With new business plans now in place at all three of the Detroit automakers, stand-alone dealerships are fading quickly. Multiple brands are now being lumped together at a single dealership, perhaps marking the end for stand-alone Lincoln -Mercury stores.
Ford did away with stand-alone Mercury dealerships in late 2007 and it appears as though stand-alone Lincoln-Mercury stores could be heading down the same path. With a new business plan in place, Ford plans to sell its Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brands under one roof.
Just three years ago, there were 619 Lincoln -Mercury stores in the United States. At the beginning of 2009, that number had declined to just 357 stores. That figure will likely drop even farther in the coming years as Ford looks to group its Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brands into a single dealership – particularly in metro areas.
“Our focus is on a distribution network where they can be profitable,†Ford CEO Alan Mulally told Automotive News. “Many people really like the volume and the breadth of having Ford-Lincoln-Mercury together.â€
“I think we’ll see more Ford-Lincoln-Mercury dealerships,†he added.
Ford hasn’t set a timeline for consolidation, but we won’t be shocked to see the stand-alone Lincoln-Mercury store extinct by the middle of next decade.
