Michigan Lincoln Dealers Expected to Renovate or Give Back Franchise to Ford; $1 Million Ultimatum

Ford discontinued the Mercury brand in 2010, shifting its focus to Lincoln. With changes from dual Mercury and Lincoln to solitary Lincoln dealerships required, Ford asked Michigan Lincoln dealers and all others to upgrade dealerships.
By: Porta Press
 
June 17, 2011 - PRLog -- DETROIT, M.I. – Michigan Lincoln dealers have been a large part of Ford’s rebranding of the Lincoln lineup. With the discontinuation of the Mercury brand, Ford decided to focus its attention on its luxury market with the Lincoln brand. With the refocus came the decision from Ford to have dealerships upgrade their lots and showroom to better represent the new Lincoln image.
[Rewind: Michigan Lincoln Dealers Shocked to Hear They Could Face Cuts by Ford]
The announcement for shifts and upgrades was made in Oct. 2010, and last week at a meeting with 120 Lincoln dealerships, Ford Motor Corp told its dealers they had the option to renovate or step aside.
Michigan Lincoln dealers may need to spend an average of $1 million to renovate while Lincoln-Ford dual dealerships could spend $1.9 million to remodel. At this point, the renovations that are needed only apply to urban dealerships. For those that do not wish to invest in the Lincoln brand and choose the ‘step aside’ option, Ford has added that it will compensate dealerships for their franchise rights.
The ultimatum may be being used to further shrink the number of Michigan Lincoln dealers and others in the top 130 markets. In October, when Ford announced its shift in brand, it also stated that it had about 500 Lincoln dealerships but wanted to lower that number to 325 by the end of 2011.
Ford reported at the end of February it had 434 dealerships and that the corporation “still [has] a plan to have 325 stores by the end of this year,” according to Lincoln spokesman Christian Bokich at last week’s dealer meeting.
The renovations must be started and completed by the end of 2013 when Ford is planning to launch redesigned Lincoln MKZ MI sedans. The 2013 model MKZ hybrid will not only offer a 2.0L direct-injection turbocharged EcoBoost engine but will earn up to 47 mpg city, which is 6 mpg higher than its predecessor.
With this newer sedan and other models, like the MKS and MKT, which Ford is bringing to the market, the blue oval company is pushing for Lincoln U.S. sales to increase from about 86,000 units in 2010 to 162,000 by 2015.
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Source:Porta Press
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Tags:Michigan Lincoln Dealers, Ford Motor Corp, Ultimatum, Mercury
Industry:Cars, Automotive
Location:Detroit - Michigan - United States
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