Lincoln sales will surpass Mercury sales in 2008, a new report finds. Although significantly down from its historical highs, Lincoln’s U.S. sales rose 14.7% through October to 112,678 vehicles. The recent success is largely due to the strong sales of the Lincoln MKX crossover.
“We are above what we expected to do,” Mike Richards, Lincoln and Mercury’s general marketing manager, told Automotive News. “We’ll have continued growth next year.”
Richards expects another sales increase in 2008, but failed to predict a percentage. Lincoln expects strong sales from its upcoming MKS sedan, due in dealer showrooms in the summer of 2008.
Ford previously indicated that Lincoln would become its volume brand for Lincoln Mercury dealers, but never released a time frame until now.
Lincoln has steadily been gaining on Mercury for the past few years. In 2006, the sales gap between the two was 58,435 vehicles, a number that has dwindled to 29,909 today. When retail-only sales are tallied, the difference is less than 10,000 units.
Mercury’s lack of future products has also lead to several reports of the brand’s demise as early as 2012.
