Ford CEO Jim Farley Not Keen On Affordable Lincoln Hybrid

Ford has pivoted its electrification strategy in a major way over the past couple of years, spurred by weaker than expected demand for pure EVs. Instead, The Blue Oval now plans to offer a hybrid powertrain option across its entire ICE-focused Ford Blue lineup by the end of the decade, which will likely also include some extended-range electric vehicles (EREV), too. While some of those hybrids figure to be affordable, that seemingly won’t be the case with anything wearing a Lincoln badge.

“EREV would be a perfect drivetrain for us. All-hybrid and EREV lineup, and maybe a few electric cars, but more on the affordable side,” Ford CEO Jim Farley told Hagerty in a recent interview. “I don’t think we want to make an affordable hybrid as a Lincoln, but an affordable EV Lincoln, with over-the-top color choice and over-the-top interior customization would make sense.”

At the moment, the Lincoln lineup doesn’t contain what one might call an affordable hybrid anyway, with the Lincoln Corsair Grand Touring and Lincoln Nautilus hybrid sporting loftier price tags, which is to be expected for a luxury brand’s offerings. It is interesting that Farley mentions the possibility of Lincoln selling an affordable EV, however, which seems to contradict that sort of strategy.

In that realm, Farley also revealed that he rejected the notion of transitioning Lincoln to a fully-electric lineup in recent years, interestingly enough. “I think we’re starting to discover our brand location for Lincoln that makes sense. The team really pushed me to have an all-electric lineup, and I refused to do it. And I’m sure glad we didn’t. I’m sure glad we didn’t,” the executive stated. These comments came some time after former Lincoln President Dianne Craig revealed that the luxury brand was no longer focused on those types of powertrains.