Ford Edge, Lincoln Nautilus in Danger?

Ford’s utility vehicle lineup may grow too crowded to sustain the midsize Edge and its Lincoln Nautilus sibling for much longer. That’s the opinion of AutoForecast Solutions’ Sam Fiorani, who claims the Blue Oval has cancelled next-generation versions of both models.

Introduced for the 2015 model year and facelifted for 2019, the two-row Edge and Nautilus (formerly, the MKX) slot between the compact Escape and three-row Explorer, but the appearance of new models in the coming years might trample these models into the dust. If so, it could spell the end of Ford’s vehicle manufacturing presence north of the border.

The current generation of Edge and Nautilus is expected to run its course by early 2023, and a direct replacement doesn’t seem likely, Fiorani said, as reported by Automotive News Canada.

After last year’s cancellation of the Ford Flex and Lincoln MKT, the Edge and Nautilus are the only models rolling out of Ford’s Oakville, Ontario assembly plant. “Unless Ford decides on a different program to replace the Edge, there’s no future for Oakville,” Fiorani said.

That would leave Ford with just two propulsion plants north of the border. Eager for profits, slimmed-down costs, and a boosted stock price, Ford might see Canada as too expensive a locale for production. The current labor contract with the automaker’s Canadian workforce expires this fall, and you can be sure the continued operation of its sole car plant will be top of mind.

Why would the Edge and Nautilus vanish in the first place, you ask? New additions to the Ford lineup. Among them, the upcoming Bronco and smaller Bronco Sport, as well as the addition of new midsize electric SUVs slated to appear around the same time as the Edge and Nautilus’ supposed departure. In such a scenario, the middle of the market would simply be too crowded.

While the Edge boasts steady sales in both the U.S. and Canada, European sales haven’t proven healthy, and a considerable measure of the model’s volume can be attributed to less-lucrative fleet sales, Fiorani said. As well, the midsize Nautilus now has a footprint twin in the new, rear-drive Aviator, which better projects the image Lincoln wants buyers to see.

For its part, Ford is staying tight-lipped about the possibility of culling these models, and of vacating Canadian car manufacturing. The first Ford to roll off a Canuck assembly plant emerged from a Windsor, Ontario factory in 1904.

[Images: Ford Motor Company]