Lincoln going global?

Discussion in 'Ford Industry News' started by Mav.bot, Nov 15, 2007.

  1. Mav.bot

    Mav.bot Member

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    Bringing his experience heading Lexus with him when he defected to Ford, Jim Farley's got his eye on some premium-Toyota style brand growth. Ford's past party line has been that the Lincoln nameplate is strictly for North American consumption, but Farley's been conferring with other Forders like Peter Horbury about taking Lincoln worldwide. Lexus is enjoying rapid growth in markets like Russia and Saudi Arabia, so it's not a new concept for Farley, and Horbury has previous global-brand experience, as well. Whether Ford intends on turning Lincoln into an American Lexus (whatever that might mean) isn't clear, but our domestic luxury marques sometimes enjoy a better reputation elsewhere - witness Buick's stature in China (Counterpoint: witness Cadillac's stature in Europe). The newly unveiled MKS is a good weapon to shoot across the globe, sharing platforms as it does with Volvo's S80. We don't think the two EUCD sedans will swipe customers from each other, as they're likely different groups of buyers - so what it really may mean is more potential buyers to snap up Ford's production capacity.

    Thanks for the tip, throwback!

    [Source: Auto News - sub req]
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