Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) announced that it would be dropping about 175 Lincoln dealerships primarily in Urban markets as part of an effort to overhaul its brand with a new look and high-end stores.
Executives of the Dearborn, MI-based company met with Lincoln dealers at its headquarters on Monday and Tuesday and detailed plans to differentiate the Lincoln from its mass-market Ford vehicles.
As part of the overhaul, Ford will focus on the top 130 metro areas in terms of population, where it has about 500 Lincoln dealerships. Ford expects to wind-down 175 dealerships in urban and suburban areas. The company will offer buyouts to dealers that choose to close in meetings which are expected to begin in November. Ford Credit will also help remaining dealers finance improvements they will have to make to stay with the Lincoln brand.
Ford said that only about 1/4th of the 1,187 Lincoln dealerships have the facilities the automaker believes that it needs to compete against other Luxury makers. Executives said that rural dealerships will have to decide whether or not to make an investment in upgraded facilities to continue to represent the brand.
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is a producer of cars and trucks. Ford and its subsidiaries also engage in other businesses, including financing vehicles. It operates under two segments: Automotive and Financial Services. The Automotive segment includes the operations of Ford North America, Ford South America, Ford Europe, Ford Asia Pacific Africa and Volvo. The Financial services include the operations of Ford Motor Credit Company and Other Financial Services. In August 2010, the Company completed the sale of its Swedish Volvo Car unit and related assets to China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co.
Shares of Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) traded up 1.32% during mid-day trading on Monday.
