Lincoln's New President has some Interesting Thoughts on the Way Forward

[Harley Lover]

Lincoln's new president and her thoughts about Lincoln going forward:

 

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Lincoln's new president is working to galvanize the luxury brand's stalled revival by shrinking its dealer network, refocusing its electrification strategy and updating its products to spark interest from new and returning customers. Dianne Craig succeeded Joy Falotico in December.

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"We have too many dealers," Craig said. "If we're going to be a successful luxury brand, we need brand-exclusive facilities. Most of the dealers we have are still dualed. We love them as our Ford partner, but we need to focus on having that brand-exclusive experience."

"I've had many conversations with dealers over the last four months, many that are my personal friends, that don't want to give up the brand because they love the brand," she said. "But ... if there's not an industry there to serve, does it really make sense for them to go on this next evolution with the investments they'll have to make for EV? Or just focus on Ford? We want to do the right thing for them as business partners."

 

Lincoln as an EV brand? On one hand:

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Lincoln has said that it plans to launch three EVs globally by 2025 with a fourth coming in 2026, and that 90 percent of its U.S. volume will be from electrified products by 2030.

Craig did not reaffirm that plan, which was established by past leaders.

"No declarations on how many or confirming what was stated in the past," she said. "It's not my focus. My focus isn't on the timing or how many; it's making sure we get the EVs right."

 

On the other hand: 

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Despite the industry's pivot to EVs, Craig said gasoline-powered and hybrid models will continue to play an important role for the brand.

"As much as we're finally seeing EVs take off, we've been talking about it for 20 years," she said. "And for as many entries that came in, it was never more than 1 or 2 percent of the industry. But 75 percent of customers are still choosing gas or hybrids. Take the next few years, it only goes from 75 down to 65. For the foreseeable future, we're going to see the majority of folks still going for gas and hybrids."

The 2024 Lincoln Nautilus crossover is an example of the type of product that Craig and other executives hope lead the brand to a sales rebound.

 

Edited April 21, 2023 by Harley Lover
https://www.autonews.com/dealers/new-lincoln-president-wants-fewer-dealers-refocused-ev-plan

[spudz64]

Thanks for posting! I couldn’t read it on AN as it required a subscription, but I did hear the podcast which had some of this info. She really stressed the importance of Lincoln being unique from Ford and making highly desirable vehicles.
 

In regards to their upcoming electric vehicles, I wonder what she means by getting them right…is it what they will sell for? Range? Placement in market? Features? Looks? Profit level? Time will tell!

[rperez817]

37 minutes ago, spudz64 said:

Thanks for posting! I couldn’t read it on AN as it required a subscription, but I did hear the podcast which had some of this info. She really stressed the importance of Lincoln being unique from Ford and making highly desirable vehicles.
 

In regards to their upcoming electric vehicles, I wonder what she means by getting them right…is it what they will sell for? Range? Placement in market? Features? Looks? Profit level? Time will tell!

 

Good points spudz64. Craig is correct about the excessive dealer count for Lincoln, and the fact that too many Lincoln dealerships have physical facilities that are paired with Ford. Hopefully an upheaval on the dealership side takes place quickly.

 

Craig's comment about "making sure we get the EVs right" was shockingly vague. So your guess as to what it means is as good as anyone's. Also, "timing and how many" regarding BEV new product introductions represent an integral part of "making sure we get the EVs right". There is no hope for a Lincoln sales rebound in the U.S. unless it launches its 4 planned BEV in a timely manner in the 2025-2026 timeframe and unless it makes the transition to an all-electric lineup by the end of the decade. 

[akirby]

46 minutes ago, spudz64 said:

 

In regards to their upcoming electric vehicles, I wonder what she means by getting them right…is it what they will sell for? Range? Placement in market? Features? Looks? Profit level? 

The right design, features and price.  I think it’s a hint that the original plans using Rivian and VW platforms weren’t viable and they changed them.

[GearheadGrrrl]

Standalone Lincoln stores? Even if they're across the lot from the Ford store and use the Ford store for parts and service they're a non-starter. Or maybe the plan is to get all the dealers to give up their franchises so Ford can replace them with tiny TSLA like Lincoln boutiques?

[rperez817]

37 minutes ago, GearheadGrrrl said:

Or maybe the plan is to get all the dealers to give up their franchises so Ford can replace them with tiny TSLA like Lincoln boutiques?

 

That's an excellent plan in theory, and just what Lincoln needs. But the political influence of NADA and state/local dealership associations will make it extremely difficult for Ford to pull that off.

[akirby]

39 minutes ago, GearheadGrrrl said:

Standalone Lincoln stores? Even if they're across the lot from the Ford store and use the Ford store for parts and service they're a non-starter. Or maybe the plan is to get all the dealers to give up their franchises so Ford can replace them with tiny TSLA like Lincoln boutiques?

There are plenty of Lincoln dealers with dedicated sales offices even if they share the Ford service dept.  That’s what my local dealer does and it’s a big step up from a Ford dealership.

[rperez817]

37 minutes ago, GearheadGrrrl said:

Or maybe the plan is to get all the dealers to give up their franchises so Ford can replace them with tiny TSLA like Lincoln boutiques?

 

That's an excellent plan in theory, and just what Lincoln needs. But the political influence of NADA and state/local dealership associations will make it extremely difficult for Ford to pull that off.

[rperez817]

38 minutes ago, akirby said:

There are plenty of Lincoln dealers with dedicated sales offices even if they share the Ford service dept.  That’s what my local dealer does and it’s a big step up from a Ford dealership.

 

Is your local Lincoln dealer's new car sales department located in a separate facility without any direct physical connection to the building for the Ford brand new car sales department?

[akirby]

34 minutes ago, rperez817 said:

 

Is your local Lincoln dealer's new car sales department located in a separate facility without any direct physical connection to the building for the Ford brand new car sales department?

Yes.

 

[rperez817]

58 minutes ago, akirby said:

Yes.

 

Nice! That example for Angela Krause Lincoln should represent the minimum acceptable standard for U.S. Lincoln dealership physical facilities. Better yet would be Lincoln exclusive facilities for sales, parts, and service (no sharing with Ford brand dealership facilities at all). Planet Lincoln in Dallas is a good example of that approach.

 

[akirby]

There is no benefit to standalone parts and service bays.  Customers only have to deal with the Lincoln staff.

[T-dubz]

Ford is in a weird predicament with Lincoln. It has 2-3x as many dealerships as other luxury brands, but it only sells about a 1/3 of what those other brands sell. Decreasing dealers does seem like something they should pursue, but how should they go about it? I’m not sure if requiring stand alone dealers is the answer. Other luxury brands have many models which would require their own showroom. BMW for example has 17 different models. Lincoln has 4. Who would want to invest millions of dollars into a dealership when sales continually decrease year over year (now around 80k) and there’s no product to display? 

[silvrsvt]

2 hours ago, akirby said:

Yes.

 

 

 

Its not that much different then what a newer remodelled Ford Dealership looks like

[GearheadGrrrl]

2 hours ago, rperez817 said:

 

Is your local Lincoln dealer's new car sales department located in a separate facility without any direct physical connection to the building for the Ford brand new car sales department?

 

No!

 

To be honest I've never seen a stand alone Lincoln showroom, every one I've seen since Mercury was murdered is a corner of a Ford store. Maybe in a market of several million they can justify it, but still doesn't accomplish much- Lincoln is pretty much just a glorified Ford no matter how fancy the showroom!

[akirby]

2 hours ago, silvrsvt said:

 

Its not that much different then what a newer remodelled Ford Dealership looks like

 

 

Cant see the pic but this one is far nicer than any Ford dealership I’ve been in.

[silvrsvt]

39 minutes ago, akirby said:

 

 

Cant see the pic but this one is far nicer than any Ford dealership I’ve been in.

 

Can you see it now? The waiting rooms are very similar

 

[akirby]

34 minutes ago, silvrsvt said:

 

 

Can you see it now? The waiting rooms are very similar

 

Not really.  Big difference in finishes and materials.

[rperez817]

3 hours ago, GearheadGrrrl said:

Lincoln is pretty much just a glorified Ford no matter how fancy the showroom!

 

That's correct GearheadGrrrl, but the situation on the product side has improved considerably since the 4th gen Navigator was first introduced about 6 years ago. Ford has put forth a genuine effort to make Lincoln vehicles distinctive since then. As such, Craig's recommendation that Lincoln dealers establish brand-exclusive facilities will be an essential part of Lincoln's brand transformation. The transition to a 100% electric vehicle lineup ASAP is also necessary for the transformation, so it's very unfortunate that Craig didn't provide more details on that.

 

If all the brand badging was removed from both a 2023 model year Lincoln vehicle and a comparable highline trim Ford, a consumer would be able to easily distinguish between the 2. Maybe a consumer would even say that the vehicles came from 2 different manufacturers. 10 years ago, that would not be possible.

Edited April 21, 2023 by rperez817

[akirby]

3 hours ago, GearheadGrrrl said:

 Lincoln is pretty much just a glorified Ford no matter how fancy the showroom!

Bullshit. 

[twintornados]

3 hours ago, GearheadGrrrl said:

..Lincoln is pretty much just a glorified Ford no matter how fancy the showroom!

 

Where have you been in the last 10+ years?

[spudz64]

Well if their original plan changed since last year, maybe they should consider updating their website as it still shows 3 electric vehicles by 2025 and 4th by 2026! ?

[akirby]

1 hour ago, spudz64 said:

Well if their original plan changed since last year, maybe they should consider updating their website as it still shows 3 electric vehicles by 2025 and 4th by 2026!

 

Why change it now?  That’s almost 2 years away.  Better to wait until they have more concrete plans that aren’t going to change again.

[rperez817]

2 hours ago, spudz64 said:

Well if their original plan changed since last year, maybe they should consider updating their website as it still shows 3 electric vehicles by 2025 and 4th by 2026!

 

Thanks for sharing that spudz64. The website is fine as is. Lincoln simply needs to meet its commitment to deliver production ready version of 3 BEV models by 2025 and a 4th one by the following year.

 

Better yet, surprise and delight everyone by introducing those 4 BEV ahead of schedule.

[Rick73]

2 hours ago, spudz64 said:

Well if their original plan changed since last year, maybe they should consider updating their website as it still shows 3 electric vehicles by 2025 and 4th by 2026! ?

When other (less significant) plans I was following were changed or cancelled, Ford website just ignored the changes as if they had not been previously announced.  One I recall was the 2-liter diesel for Transit which was announced and then quietly disappeared, and another the dual-alternator option with base engine.  Ford even displayed engine options at a major Auto Show and then dropped one.

 

This is obviously a much bigger deal, but I expect they won’t officially take anything back, but rather ignore previous announcement history.