Mercury Working on C-Segment Car for 2012?

Now that the US auto sector is showing some signs of recovery, Ford, the only large Detroit-based automaker that managed to survive without government-backed funds, is looking into ways to launch new models under the brands it owns. One possible scenario is a C-segment vehicle for Mercury that might be released in 2012, several Ford sources have hinted.

First of all, there's Mark Fields, Ford’s president of the Americas, who said at the West Michigan Automotive Manufacturing Summit that a C-car is indeed possible under the Mercury brand. Additionally, Alan Mulally, Ford's CEO, told insideline.com last week that improving the Mercury brand is now a priority.

"That's our plan — to continuously improve the Mercury and Lincoln brands," Mulally said.

Mark Schirmer, spokesman for Lincoln-Mercury, also confirmed a potential C-class model to be sold under the Mercury brand, according to automobilemag.com.

“Certainly, one [variant] will be a Mercury,” he said. “It’ll give us something to put into showrooms, and help energize the Mercury brand."

Otherwise, Mercury is still contributing to Ford's sales with strong results in the hybrid segment. According to official figures provided by Ford, December sales of hybrid vehicles totaled 2,843, up 147 percent versus a year ago. Ford hybrid models include the Ford Fusion, Ford Escape, Mercury Milan and Mercury Mariner. For the full year, Ford hybrid sales totaled 33,502, a new record and up 72 percent versus a year ago.

“Ford’s plan is working,” said Ken Czubay, Ford vice president, U.S. Marketing Sales and Service, said in January when announcing the December sales results.