A tepid market for luxury car sales in the GCC hasn’t stopped high end American brand Lincoln from reporting a double digit sales growth rate over the year so far.
Lincoln sales are up “approximately 20% across the GCC,” the company’s GCC director Sarah Rae said in an interview at Arabian Business’ studios in Dubai, while sales of its flagship Navigator series have “tripled.”
“We’re all sold out with the Navigator,” said Rae. “You’d see even more of them on the roads but the fact is that strong demand has created global supply challenges for us.”
Part of the Ford Motor Company, Lincoln’s Navigator is the seventh car model the luxury brand has introduced in the region after embarking on a sales revitalisation programme five years ago.
According to figures from Lincoln, sales in 2018 stood at a record with more Navigators delivered to customers in June this year than in all of 2017.
“What’s been important for us with luxury customers is of course the product, but also the distributors who have been investing in experiences and training. That’s been a major part of our success.
Lincoln’s growth in the region has been led by a growing preference for SUV’s, according to Rae.
“Globally people’s preferences have changed. Where 20 years ago you would have had either cars or trucks, the SUV has blurred the lines, and consumers are showing us that’s what they want,” she said. “And so even in the premium and luxury market, the product is following the consumer.”
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