Ford is facing a rough start of 2014. Besides the bearing issue of Maverick, the return of Lincoln brand is influenced by the channels layout. According to the source, Ford has decided to postpone the return to the end of this year. The reply of Ford to media is only “as planned”.
It is said there are only total 5 distributors of Lincoln brand in Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou. On the other hand, the advertisement of recruiting distributors is still on the official website of Lincoln China and there are few distributors for Ford to choose according to different trading platforms. The performance of Lincoln in China will not only influence Ford in Chinese market but also the competition between Ford and GM, especially Cadillac. Although Ford regard this year as the best time to return to Chinese market, it is difficult to recruit distributors on the background of slow growth of luxury cars. The investors and distributors are not optimistic for the return and sidelined for this.
