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Freep: Lincoln cars are dead; long live the Lincoln car


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" 'Lincoln’s sedans are going away,' IHS Markit senior analyst Stephanie Brinley said...

 

" 'Lincoln is going where the market is,' Autotrader executive analyst Michelle Krebs said. 'SUVs are increasingly more popular than cars in the luxury vehicle market, just as in the non-luxury market.' However, she added, a much higher proportion of luxury shoppers still consider both cars and SUVs, while mass-market buyers have shifted overwhelmingly to SUVs.

 

" 'About 40% of luxury vehicle buyers do their homework and very deliberately choose a sedan,' said Eric Noble, president of Orange County consultant the Carlab. Most luxury car buyers have other vehicles, so they don’t need the Swiss Army knife versatility of an SUV, he said. They can have an SUV for its high seating position, all-wheel drive and room; and a car for its looks, handling or just to be different...

 

"At some point ... Lincoln will need a bigger model line if it’s to become a serious player.

 

" 'The Continental and MKZ are not competitive products, but Lincoln needs volume,' Noble said. 'Lincoln needs at least one, maybe two dedicated luxury platforms, with dedicated component sets. You have to pull at least two vehicles from a platform to justify the investment. 'I’d do a large sedan and an SUV.' The architecture underpinning the Aviator — already shared with the Ford Explorer — could be one of Lincoln’s core platforms, he said. 'Ford would be nuts not to do a modern sedan, or a liftback like the Audi A7, off that platform...' "

 

Comment1: Wow, sedans still make up 40% of all luxury vehicle sales?

Comment2: Just because one would have to "be nuts not to do a modern sedan or a liftback" doesn't mean that it's easy or profitable to do. Hence, the quandary facing Lincoln (and Ford).

 

https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/mark-phelan/2019/11/30/lincoln-mkz-continental-sedan-suv/4187913002/?fbclid=IwAR01manA5j_G1GR6WbR919qrOn5v6wsazR9d0Imf-eH_MFiBqu0SOMxgo7k

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2 hours ago, Gurgeh said:

Comment1: Wow, sedans still make up 40% of all luxury vehicle sales?

 

Here are the percentages of total U.S. sales that were passenger cars for the luxury brands in calendar year 2018.

  • Genesis 100%
  • Tesla 77.8%
  • Alfa-Romeo 49.4%
  • BMW 47.7%
  • Mercedes-Benz 47.5%
  • Audi 43.5%
  • Jaguar 35.6%
  • Infiniti 32.3%
  • Cadillac 32.0%
  • Lexus 31.0%
  • Acura 27.6%
  • Lincoln 27.6%
  • Land Rover 0%
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The market for Bimmers and Benzes are mostly in the cheaper versions that are significantly cheaper than utilities for folks who want the brand name.  Probably the same for Audi and Jaguar.  There are still quite a few enthusiasts buying those for performance but I suspect they’re a small percentage.

 

Cadillac made some really nice sedans including performance versions but they just don’t sell.  Lincoln would be similar.    If they did not have other projects and other vehicles I’m sure they’d do it up with sedans at lower volumes.  Will be interesting to see the new stuff. 

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5 hours ago, rperez817 said:

 

Here are the percentages of total U.S. sales that were passenger cars for the luxury brands in calendar year 2018.

  • Genesis 100%
  • Tesla 77.8%
  • Alfa-Romeo 49.4%
  • BMW 47.7%
  • Mercedes-Benz 47.5%
  • Audi 43.5%
  • Jaguar 35.6%
  • Infiniti 32.3%
  • Cadillac 32.0%
  • Lexus 31.0%
  • Acura 27.6%
  • Lincoln 27.6%
  • Land Rover 0%

I know that most categorize Teslas as luxury vehicles due to price. I think the S and X definitely qualify, but the 3? It may be expensive as most configure it, but its interior appointments are far from luxurious. Kind of a grey area. At times Musk claims all their vehicles are luxury vehicles (like when he said Tesla had, in the 3, the best selling luxury car in the country), at times not. If the 3 is a luxury vehicle then so is the Ford Mustang Mach-E and many Buicks.

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