import indeed! On this kinda smaller shows in the Chinese hinterlands dealer-booths are very normal, sometimes offering the very same cars the official brands are promoting, sometimes even in the same hall. Some dealers offer cars that the brands officially don’t sell and that is the case here. So Lincoln indeed has already arrived in China. The Navigator is widely sold gray all over China, but this is the first time I see the MKT and MKZ.

Ford better hurry up a bit bringing in their very own cars, somebody else is earning the big bucks now! Gray market cars from America are usually sold to Chinese dealers directly from dealers on the US West Coast, earlier on we met a bunch of Mustangs in Tianjin. The Mustang would sell like hot noodles if it was available officially, with a warranty and such, but Ford just doesn’t seem to see the money.