Ford is going all-in on its Lincoln luxury brand with seven new models by 2015, but a Ford executive has revealed the division nearly folded just a short while ago.
In a recent interview with USA Today, Mark Fields, Ford’s President of the Americas, revealed that Ford was seriously considering shuttering the Lincoln division. Ford was considering killing off Lincoln around the same time it decided to close Mercury.
Lincoln was America’s best-selling luxury brand a little over a decade ago, but has fallen well down the sales charts since. During that downfall Lincoln became the symbol of the retired crowd, which nearly tarnished the brand beyond repair.
“I don’t think we’re relevant to the core luxury customer,” Jim Farley, Ford’s marketing head, said of the Lincoln brand.
As a result of that damaged perception, Ford nearly shuttered the brand. After all, simply closing the division would have been far simpler than returning it to its former glory. However, Ford is now fully committed to Lincoln, and has vowed that the brand will eventually rival the likes of Lexus, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
