Ford considers taking Lincoln global

With Jim Farley on board, Ford marketing will start making some bold moves.  And by ‘bold moves’ we mean real ones, not just the campy situations in a marketing campaign that pre-dated Farley and thankfully has been abandoned.  No, we mean bringing Lincoln, a quintessentially American luxury brand global. 

During his time at Lexus, Farley saw the strong growth that occurred on a global scale especially in countries with an expanding luxury car market including Russia & Saudi Arabia.  Says Farley, “It’s a really rich opportunity for us.”

What prompts the change of heart after Ford has declared that Lincoln would remain a North American-only brand in the past?  Well, with Jaguar on the auction block and Volvo somewhat in flux (though they have said they plan to keep it), bringing Lincoln into an increasingly global position would give Ford some solid ground to stand on. 

The successes of other luxury and near-luxury brands from domestic rivals including Chrysler, Buick and Cadillac sure have paved the way.  Also, more globally appealing product than say, a Town Car or Navigator, such as the new MKS sedan just unveiled yesterday, give Lincoln some ammunition in the rough & tumble luxury car market. 

Farley has said that he has begun to conversate with other executives, including North American Design Chief Peter Horbury, about bringing Lincoln to the rest of the globe.  That means you can expect future Lincoln design to take a ‘bold’ step forward in sophisticated design language.  Judging by the MKS, that’s already been started.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

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