Lincoln sales fell two percent last year to a dismal 81,818 units, which meant they trailed Cadillac by a margin of nearly two-to-one. If that wasn’t bad enough, the brand was also left in the dust by Acura, Volvo, and virtually everyone else with a pulse.
That’s a rough picture and the future isn’t exactly rosy, despite the arrival of the redesigned Nautilus. According to Automotive News, Lincoln is slated to lose 100 dealerships this year and that’s on top of the 100 dealers that disappeared in 2023.
In order to trim the number of dealers further, Lincoln is reportedly offering buyouts on a “case-by-case basis.” There’s no word on how much money is being offered, but it appears the automaker is offering a multitude of incentives including extra inventory for participants who also own a Ford dealership.
Vitrine-style Lincoln dealers
The ultimate goal is to have a smaller, but more profitable group of Lincoln dealers. As Lincoln President Dianne Craig explained to the publication, “For us to have a healthy and competitive premium franchise, we need to make sure our retailers have competitive throughput, and we need to make sure our clients have a wonderful experience when they go into our brand-exclusive stores.” She added there are currently “many, many dealers” who only sell one or two vehicles per month.
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Lincoln appears to have a target of 400 dealers overall with a majority of them being standalone operations. The brand also wants dealerships that embrace their Vitrine style, which “moves away from the traditional transaction space to a modern layout centered around the client.”
While less dealers could potentially result in less sales, Craig is optimistic about the future as the brand will have a “freshened portfolio” by the end of the year. Besides the Nautilus, we can expect an updated Aviator with a bold new face and Google integration. They’ll be joined by a new Navigator, which will offer a hybrid powertrain.
