2024 Lincoln Nautilus to be made in China, sold in North America

NEW YORK — Ford executives hope the redesigned 2024 Lincoln Nautilus crossover can attract new, younger buyers with its exterior styling, interior amenities and new technology.

"It's the game changer for the brand," Michael Sprague, Lincoln's North America director, told sibling publication Automotive News. "This puts us on the map for the customers who haven't considered us in the past.”

The automaker had been building the Nautilus for the North American market at an assembly plant in Oakville, Ont., but Ford Motor Co. is retooling the Oakville Assembly plant in Ontario to produce electric vehicles.

So, Lincoln, a brand that for more than a century has helped define American luxury, will for the first time import a vehicle to its home market from outside North America.

The redesigned 2024 Nautilus crossover, on sale early next year, will be the first Lincoln sold in the United States that's manufactured in China.

"From a manufacturing efficiency standpoint, given what's happening in Oakville, we chose to build it in China," Lincoln President Dianne Craig told Automotive News. "We've had an unwavering support of auto manufacturing in the United States; in this case, it just made business sense for us. I think the product's going to be phenomenal and customers will love it."

Although its U.S. sales fell 16 per cent last year, the Nautilus remains a key product for Lincoln as the brand has consolidated its portfolio in recent years to focus on utilities instead of sedans. Lincoln executives say the midsize utility segment in which it competes represents 43 per cent of U.S. premium vehicle sales.

In the first quarter of 2023, Nautilus sales rose 8.2 per cent in the United States.

Ford no longer reports Canadian monthly or quarterly sales of brands and models.

The 2024 Nautilus in the United States will start at US$51,810, including a US$1,395 shipping charge. That's up from US$46,865 for the current base model.

The top-end Black Label trim south of the border will start at US$75,860.

A Lincoln Canada spokesperson said Canadian pricing starts at C$64,295. The Black Label trim is not offered in Canada.

Order banks in both countries opened Monday.

When company officials attempted to revive Lincoln in the last decade, they focused on creating a sanctuary theme for the interior of its vehicles. The 2024 Nautilus is the next evolution of that concept, executives say.

The biggest addition is the display spanning the full width of the dashboard that's made up of two 24-inch screens.

Elsewhere in the interior, designers have added "crystal-inspired" details to the piano key shifter, instrument panel toggles and audio knob. It's a nod to features showcased on Lincoln's Model L100 concept vehicle last year.

The Nautilus will be the first North American product to offer an optional "Lincoln Rejuvenate" feature, which combines ambient lighting, displays on the 48-inch screen, 28 speakers, massaging seats and personalized scents.

Three scent cartridges are located in the centre armrest and can be refilled by the customer when they run low. Fragrances include Mystic Forest, Ozonic Azure and Violet Cashmere.

The vehicle can receive over-the-air software updates and will come with Lincoln BlueCruise 1.2, the brand's latest hands-free driver-assist system that includes automatic lane-change assist. The Lincoln version previously was called ActiveGlide, but officials have rebranded it BlueCruise to match the name used on Ford models.

The exterior includes a new design element: a horizontal light bar running through the mesh grille and Lincoln star logo that connects to the headlights, similar to the design of the Model L100 and Star concept vehicles.

The Nautilus will come standard with a carryover 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine, also found on the recently freshened Corsair, that gets 250 hp and 275 pound-feet of torque and is mated to an eight-speed transmission.

A new hybrid option is available on all trims, featuring a 2.0-litre turbocharged hybrid engine and a continuously variable automatic transmission with a 100 kW electric motor. The hybrid system is expected to generate 310 hp.

The hybrid powertrain means three of Lincoln's four North American nameplates now have an electrified option. The brand has vowed to launch three full EVs globally by 2025 and add a fourth in 2026.

Executives have said they expect almost 90 per cent of Lincoln's volume in North America to be electric by 2030.

Greg Layson of Automotive News Canada contributed to this report.