Lincoln's EV Sales Plan Won't Look Like Ford's; No Buyouts, No Ultimatums
Ford’s somewhat controversial dealership plan, won’t apply to Lincoln.
A few days ago, Ford announced its plans to force dealerships to enroll in a new program in order to continue selling electric vehicles past 2024. Ford dealers needed to make a decision by October 31, whether or not they’ll enroll in the new program, which may require in some cases millions of dollars of infrastructure upgrades to support EV sales. Similarly, other brands, like Buick, are offering to buy out dealers entirely that don’t want to sell EVs.
Lincoln, isn’t forcing dealers to change, though. In an interview with Automotive News, Lincoln President Joy Falotico said that she expects Lincoln dealers to just organically fall off. Five years ago, Lincoln had more than 1,000 dealers. Today, the brand is expected to have under 600 stores, down from 685 last year.
But, that doesn’t seem to concern Falotico. “We continue every year to work on the network and say ‘do we have the right dealers in the right markets with the right focus?’” she told Automotive News. The brand is focused on making the dealers it does have, count. The ones who don’t think the investment or brand is worth their time, will fade away and consolidate themselves.
Lincoln is still planning a dealer’s meeting with respect to Lincoln’s electrification infrastructure plans, similar to Ford’s meeting. One thing is clear, though – Lincoln’s doesn’t seem like it will give out EV ultimatums as Ford did.
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Kevin has been obsessed with cars ever since he could talk. He even learned to read partially by learning and reading the makes and models on the back of cars, only fueling his obsession. Today, he is an automotive journalist and member of the Automotive Press Association. He is well-versed in electrification, hybrid cars, and vehicle maintenance.
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Since there is not many, if any, standalone Lincoln dealers I would think that any Ford dealer that doesn't make the investment in electric vehicles would also drop Lincoln as they move to all electric.