Oakville to Build Electric Lincoln Corsair By 2026: Report
Photo: Lincoln
The recently inked CA$1.95 billion deal between Ford Motor Company of Canada and Unifor ensures that Oakville Assembly will be the automaker’s Canadian hub for future electric vehicle production. According to auto industry forecasting firm AutoForecast Solutions LLC, this includes an electric version of the Lincoln Corsair, which is slated to go into production by 2026.
Taste for the Finer Things? Why a new luxury vehicle might be the right fit for you
AutoForecast Solutions Vice President Sam Fiorani told Automotive News in January that the vehicle, called the Lincoln Corsair-E, will be built on a dedicated EV platform. This would most likely be the clean-sheet platform Lincoln opted for after pulling out of a joint project with Ford partner Rivian.
Because the electric Corsair would have its own unique platform, Lincoln could very well pull the plug on the combustion engine-powered Corsair and the Corsair Grand Touring plug-in hybrid. Lincoln builds the Lincoln Corsair and Corsair Grand Touring at Louisville Assembly in Kentucky. The crossover will undergo a complete redesign in 2024.
Nautilus slated for replacement after 2024
The fate of the Lincoln Nautilus, however, seems to be more certain. This past summer, Fiorani and AutoForecast Solutions reported that the Nautilus was in line to be discontinued at the end of its first life cycle. This would have seemingly left Oakville Assembly without a production mandate after 2023.
In September, 81 percent of Unifor-represented Ford of Canada employees ratified a three-year, CA$1.95 labor agreement. Lasting through 2023, the deal includes CA$1.8 earmarked for Oakville to transition the plant to electric vehicle manufacturing. Unifor President Jerry Dias said the agreement would see Oakville building five electrified Ford and Lincoln vehicles by 2027.
This new deal doesn’t seem to change the Nautilus’ fate, however. Lincoln is likely to replace the crossover with an electric vehicle after retooling takes place in 2024. The luxury brand recently revealed the new 2021 Nautilus, which features a reworked interior and SYNC 4 infotainment.
Lincoln now only offers four vehicles: the Corsair, Nautilus, Aviator, and Navigator. The Corsair and Navigator should receive refreshes in 2022 with the latter adding a hybrid or plug-in hybrid variant.
More on the Lincoln Corsair: How Lincoln’s new crossover lives up to premium expectations
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.