With new vehicle prices rising at alarming rates due to chip-related inventory shortages, some shoppers are leasing in an effort to achieve lower monthly payments. That hasn’t been the case with Ford buyers, however, 80.32 percent of whom opted to finance in Q4 of 2021, according to Experian’s most recent Auto Finance Insights Report. That’s also true of Lincoln buyers, as that same report reveals that 54.60 percent opted to finance last quarter, compared to the 45.40 percent of Lincoln buyers that chose to lease their new vehicles.
In terms of luxury brands, that ranks Lincoln behind almost all of its competitors, including Genesis (71.31 percent), Buick (69.76 percent), Lexus (64.22 percent), Cadillac (61.63 percent), Jaguar (60.64 percent), Porsche (59.81), Mercedes-Benz (58.76 percent), Audi (55.90 percent), and Land Rover (55.71 percent), but ahead of Acura (51.32 percent) and BMW (50.51 percent).
There are a handful of reasons why a larger percentage of Lincoln buyers could be choosing to finance rather than lease as the luxury brand has suffered from a drop in consideration from shoppers in that segment recently. For starters, lease deals have been virtually non-existent on models like the refreshed 2022 Lincoln Navigator in recent months, while other vehicles like the 2022 Lincoln Aviator are offering special financing rates.
As Ford Authority reported last month, new Lincoln vehicles are also selling for less than MSRP, on average, when most all other vehicles on the market are going for over sticker, while retail orders shot up nearly 300 percent in 2021 – much higher than Ford’s 33 percent increase over the same time period – as FoMoCo steadily moves toward more of a build-to-order model. Meanwhile, as Lincoln prepares to fully electrify its lineup by 2027, it also recently opened its very first boutique showroom and also rolled out a new mobile spa service and concierge program pilots in select markets.
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