Beginning with a new SUV next year, Lincoln has announced the electrification of its entire model range by 2030, together with the expansions of connected services as the company prepares for its 100th anniversary in 2022.
Lincoln’s first fully electric model will be unveiled in 2022 and will be offered in both North America and China. It’s not the first time we’ve heard about an electrified Lincoln SUV as the company had announced a partnership with Rivian back in 2020 but that deal was cancelled, officially due to the coronavirus-pandemic, with Ford then saying it would take over the project itself.
Read: Rivian-Based Lincoln EV Killed Due To Coronavirus
The in-house developed SUV will be based on Ford’s battery-electric flexible architecture offering rear-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive options. This platform will serve as the base of a total of four “new and distinct” fully electric vehicles debuting in the next years.
From the dark teaser, we can see that the first electric Lincoln will naturally be an SUV. A full-width LED bar is connecting the headlights with the illuminated emblem, the large covered grille has bronze details while the front bumper features two vertical air intakes and what appears to be an aluminum-style skid plate.
This is the latest evolution of the Quiet Flight design language introduced by the Lincoln Zephyr Reflection concept car in 2021 Auto Shanghai.
According to Ford’s luxury arm, their first electric model will “deliver a more spacious interior that creates the ultimate expression of the Lincoln sanctuary”. From the teaser sketch, we can see four individual seats and plenty of headroom/legroom for both rows. It will also have clever storage solutions, a huge touch screen with custom themes showcasing the night sky, and a large panoramic vista roof shedding more light into the cabin.
As seen in the video, the digital instrument cluster boasts some impressive graphics. The new model will be equipped with the latest driving assistance systems including the ActiveGlide technology. The latter will offer a hands-free driving experience in prequalified sections of divided highways, thanks to the hardware that includes an advanced camera, a radar, and driver monitoring technologies.
The zero-emissions SUV will join the plug-in hybrid Aviator and Corsair in the growing electrified line-up. Lincoln expects its zero-emission models to reach 50% of its global sales by 2025, as part of the Ford+ plan with a total investment of more than $30 billion for electrification. By 2030 the whole range will be electrified although we will still have internal combustion offerings with the Lincoln badge.
Lincoln Becomes More Connected
Besides electrification, Lincoln focuses on improving the suite of its connected services available through the Lincoln Way app.
The cloud-based Lincoln Intelligence System will integrate electrical, power distribution, and computing systems, enabling an “always-on” relationship with clients. The software will receive over-the-air updates for improving performance and other characteristics of the car without changing the actual hardware.
The company also announced that all future vehicles will be connected to a new Android-based digital platform. For existing customers, Lincoln will roll out updates for the 2021 Nautilus this summer, improving the navigation, the Apple CarPlay, and the digital owner’s manual. A second update will follow this fall for the Alexa digital assistant.
Improving The Sales Network
Nearly one-third of Lincoln’s sales in the U.S. are completed online, so the brand is working on a new digital sales platform “to meet the changing needs of clients”.
Read: 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning Strikes EV Market With Sub-$40k Starting Price
At the same time, the planned expansion of the Vitrine dealerships that started in 2018 is back on track, with 28 new facilities already operating plus 50 more currently under construction.
