It’s tempting to look at Lincoln and think it doesn’t have much of a chance of competing with BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Lexus for the luxury sales crown in the US. BMW and Lexus outsold Lincoln by more than three to one in 2025, while Mercedes wasn’t far behind. Lincoln delivered about 107,000 vehicles in the US last year, putting it well behind Cadillac and Audi, although Lincoln did outpace Land Rover.
Ford’s luxury brand certainly has tumbled from its 1990 peak, when it sold 231,660 vehicles – a lot of them Lincoln Town Cars. But now the challenge is matching Lincoln’s customer demand with the proper number of dealerships scattered across the US. That number is shrinking, again.
Lincoln Dealership Number Needs To Make Sense
In 2010, when the auto industry was still suffering adverse effects from the Great Recession, Ford had way too many Lincoln dealers – as many as 1,200 – and consolidation was under way, especially as Mercury was discontinued in January 2011, meaning big changes ahead for Lincoln/Mercury dealerships. It might be difficult for a long-time dealership to leave a community it has served for decades, but staying in business without selling enough vehicles to be profitable is unsustainable.
Lincoln ended 2025 with about 430 US dealerships, according to Ford Authority, which translates to about 249 cars per Lincoln store. Meanwhile, the industry sales target for a franchised dealership is about 950 new vehicles per year. The average BMW dealer sells over 1,000 annually. So there’s room for consolidation among the remaining Lincoln showrooms. Still to be determined is which dealers will call it a day.
How Many Cars Should Lincoln Dealers Sell Annually?
Automotive News reports that Lincoln had 797 dealers in 2019 (while selling about 112,000 vehicles) and that the brand has already reduced the number to 387. The target is fewer than 300 by the end of 2027, which averages out to just four dealer locations per state. If Lincoln can grow its overall brand sales to 125,000 units annually while the number of showrooms drops to 300, that would mean about 416 sales per store, which is an improvement but still a long way from what the automotive retail community considers healthy.
2027 Lincoln Navigator Black Label rear 3/4Lincoln
Reducing Lincoln stores has actually boosted profitability for those dealerships remaining in the network, which means more money to reinvest in the “client experience,” Shawn McDermott, Lincoln retail network director, told Automotive News. On the downside, those dealers only have three vehicles to sell (Navigator, Aviator, and Nautilus) because the compact Corsair crossover was discontinued a year ago. Next year, the brand plans to import 2027 Corsairs from China.
CarBuzz Insight – Why This Matters:
Ideally, Lincoln will grow sales while shrinking its number of showrooms, which won’t be convenient for customers but will make better business sense, potentially translating to more stability for those remaining stores. But it’s hard enough for Cadillac, even with a more extensive lineup and new additions on the way, to keep up with BMW and Lexus.
How is Lincoln supposed to catch the eye of a luxury shopper who might want an EV, a sedan, or a roadster? And the political ramifications of importing Corsairs from China could be dire. Through the first nine months of 2026, Lincoln sales in the US were down 11.8% while the Aviator showed the most growth, up 11.6% to 18,309 units.
Base Trim Engine
2L I-4 Hybrid
Base Trim Transmission
8-speed automatic
Base Trim Drivetrain
All-Wheel Drive
Base Trim Horsepower
250 HP @5500 RPM
Base Trim Torque
280 lb.-ft. @ 3000 RPM
Base Trim Fuel Economy (city/highway/combined)
21/29/24 MPG
Base Trim Battery Type
Lithium ion (Li-ion)
Source: Automotive News
