New leader shifts Lincoln's EV plans

Lincoln appears to be in limbo. U.S. sales by Ford Motor Co.'s luxury brand are on pace to fall for the fourth straight year, and new President Dianne Craig has backed away from electrification commitments made by past leadership.

Craig said Lincoln has too many dealers and plans to whittle down the network from the roughly 600 it had at the start of 2023. It also plans to shrink the lineup those dealers can sell.

Lincoln is expected to discontinue gasoline versions of two nameplates, the Corsair and Aviator, while its first EV, a three-row crossover, is expected to debut in late 2025.

Aviator-size EV: Lincoln's long- awaited three-row electric crossover, roughly the size of today's Aviator, is planned for the Oakville Assembly Plant in Canada. Production is expected to begin in late 2025, after that of a Ford-badged version. It's possible the vehicle could include some interior and exterior design elements of the Star concept unveiled in 2022. It's unclear whether the brand will apply the Aviator nameplate to this new product.

Navigator: The largest vehicle in Lincoln's lineup will be redesigned in the first half of next year, part of an effort to keep pace with rival Cadillac. A 2022 freshening has helped boost U.S. sales 41 percent this year through July. As part of its midcycle update, the Navigator became the first Lincoln to feature its hands-free driver-assist system. For now, there are no plans to electrify the family hauler.

Aviator: While U.S. sales have nose-dived this year because of a pending recall, down 35 percent through July, Lincoln plans to freshen the Aviator early next year.

Spy photos have shown uncamouflaged prototypes with updated exteriors that match the recently updated Nautilus and Corsair, as well as larger interior screens. Despite projections from past leaders that the nameplate would become Lincoln's top-seller, the brand will discontinue the gasoline- powered and plug-in hybrid Aviator, which are built in Chicago, by early 2026, shortly after a similarly sized electric crossover enters production in Oakville.

Nautilus: Production of the next- generation Nautilus is scheduled to begin early next year, as production of the current version built in Oakville winds down. The midsize crossover will be the first Lincoln built in China and sold in the U.S. It includes new exterior styling, as well as a digital display made up of two 24-inch screens that span the full width of the dashboard. It will be the first U.S. product to offer an optional "Lincoln Rejuvenate" feature, which combines ambient lighting, displays, speakers, massaging seats and personalized scents pumped into the cabin.

The Nautilus will come standard with a carryover 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine, also found on the recently freshened Corsair, that gets 250 hp and 275 pound-feet of torque and is mated to an eight-speed transmission. A new hybrid option is available on all trims, featuring a 2.0-liter turbocharged hybrid engine and a continuously variable automatic transmission with a 100-kilowatt electric motor. The hybrid system is expected to generate 310 hp.

Corsair: The Corsair was Lincoln's best-selling U.S. product in 2022, but it now trails the Nautilus after a 24 percent slide this year through July. It was freshened earlier this year with a larger touchscreen, exterior design tweaks and the brand's hands-free driver-assist system.

Executives have said the compact crossover, which has a plug-in hybrid variant, is a key product that helps drive conquest sales and attract younger buyers into the brand, but the nameplate is not long for this market. Lincoln has no plans for a next-generation Corsair in the U.S., with production at the Louisville Assembly Plant scheduled to end in 2025.