Ford aims to cut the number of dealers for its upscale Lincoln brand from 434 to 325 in big US metro areas, hoping to win over buyers of premium cars.
The company has targeted 130 big cities which account for about 85% of the US luxury market.
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Ford marketing chief Jim Farley said that the company needs to increase the volume of Lincolns sold to make the brand viable and to keep profitable stand-alone Lincoln dealers, many who lost higher-volume Mercury sales after Ford dropped the brand last year.
He added: “If we don’t get the throughput in the major metro markets right-sized, then the transformation of Lincoln is going to need a different plan.”
Chief executive Alan Mulally has previously said the company needs to transform Lincoln into a competitive player in its home market before launching into Europe or Asia.
Lincoln’s 2010 sales grew just 3.6% versus 23% for Audi and more than 25% for both Acura and Infiniti brands while Cadillac saw a 35% increase.
Farley said that Lincoln will introduce six new or refreshed models over the next three years taking the line to seven vehicles.
He added that the brand will ask its dealers meet minimum requirements expected by consumers in the luxury market and said that Ford will help finance showroom improvements by giving dealers a larger piece of the profit on new Lincoln sales.
Lincoln currently has about 1,100 US dealers including smaller cities. The company has not said how many outside the largest 130 metro areas will be kept on.
