Lincoln Posts Q1 2020 Sales Gain
Photo: Lincoln
Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has negatively impacted the vast majority of automakers’ first-quarter sales, Lincoln this week posted a net Q1 2020 sales gain at 25,561 vehicles delivered. Sales were up 2.3 percent over the first three months of the year, and that gain comes almost solely thanks to the all-new Lincoln Aviator.
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Lincoln sold a total of 5,666 Aviator SUVs between January and March, which was more than enough to offset losses posted by other vehicles. This follows its hot finish to 2019, where the Aviator saw sales totaling 2,810 vehicles in December. Lincoln sold a total of 8,323 Aviators last year following its mid-year launch. Lincoln also notes that the Aviator saw more sales growth from customers between the ages of 35-44 than any other demographic, proving the brand’s increased appeal to younger and more affluent drivers.
On the whole, Lincoln SUVs were up 6.1 percent at 20,516 delivered in Q1 2020. This is all the more impressive given that sales of the Corsair/MKC, Nautilus/MKX, and Navigator were all down due in part to the COVID-19 outbreak. Despite the overall decline, Lincoln notes that retail sales for the Corsair/MKC are up 3.8 percent in Q1 — and that nationwide inventory has now cycled completely over to the new Corsair, which should help sales for the remainder of the year. Overall retail SUV sales were up 6.9 percent.
Surprisingly, the only Lincoln vehicle to post a year-on-year increase was the Continental, which got a 15.4 percent sales boost in Q1 2020. Lincoln sold a total of 1,563 Continental sedans, up from 1,355 in the first quarter of 2019. With sales of the MKZ down nearly 20 percent, Lincoln car sales were down 10.6 percent overall at 5,045 delivered.
Lincoln was one of just three auto brands and the only luxury brand to find itself in the black in first-quarter sales.
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Kyle S. Johnson lives in Cincinnati, a city known by many as “the Cincinnati of Southwest Ohio.” He enjoys professional wrestling, Halloween, and also other things. He has been writing for a while, and he plans to continue to write well into the future. See more articles by Kyle.