TORONTO — Lincoln Canada has no immediate plans to separate its luxury brand from Ford dealerships, according to Helen Jackson, director of Lincoln Canada.
While Cadillac Canada has opened five standalone storefronts in the past two years and there are independently operated Lincoln dealerships in the United States, Jackson told Automotive News Canada that Lincoln remains focused on providing a premium experience to its customers in existing dual-franchise storefronts.
“We believe we can continue to see the Lincoln brand reach its potential in our current format,” said Jackson, a 25-year Ford veteran who assumed the brand’s director role in June 2019. “There are so many shared services in terms of servicing the vehicle, etc. However, what a client will experience will certainly be a separate brand experience between both Lincoln and Ford.”
Jackson added that Lincoln customers interact with dedicated staff in shared dealerships and receive home or office pick-up and delivery plus the use of a courtesy vehicle for service appointments.
“[Pick-up and delivery is complementary for] a 2018 model year or newer, and many dealers do it for … earlier product models,” she said. “We want to make sure that our client’s time is valued.
“We want to make sure that when a client comes into a dual-franchise store … that the people and processes that they experience with Lincoln [are] truly luxury.”
While overall luxury vehicle sales were down by 4.2 per cent in 2019, Lincoln saw an increase of 5.8 per cent in Canada over the same period. However, the brand trails key competitors in sales volume with a total of 8,679 units sold last year. This compares to 8,197 the year before, and Lincoln made broader gains in its light trucks with sales of 8,159 units in 2019 versus 6,926 in 2018.
