Ford Motor Co. (F), speeding the rollout of the redesigned Lincoln MKZ sedan to revive its luxury line, said the model’s April U.S. sales set a monthly record that drove a gain of at least 10 percent for the brand.
“We should be right around the 4,000-unit sales mark for MKZ,” Jim Farley, executive vice president of Ford global marketing and sales and Lincoln, told reporters yesterday on a conference call. “This would be our strongest sales month ever for MKZ and it will be a double-digit percentage increase for Lincoln as a whole.”
Ford is counting on the MKZ, which features a chrome grille inspired by eagle wings and an optional retractable glass roof, to increase demand for Lincoln and contribute more to results in North America, where the company posted record profit and margins last year. Lincoln first-quarter U.S. sales plunged 24 percent, the most of any brand with at least 100 sales.