Next revamped Lincoln to launch by year-end

Ford Motor's Lincoln brand plans to launch the second of the four models meant to revive the struggling brand before the end of this year, executives have told the Financial Times.

Stephane Cesareo, Lincoln's newly-appointed global communications manager, said the brand planned to launch a new car based on its MKC concept vehicle, shown at January's Detroit auto show. The MKC would take Lincoln into the fast-growing market for compact sports utility vehicles, in competition with BMW's X3 and other smaller rugged cars.

The MKC would follow the first of a new generation of Lincoln vehicles - the revamped MKZ luxury sedan, launched late last year. After some production problems, the MKZ has been selling strongly in recent months and sold 42 per cent more vehicles in May than the old version last May.

"It's the fastest-growing segment in the market," Mr Cesareo said of the compact utility market. "But what is interesting also for Lincoln is that this is a white space for us."

The company also plans a new version of its MKX midsize SUV and, subsequently, a new version of the MKS full-size sedan. Lincoln reasons that four core models tend to account for 90 per cent of most luxury brand's sales, with other sales spread between small numbers of the remaining models.

Ford, which sold its other premium brands - Volvo, Aston Martin, Jaguar and Land Rover - between 2006 and 2010, has been slower to revive Lincoln than General Motors, its rival, has been to revive its Cadillac premium brand.

Cadillac's sales in May were 39.9 per cent up on last May, boosted by the success of its ATS luxury sedan. Cadillac is developing a far wider range of vehicles, intended to compete head-on with Germany's Daimler and BMW and the Lexus brand of Japan's Toyota, the three leaders in the US luxury car market.

Mr Cesareo said the revamped MKZ was "starting to find its place in the market".

"We are still continuing to have to work with the other nameplates," he said of the other, less up-to-date vehicles in the Lincoln range. "But we have other products to come."

Ford's chief executive, Alan Mulally, has made it a priority for the company to revive Lincoln to preserve Ford's only remaining foothold in the luxury market. However, many observers remain sceptical about whether he will succeed.

Ford hopes to make the brand popular with younger buyers less eager than traditional luxury buyers to flaunt their wealth.

Mr Cesareo would not say precisely when the new MKC would be launched, but it looks set to be outside one of the main auto shows.

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