Ford Motor, one of the oldest luxury brands in America unveiled its first electric vehicle, the Lincoln star Concept, on Thursday to catch up with its rivals who have already plugged into the electric segment.
The SUV is elongated, has large wheels that resemble discs, and has a flat roofline and angled down at the back for improved aerodynamics. The model is not running now and therefore has no performance estimates when released. The Star Concept will be among the brands that promise to unveil three EV models in 2025 and a fourth by 2026.
According to Joy Felicio, the president of Lincoln, currently, there are 48 EV models in the premium segment compared to only 5 in 2017.
The Lincoln EV will have an upper glass with a darkened see-through roof, and 3D printed real and front pillars that allow light to flow inside the cabin. The model has a retro and futuristic design with a coach-style real door that resembles the 1960s Lincoln continental. The illuminated cabin with its soft light, a cabinet for chilled beverages, and hidden storage for shoes make the back of the car like an executive office or a comfortable lounge.
Market rises as competition becomes tougher
However, not much feature in the car is novel as other automakers, from Rolls Royce to Cadillac, all have refrigerated compartments, mood-changing colors, and fragrance that is promised in Lincoln already been a staple offering from Mercedes cars for years. The glass rooftop is already found in Luci’s Air and Hummer EV from General Motors.
Executives of Lincoln say that the Marquee brand half of global sales in 2026 will comprise pure electric and hybrid vehicles. The 100-year-old auto brand is lagging behind other luxury carmakers in the EV segment. The growth at the top end has been faster than the mainstream models, with EVs accounting for 20% of sales in the luxury models compared to just 2% in mainstream models.
Presently BMW, Audi, Hummer, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Tesla, and Rivian all sell pure Electric Vehicles. Lincoln’s town rival Cadillac started production of the electric SUV model Lyriq on March 21, ahead by a year of its first schedule.
Lincoln’s parent company Ford is trying hard to convert its F-150 Lightning. CEO Jim Farley recently hiked the spending target by 66% on EVs to $50 billion by 2026. It has delayed the plans to come out with the Lincoln Aviator SUV electric version so that it could boost the electric Mustang Mach-E production.
Currently, Lincoln sells the Corsair and Aviator as a hybrid plug-in EV but will eventually offer the Zephyr, which is a full hybrid version in China. According to its spokesperson, China is the key to future growth. In 2021, Lincoln saw an increase of 48% over 2020, with sales of more than 91,000 in China.
According to the Kemal Curic, the design Director of Lincoln said that design projects like the Star concept are ongoing relationships that make the vehicles get better with time and offer clues to consumers about how the actual product may look like in the future.
