Ford Motor Company’s luxury arm, Lincoln, is currently sold in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, China, the Middle East, and South Korea. Notably absent from that list is Europe. And that will remain the case for the foreseeable future.
“There are no plans to take Lincoln to Europe right now,” Ford Motor Company Vice President and President of the North American region, Kumar Galhotra, told Ford Authority executive editor, Alex Luft, in a recent interview, putting on ice any speculation about the brand expanding beyond its current area of operation.
For the time being, Lincoln is focused on gaining ground in those markets it deems most important.
“The focus for Lincoln right now is to grow, both in the U.S. – where it’s doing great this year – and to continue to grow it in China. Those are the two big luxury markets,” added Galhotra, who served as the President of Lincoln until early 2018.
Ford Puma ST-Line Vignale
Does this mean European customers are out of luck? If they want an actual Lincoln, then yes. That being said, The Blue Oval does offer the Vignale trim for those who desire more luxury from their vehicle. Vignale serves as the range-topping trim level of Ford-branded vehicles, slotting above Titanium to offer customers exclusive luxury touches unavailable in less expensive models.
Ford Focus Active X Vignale
For example, European Vignale customers gain access to special lounges and Vignale-specific retail professionals at select Ford dealerships. It’s similar to the Lincoln Concierge program, which offers customers and owners an extensive support system designed to accommodate their purchasing needs. Vignale also offers travel perks to customers, something that Lincoln extends to American owners in some regions.
For the time being, before expanding to other regions, Lincoln needs to establish a solid customer base and create sustainable growth, both in the U.S. and China. Expanding into another market would require considerable resources, and potentially a new dealer network.
News of Lincoln having no plans of expanding to Europe comes on the heels of rumors that the luxury marque could be coming to India. Ford Motor Company recently filed to trademark the Lincoln name in the Asian country.
We’ll have more on all things Lincoln soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for all the latest Lincoln news and around-the-clock Ford news coverage.
Comments
Unless Lincoln produces a sedan, it’s nonsense to sell Lincoln in Europe. European market is not SUV or Crossover oriented, so sedans and hatchbacks still represent more than the 50% of the market share. Lincoln without sedans is not even close to be competitive against European luxury car brands. Lincoln without sedans is not even competitive against Cadillac or Tesla. Against MB, Audi, BMW, Maseratti, Jaguar among other european brands, Lincoln is far behind without a single sedan.
Jorge, I agree Ford / Lincoln need to understand the Lincoln Brand Sedans Cool Hatches,Coupes EV Luxury Truck has to be part of the equation to strengthen the brand. Trying to sale here and there simply isn’t going to work if your not selling what the company stands for, Lincoln is not a just SUV‘s
The estimated 2020 population of Europe is nearly 750 million people, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association 15,805,752 vehicles were sold in Europe in 2019, the many bad decisions by the inexperienced unqualified furniture guy are beginning to hurt this company in many ways. In fact Mercedes Benz and BMW handily outsell Lincoln in the United States.
Big mistake to drop the Continental, I thought when they got rid of the office furniture guy there be better decisions coming out of Dearborn
Bad decision. As was stopping Lincoln sales at Ford Dealerships in small markets – where it simply isn’t feasible to build a stand alone building to sell only Lincolns.