(Yicai Global) July 10 -- Luxury car brand Lincoln has reaped the benefits of its 'downscaling' strategy in the Chinese market.

The country is its fastest-growing market in the world, per the company's sales data for this year's first half and June.

US Ford Motor Co. [NYSE:F] subsidiary Lincoln Motor Co. sold 24,541 cars in China in the first half, up 97 percent per year, data show, marking a record high since the company's entry into the Chinese market. Its sales rose 84 percent to 4,165 last month.

The American luxury carmaker did not arrive on the Chinese market until as late as 2014. "Many Chinese consumers still perceive Lincoln as a kind of elongated event car or traditional US limousine," Fan Ziqiang, deputy general manager of sales and services at Lincoln China, told Yicai Global.

As part of its 'downscaling' strategy, the company introduced its MKC, a relatively affordably-priced sports utility vehicle, now China's bestselling Lincoln model, with sales up 67 percent to 8,970 units in the first half -- of which 1,434 sold in June alone -- up 30 percent annually. 

The US automaker has set up 79 Lincoln centers nationwide, and plans to raise this to 100 this year.

"Lincoln is more highly valued than Cadillac in the US, but priced lower," independent auto analyst Zhang Xiang told Yicai Global. Lincoln's success derives from its downscale strategy and the development of new models tailored to the Chinese market, as well as to the 'new entrant' effect -- after all, new brands tend to capture consumers' attention more easily in China," he added.