Lincoln rides the MKC to sales revival‏

5245 Views 49 Replies 28 Participants Last post by YEH, Feb 14, 2015

nadepalma

Discussion Starter · Feb 8, 2015

Lincoln rides the MKC to sales revival‏
Dealers, executives see small crossover's success as just a start
Nick Bunkley
Automotive News
February 8, 2015

DETROIT -- The fastest-growing luxury brand in the U.S. last year was not BMW, Lexus or Audi.

It was -- believe it or not -- Lincoln, a marque synonymous with big, barge-like sedans that's now staking its comeback hopes mostly on utility vehicles.

In its first eight months on the market, the MKC crossover singlehandedly propelled Lincoln sales 16 percent higher in 2014. That's more than double the average increase for luxury makers, though Lincoln ranked as just the eighth largest of those brands, for a fifth consecutive year.

Lincoln aims to build on its momentum this fall with a redesigned MKX, which it unveiled at last month's Detroit auto show.

After its U.S. sales fell to a 32-year low in 2013, Lincoln's one-two punch in a hot corner of the industry has given long-suffering dealers reason to feel optimistic again.

CONTINUE AT AUTONEWS.COM

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1958carnut

· #2 · Feb 8, 2015

I'm being cynical here but.... When you've hit the bottom so hard it doesn't take a lot to show "remarkable" gains IMO.

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spd98

· #3 · Feb 8, 2015

1958carnut said:
I'm being cynical here but.... When you've hit the bottom so hard it doesn't take a lot to show "remarkable" gains IMO.

^^truth^^

donmateo

· #4 · Feb 8, 2015

True, but it's certainly promising with the new MKX coming up soon and a few more big refreshes.

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Sal Collaziano

· #5 · Feb 8, 2015

Lincolns are finally starting to look good again so don't count them out.

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Extreme4x4

· #6 · Feb 8, 2015

The same thing happened to Fiatsler, and they are hailed as an amazing success (as in, their sales fell so far during the crisis and BK, that they had nowhere to go but up and the gains make for impressive percentages).

On the other hand, I just found out that my Lincoln dealer is a Black Label dealer and they have delivered 1 Black Label MKC already. They do not have the display yet, so I am anxious to see that.

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cad1cts

· #7 · Feb 8, 2015

Extreme4x4 said:
The same thing happened to Fiatsler, and they are hailed as an amazing success (as in, their sales fell so far during the crisis and BK, that they had nowhere to go but up and the gains make for impressive percentages).

On the other hand, I just found out that my Lincoln dealer is a Black Label dealer and they have delivered 1 Black Label MKC already. They do not have the display yet, so I am anxious to see that.

Nice! Feel free to post as many pics of it as you'd like!

Hahaha

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Ute

· #8 · Feb 8, 2015

MKC sales are very bad. I do not think that the new MKX will do much. Figures will increase, but it is not a qualitative growth.
Lincoln should pray in order to Envision and next Enclave arrived as late as possible.

Jesda

· #9 · Feb 8, 2015

1958carnut said:
I'm being cynical here but.... When you've hit the bottom so hard it doesn't take a lot to show "remarkable" gains IMO.

This is very true, and rebounding with CUVs in this market is a smart move.

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BlackGTP

· #10 · Feb 8, 2015

Good for Lincoln, though as I read the article I was thinking the same as posted above. Lincoln sales fell so low they have nowhere to go but up, just like Chrysler.

How many vehicles did Lincoln sell this year? Just curious what tripling their sales by 2020 represents. And if they are planning making inroads in China then a good portion of this tripling sales will probably be in China.....

eaton53

· #11 · Feb 8, 2015

MKC sales seem to have peaked already.
For whatever reason Lincolns don't appear to have much staying power.

Amphibian

· #12 · Feb 8, 2015

The new MKX and MKT/MKT replacement should help a good bit as well. At that point Lincoln will have most of their volume products on sale.

megeebee

· #13 · Feb 8, 2015

It's nice to see Lincoln getting good press, but really the whole Enterprise is still on shaky ground.

The MKC is credited in the article as being responsible for a sales increase and it's true. But except for a few dozen more Navigators, sales of all other Lincoln products have fallen including the new MKZ.

The new MKX will likely help more, but I can't help noticing that MKZ sales started falling the very instant the MKC appeared at dealers. I wonder if the MKX will harm Navigator or MKZ further?

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roy219

· #14 · Feb 8, 2015

megeebee said:
The MKC is credited in the article as being responsible for a sales increase and it's true. But except for a few dozen more Navigators, sales of all other Lincoln products have fallen including the new MKZ.

Good observation megeebee. This suggests that once the hype for Lincoln's new models subside (and that seems to occur rapidly if the MKZ is any indication), the prospects for Lincoln's long term survival will once again become tenuous.

syr74

· #15 · Feb 9, 2015

I always enjoy these threads. After seeing the MKC in the flesh, seeing how it stacked up to the competition overall, and seeing the production plans Lincoln had for the same predicting success here was like predicting that the sun would rise in the East tomorrow morning. This isn't a trendy or unrealistically fickle segment like the one the ATS competes within, Lincoln has modest but appropriate sales goals, the segment is one where the parent company regularly sees success anyway, and the product fits well into the market.

This is all very representative of where Lincoln plans to go over the course of the next five years. Goals are very modest with the brand expecting that sales volume by 2020 in the U.S. market will be about 150k units with the MKC, MKX, Navigator, MKS, and MKT in the lineup (all of which will have been redesigned by that point)

As an aside, I would be very curious to see what ATP's for the ATS and MKC were last year. I know that for 2013 the ATS was in the 39k and change neighborhood, given the dramatic rise in ATP Lincoln experienced last year I suspect that the ATP for the MKC was about on par with that if not above it. I wonder which one cost more to develop and produce?

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megeebee

· #16 · Feb 9, 2015 (Edited)

roy219 said:
Good observation megeebee. This suggests that once the hype for Lincoln's new models subside (and that seems to occur rapidly if the MKZ is any indication), the prospects for Lincoln's long term survival will once again become tenuous.

Ford has set-up Lincoln is a way that large volume isn't necessary. Lincolns are of course more highly developed versions of Ford product, so I think things would have to be very much more bleak for the brand to disappear entirely.

syr74 said:
As an aside, I would be very curious to see what ATP's for the ATS and MKC were last year. I know that for 2013 the ATS was in the 39k and change neighborhood, given the dramatic rise in ATP Lincoln experienced last year I suspect that the ATP for the MKC was about on par with that if not above it. I wonder which one cost more to develop and produce?

Oh Boy. Here we go again....

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syr74

· #17 · Feb 9, 2015 (Edited)

megeebee said:
Ford has set-up Lincoln is a way that large volume isn't necessary. Lincolns are of course more highly developed versions of Ford product, so I think things would have to be very much more bleak for the brand to disappear entirely.

Like it or hate it, this guys largely gets it. The MKC most likely all but prints money even at 13k units per year.

megeebee said:
Oh Boy. Here we go again....

Then again, maybe he doesn't. Despite what reading GMI boards or watching GM corporate at work might lead us to believe, these are fundamentally supposed to be money-making enterprises that represent a lasting, near and long term return on investment. How each of these vehicles perform in the light of that is anything but an apples and oranges comparison, it is in fact the only relevant comparison. At this point criticizing GM for spending mega bucks to introduce ATS and CTS when crossovers were already obviously becoming the bread and butter of the premium market might in fact constitute beating a dead horse, but to be honest I think you could beat that horse until it was as flat as a flank steak and GM still wouldn't get it.

analogbubbles

· #18 · Feb 9, 2015

syr74 said:
given the dramatic rise in ATP Lincoln experienced last year I suspect that the ATP for the MKC was about on par with that if not above it. I wonder which one cost more to develop and produce?

Given that the MKS and MKT have cratered, and the dismal sales of the refreshed Navigators, I'd be surprised if there was anything close to "dramaitic rise" in ATP for Lincoln. The sales mix has shifted to their cheapest two cars (MKZ and MKC), and the gap between Cad. and Linc. ATPs hasn't been this wide in forever.

2b2

· #19 · Feb 9, 2015 (Edited)

^ edit: the "dismal sales of the refreshed Navigator" were up over 140% for January

Extreme4x4 said:
... I just found out that my Lincoln dealer is a Black Label dealer and they have delivered 1 Black Label MKC already. They do not have the display yet, so I am anxious to see that.

any chance you'll find an excuse to go look at it before it sells, Gloria??

if so >> please click <<

re: comments about the C's & Z's sales numbers...
just imho
the C was only supposed to build about 36k max (the first year) for ALL markets incldg China
(nowhere near enough imho)
and the Z, after starting with The Botch, still hasn't come out with its full complement of drivetrains
(not just Nano + 9speed but new versions of existing engines that I hope it gets: 2.3 for both EB and Hybrid
PLUS an mkZENergi!!)

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Amphibian

· #20 · Feb 9, 2015

analogbubbles said:
Given that the MKS and MKT have cratered, and the dismal sales of the refreshed Navigators, I'd be surprised if there was anything close to "dramaitic rise" in ATP for Lincoln. The sales mix has shifted to their cheapest two cars (MKZ and MKC), and the gap between Cad. and Linc. ATPs hasn't been this wide in forever.

The next MKS should move up markedly in terms of price range. The current MKS' base price isn't even 4K higher than the base MKS, and that's not even when adding in the MKZ's 3.7L option that makes it comparable. In fact, you can price an MKZ above that of the MKS

. The next MKS will probably be more like the XTS in price. And it's the next Gator that one can expect to change it up a lot more than an updated version of the current one. Factor in the new MKX and MKT, and even if sales only increase marginally for the brand, they're doing so with notably higher prices. The brand's newest cars are their cheapest, so it's no surprise that sales would be increasingly concentrated on them prior to the launch of their mid-luxury options.

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