Ford Has Already Cut 20% of Metropolitan Lincoln Dealers

In the last six months, Ford cut 20% of its metropolitan Lincoln dealerships throughout the States. In the second half of 2010, Lincoln announced a plan to reduce its metropolitan showrooms by 175 out of a total of 500. The main purpose of this action was to eliminate redundancy and consequently help the remaining dealerships improve their sales levels.

After six months, according to Bloomberg, Ford managed to close down 100 showrooms and the next step is to upgrade their remaining facilities in order to boast their sales. Upgrades include new training exercises as well as raising the standards regarding their staff.

Ford sent out an ultimatum to Lincoln dealers, saying that they have to meet those standards until August 31. Achieving these standards will require a $2 million (EUR1.4 million) investment per store and this include car washes that will be free of charge for Lincoln customers.

Achieve these goals will not be easy, as Lincoln sales are down in 2011 by 11%, while at the same time the industry faces a 20% increase. To boost sales levels, Ford promised to bring seven new Lincoln models on the market by the end of 2014. Ford cold even bring a new Lincoln concept model at this week’s New York Auto Show.

“With Lincoln, we’re clearly in a transition period,” Ford Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally said on April 13. “Our commitment to the dealers now is that we’re going to make a fantastic family of vehicles that will be very competitive. We’re all going through some transition as it takes time to get these vehicles to market,” he added.