Jump to content
News
Reviews
Discussons
Activity
Create New...
Close
  • William Maley
    William Maley

    By William Maley •

    Lincoln Dealers Criticize Stair-Step Incentives

    William Maley

    Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com

    September 6, 2013

    Lincoln has been having a rough year so far and Ford wants to help out. The way they are doing is causing an uproar with their dealers.

    According to Bloomberg, Ford has implemented a bonus program for Lincoln dealers in certain markets that is known as stair-step incentives. Stair-step incentives work by giving higher bonus once a dealer sells a certain number of vehicles. For example, if you sell ten models, you will get a $500 bonus per model. Sell an additional ten models and the bonus increases to $1,000. Hence the stair-step.

    “There are some inherently unfair aspects of stair-step programs. They’re confusing to the market, they’re not necessarily good for customer satisfaction, and when you see a burst of sales at the end of a stair-step program, there’s always a payback. Right after that, the sales dip,” said Don Chalmers, owner of Ford and Lincoln dealerships near Santa Fe and Albuquerque, New Mexico.

    Confusingly, Ford is sending mixed messages on this matter. Ken Czubay, Ford’s vice president of U.S. marketing, sales and service said Ford doesn't use stair-step incentives. Meanwhile, Ford's sales analyst Erich Merkle said the company is using the incentives for “selective legacy vehicles”. In this case, the “selective legacy vehicles” are the MKS, MKT, and MKX.

    Source: Bloomberg

    William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

    Go to articles

    User Feedback

    Recommended Comments

    Drew Dowdell

    and how is the Navigator not "select legacy vehicle". The MKZ is the only thing in the Lincoln lineup that is new.

    Because they actually sell Navigators

    It's the second worst seller after the MKT and even then is only 75 units a month ahead.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    smk4565

    They should just close this brand down already. The product line is terrible, the advertising is terrible, they have no consistent design language, and no strategy for the future. They can't compete with the German and Japanese luxury brands, they can't keep up with the money those brands spend, and those brands have a big lead already. So that leaves them to battle Buick and Chrysler, and I don't think Lincoln can even do that, their lineup is worse than Buick's and the Fusion is actually nicer than the Lincoln version.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    justusforus

    smk4565 I hate to disagree, but I thought the marketing was magnificent and really enjoyed the commercials regarding the newer styles. I have always had a bent towards Cadillac and with their seeming appeal to a different demographic, I felt Lincoln would just follow suit. Lincoln is one of the classic American rides (from presidents to movie stars) and I mean "the ride" as well. I would hate to see it go and I hope it stays and improves its position in the market.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites


    Join the conversation

    You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
    Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

    Guest
    Add a comment...

    ×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

      Only 75 emoji are allowed.

    ×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

    ×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

    ×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

    ×

  • google-news-icon.png



×
×
  • Create New...

Hey there, we noticed you're using an ad-blocker. We're a small site that is supported by ads or subscriptions. We rely on these to pay for server costs and vehicle reviews.  Please consider whitelisting us in your ad-blocker, or if you really like what you see, you can pick up one of our subscriptions for just $1.75 a month or $15 a year. It may not seem like a lot, but it goes a long way to help support real, honest content, that isn't generated by an AI bot.

See you out there.

Drew
Editor-in-Chief

I've whitelisted
Continue without support

Write what you are looking for and press enter or click the search icon to begin your search

Change privacy settings