Ford to Give Lincoln a $5 Billion Boost
Ford is preparing to give their ailing luxury arm a boost.
Over the next five years, Ford plans to pour roughly $5 billion into Lincoln in an effort to make the American luxury brand a true competitor to companies like Mercedes-Benz and BMW. A new vehicle platform that will underpin several future Lincoln models is at the forefront of the investment and is internally known as D6.
The flexible D6 platform will support crossovers along with sedans, and can be configured for front-, rear- or all-wheel drive vehicles. Vehicles based on D6 will begin arriving in 2019, with a replacement for the MKZ sedan said to be first on the agenda. This separate platform should help Lincoln to differentiate its products from Ford.
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Former Ford CEO Alan Mulally declined to make a serious investment into Lincoln, but this revitalized effort comes from Ford’s new CEO, Mark Fields. “It’s really important for us to have a relevant and vibrant luxury brand,” Fields told Reuters. “You need to make the investment and build this brand over time.”
Ford executives say that the goal of the current Lincoln revamp is to push sales to 300,000 vehicles sold annually by 2020.
[Source: Reuters]
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