Ford Motor Co.’s struggling Lincoln division caught a much-needed break last month, with a sharp upturn in sales for its new MKZ sedan.
Get the full story on Lincoln MKZ sales in April after a slow first quarter.
Ford Motor Co.’s struggling Lincoln division caught a much-needed break last month, with a sharp upturn in sales for its new MKZ sedan following months of weak demand that raised questions about the luxury brand’s long-term survival.
Once a dominant nameplate in the U.S. market, Lincoln has fallen off the radar screen for most American luxury buyers, senior company officials admit, a downfall they had promised to start reversing with last year’s well-publicized launch of the new MKZ sedan. But the situation worsened due to concerns about quality issues that forced Lincoln to slow production and put each MKZ through a close inspection.
As a result, Lincoln sales for the first three months of 2013 were off 24 percent — dipping to levels not seen in decades — even as key luxury competitors posted double-digit gains. But with parent Ford claiming to have those quality issues under control, Lincoln has finally begun ramping up production of the MKZ, delivering about 11,000 to dealers in recent weeks, retail sales surging to about 4,000 in April alone – the nameplate’s best month ever.
The upturn could help soften analyst criticism that Ford might be forced to pull the Lincoln brand, as it did with the mid-market Mercury several years ago.
But even Ford global marketing chief Jim Farley, recently named head of the Lincoln brand, admits the crisis isn’t over.
“This is going to be a long road … remaking Lincoln,” he acknowledged during a media conference call. “It will not only need to continue but accelerate for us to continue to be competitive.”
