For Lincoln dealers, 2013 started as a tough year when production problems and quality glitches forced a three-month delay of the MKZ sedan, a car they needed badly. Bill Knight, who is entering his second and final year as Lincoln dealer council chairman, believes better times lie ahead in 2014.
Knight talked with Staff Reporter Bradford Wernle.
Q. How was 2013 for Lincoln dealers?
A. Clearly from a volume standpoint it wasn't what we had planned or what the objective called for. Year-over-year the volume was flat in a luxury industry that continues to grow, so it certainly was not what the company or the dealers wanted.
But if there's a bright spot, profitability for the Lincoln dealer improved 30 percent in 2013. A lot of that can be attributed to some of the invoicing actions that we took back in 2012.
We're certainly not where we want to be on volume. But it has been awhile since profitability for Lincoln dealers was up 30 percent.
How does 2014 look for Lincoln dealers?
There's a lot of positive news about the MKC. The reaction of the press to the unveiling has been really positive. It shows the continued commitment on the part of the company to provide differentiated vehicles for Lincoln. The MKC is the best example of that. The MKZ got criticism from the media that it was too close to the Ford Fusion. We're not hearing any of that on MKC.
It's an incremental product for us, which we need, and it hits at a very exciting time. The segment it hits, there just aren't a lot of players. This is the type of product that sets us up well as we continue the journey.
In what areas would you like to see improvements?
We continue first and foremost to challenge the company to increase the breadth and depth of the product lineup, whether it's a third-row SUV or CUV or a small sedan. We recognize it just takes time. We continue to have dialogue with the company to get throughput for the dealer network.
Any specific vehicles you'd like to see added?
The thing we don't have is a mid-sized SUV or CUV that has a third row. We don't have a volume entry in a third-row SUV. As those segments continue to grow, when you look at the other luxury players moving down to that B- and C-car segment, those are things we hope the company can look at going forward.
What about the MKT? Sales have been very slow.
It is certainly polarizing. From a dealer perspective, we're not in a position to tell the company we don't want certain products. The MKT fills a small niche. It's certainly not providing the volume or throughput we need. We are selling some of them. We're anxious to see what the company's plans are.
The MKZ launch was delayed. Lincoln has admitted the launch was botched. How well has Lincoln recovered from that episode?
I think the company learned a lot from that. It certainly wasn't what the company planned, nor was it what the dealers expected. But we got through it.
The company did some unprecedented things by providing cash payments to the dealers most affected. Clearly it was something we didn't anticipate and don't want to go through again. It showed we can have collaboration and constructive conversations. The company will take those lessons learned and apply them to the launch of the MKC. We're confident that it won't happen again. They were launching the MKZ right after the Fusion. The Fusion was a complicated launch, and that got more complicated because of the MKZ.
Read more: http://www.autonews.com/article/201...-lincoln-sees-better-days-ahead#ixzz2rSShNMge
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Knight talked with Staff Reporter Bradford Wernle.
Q. How was 2013 for Lincoln dealers?
A. Clearly from a volume standpoint it wasn't what we had planned or what the objective called for. Year-over-year the volume was flat in a luxury industry that continues to grow, so it certainly was not what the company or the dealers wanted.
But if there's a bright spot, profitability for the Lincoln dealer improved 30 percent in 2013. A lot of that can be attributed to some of the invoicing actions that we took back in 2012.
We're certainly not where we want to be on volume. But it has been awhile since profitability for Lincoln dealers was up 30 percent.
How does 2014 look for Lincoln dealers?
There's a lot of positive news about the MKC. The reaction of the press to the unveiling has been really positive. It shows the continued commitment on the part of the company to provide differentiated vehicles for Lincoln. The MKC is the best example of that. The MKZ got criticism from the media that it was too close to the Ford Fusion. We're not hearing any of that on MKC.
It's an incremental product for us, which we need, and it hits at a very exciting time. The segment it hits, there just aren't a lot of players. This is the type of product that sets us up well as we continue the journey.
In what areas would you like to see improvements?
We continue first and foremost to challenge the company to increase the breadth and depth of the product lineup, whether it's a third-row SUV or CUV or a small sedan. We recognize it just takes time. We continue to have dialogue with the company to get throughput for the dealer network.
Any specific vehicles you'd like to see added?
The thing we don't have is a mid-sized SUV or CUV that has a third row. We don't have a volume entry in a third-row SUV. As those segments continue to grow, when you look at the other luxury players moving down to that B- and C-car segment, those are things we hope the company can look at going forward.
What about the MKT? Sales have been very slow.
It is certainly polarizing. From a dealer perspective, we're not in a position to tell the company we don't want certain products. The MKT fills a small niche. It's certainly not providing the volume or throughput we need. We are selling some of them. We're anxious to see what the company's plans are.
The MKZ launch was delayed. Lincoln has admitted the launch was botched. How well has Lincoln recovered from that episode?
I think the company learned a lot from that. It certainly wasn't what the company planned, nor was it what the dealers expected. But we got through it.
The company did some unprecedented things by providing cash payments to the dealers most affected. Clearly it was something we didn't anticipate and don't want to go through again. It showed we can have collaboration and constructive conversations. The company will take those lessons learned and apply them to the launch of the MKC. We're confident that it won't happen again. They were launching the MKZ right after the Fusion. The Fusion was a complicated launch, and that got more complicated because of the MKZ.
Read more: http://www.autonews.com/article/201...-lincoln-sees-better-days-ahead#ixzz2rSShNMge
Follow us: @Automotive_News on Twitter | AutoNews on Facebook[/QUOTE]