Ford to Sell Lincolns to Europe?
February 1st, 2008 2:46 PM
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Auto Motor und Sport [via Reuters] reports that Ford is contemplating selling Lincolns in Europe. "We are considering distribution in Europe and Asia," FoMoCo CEO Alan Mulally told the German buff book. "We already sell Lincolns in the Middle East." Yeah, well, not many. Of the 130,700 Lincolns sold last year, only one percent of those transactions occurred outside North America. No wonder a Ford spokesman quickly spun Big Al's comments into oblivion. While hyping the brand's foreign potential, he insisted that any European incursion by the Reach Higher brand would take place "sometime in the future since the priority right now is clearly on North America." Still, Big Al's loose lips could be another indication that Volvo is heading for the auction block; the Swedes were supposed to be Ford's worldwide luxury brand. Question: what Lincoln could possibly hope to compete in the Eurozone?
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Actually due to the weakness of the dollar and the Mexican production of some Lincolns, perhaps Ford could market Lincoln as their budget brand under Ford in Europe. As for the Dew98, its a shame they didn't sell that in Europe because it was an awesome platform. If not for being styled like a 1992 Mitsubishi Diamante it could have sold well in America too.
Hey, give that PR spinmeister some props; at least he said, "sometime in the future..." instead of that cliche du jour "sometime going foward..."
Renault/Nissan is bringing Infiniti over to Europe this year with the G sedan, G coupe EX, and FX. Mullaly, on the other hand, wants to send Lincoln over to Europe when with what? guyincognito: Got to factor in the Euro-peso exchange rate on the MKZ. They sell the Euro Focus (but produced where?) in Mexico so I'm guessing that the MKZ may not be viable in the other direction, but if there's someone who's more knowlegeable about international trade, please correct me.
Shouldn't Ford be figuring out how to sell Lincolns in North America?