Who Owns Lincoln?- Full History

Who Owns Lincoln?

Lincoln, formally known as Lincoln Motor Company, is an American automobile company specializing in luxury cars. Lincoln Motor Company is one of the top luxury automobile manufacturers in the U.S. It has dominated the luxury automobile industry and its counterpart Cadillac, owned by General Motors, an American automobile manufacturer. Lincoln Motor Company has a vast market in the U.S. Lincoln vehicles are officially marketed in China, South Korea, and the Middle East (except Syria and Iran). Lincoln has an elaborate range of products, including luxury crossover vehicles, limousines, and sport-utility vehicles. Lincoln Motor Company is most notably known for the manufacture and supply of official state limousines used by many Presidents of the United States, both past and present. Here, we’ll know Who Owns Lincoln?

Lincoln Motor Company, also known as Lincoln, was founded by Henry M. Leland and Wilfred Leland in August 1917. Although Henry M. Leland was touted as the founder of both Lincoln and Cadillac, the present competition of Lincoln and one of the top luxury automobile manufacturers in the U.S. Cadillac acquire by General Motors in 1909. On the 4th of February, 1922, Lincoln was gained by Ford Motor Company. Ford Motor Company has thus, remained the owner and the parent company of Lincoln to this day after the acquisition. Lincoln is, therefore, a division of Ford Motor Company than an independent company that specializes in the manufacture and marketing of luxury vehicles. The headquarters of Lincoln Motor Company is in Dearborn, Michigan, U.S., with Joy Falotico as Lincoln’s Vice President. 

Many documents state that Henry M. Leland had named his Lincoln Motor Company after Abraham Lincoln, a President of America (1861-1865). LincolnLincoln was successful in establishing. It was one of the first presidents he had ever voted for. After the acquisition of Lincoln by Ford for an estimated $8 million ($123.68 million in today’s currency), the company launched several luxury vehicles such as the 1922 Lincoln Model L, the 1925 Lincoln Model L sedan, the 1926 Lincoln Model L town car, and the 1930 Lincoln Model L sedan. Thus, in less than a decade, Lincoln successfully established itself as a luxury automobile manufacturer and gave tough competition to already established American brands such as Duesenberg, Marmon, Packard, Peerless, and Pierce-Arrow. 

In its hundred and four years history after its foundation, Lincoln has gained a lot of popularity with the market for Lincoln automobiles proportionately growing in different parts of the globe, especially in the United States and China. The most popular Lincoln vehicles throughout history are the 1929 Lincoln L Dietrich Convertible Coupe, 1932 Lincoln KB LeBaron Convertible Roadster, and the 1937 Lincoln Zephyr Coupe-Sedan name a few. It is also renowned in the U.S. and around the globe as a company that has a history as a manufacturer of Presidential cars for presidents such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, George H. W. Bush, and John F. Kennedy, among others. 

History of Lincoln

Lincoln was found by Henry M. Leland and his don Wilfred Leland in August of 1917 as Lincoln Motor Company. Henry Leland had named his Lincoln Motor Company after Abraham Lincoln, the President of America from 1861 to 1865. Lincoln was the first president he had ever voted for. The company initially manufactured Liberty V12 aircraft engines during the First World War and only started making automobiles from the 1920s. The first automobile produced by the company was the Lincoln Model L that released on the 16th of September, 1920. The company could not handle the transition from being a military production company to an automobile manufacturer. Therefore, it did not do well in the first years of its establishment. 

Ford then acquired Lincoln Motor Company on 4th February 1922 for an estimated $8 million, which equates to about $123.68 million in today’s currency. Henry Leland remained in the company, with Edsel Ford appointed as the Chairman of Lincoln. However, Ford and Leland did not get along well, and on June 10th, 1922, Henry and his son retired from the company they had created. From then onwards, Lincoln is owned and overseen by Ford Motor Company to date, with Lincoln being the luxury automobile division of Ford. 

Link to the article summarizing the entire history of Lincoln, before and after its acquisition by Ford: 

https://www.lincolncarmuseum.org/lincoln-heritage/a-brief-lincoln-history

The Popularity of Lincoln

Lincoln has established itself as one of the leading luxury car brands globally. It is one of the top luxury automobile manufacturers in the U.S. and its counterpart, the General Motors-owned Cadillac. After Lincoln’s acquisition, Ford refurbished Lincoln’s original Model L with upgraded engines for reliability and performance and customized Lincoln bodies. Some of the refurbished Model L Lincolns released by Ford were the 1922 Lincoln Model L, the 1925 Lincoln Model L sedan, the 1926 Lincoln Model L town car, and the 1930 Lincoln Model L sedan that gained a lot of popularity in the U.S. Ford’s Lincoln was successful in establishing itself as a luxury brand in less than a decade competing with pre-existing American luxury automobile manufacturers such as DuesenbergMarmonPackardPeerless, and Pierce-Arrow

Lincoln has exponentially grown in popularity with an estimated annual revenue of $10 billion during the years. The main markets for Lincoln vehicles are in the U.S., China, South Korea, and the Middle East, except for Iran and Syria. Lincoln is also a major supplier and manufacturer of state vehicles in the U.S. for the past and present Presidents. For example, President Franklin D. Roosevelt acquired the 1939 Lincoln Model K V12 convertible, President John F. Kennedy acquired a customized 1961 Lincoln Continental convertible, and President H. W. Bush acquired the 1989 Lincoln Town Car, to name a few.

Lincoln on the 21st Century

The 21st Century was the phase of transition for Lincoln. The manufacturing of the Lincoln Mark series ended, and the Lincoln Navigator SUV series challenge the monopoly of European and Japanese companies in this sector that was practically unchallenged. The first Lincoln manufactured under this series was the Lincoln LS, which tout as the shortest Lincoln ever produced at that time. As a result, Lincoln LS could compete with other European and Japanese companies and Cadillac with its Cadillac Catera. Some of the Lincoln models manufactured by Lincoln during this era are the 2007 Lincoln Navigator L, the 2009 Lincoln MKS, the 2011 Lincoln MKX, the 2015 Lincoln MKC, and the 2018 Lincoln Continental, to name a few. 

Due to the popularity of SUVs, Lincoln stated in 2020 that it would stop producing the Continental and MKZ sedans by the end of the year. Recent Lincoln models are the Lincoln Aviator Black Label, Lincoln Corsair, and the Lincoln Nautilus Reserve. 

Link to an article listing the different Lincoln models:

Conclusion 

In conclusion, Lincoln Motor Company found by Henry M. Leland and his son Wilfred Leland in 1917, and Ford acquired Lincoln in 1922 for an estimated sum of $8 million. Since then, the company has grown very popular as a luxury brand in many parts. In the U.S. alone, more than 1 lakh Lincoln vehicles were sold in 2020, establishing which generated an estimated $10 billion revenue. 

The primary manufacturing plants of Lincoln Motor Company are located in Canada, where the Lincoln Nautilus make, Mexico, where the Lincoln MKZ make, and the U.S., where the Lincoln Corsair and Navigator earn. The Lincoln vehicles are very durable and equipped with safety features and user-friendly interfaces. The Lincoln MKZ and Navigator make these vehicles highly popular and one of the top-rated vehicles. 

Link to an article illustrating the statistics of Lincoln sales in the past decade in the U.S.:

Frequently Asked Questions 

  1. How much is Ford Motor Company worth?

Ford Motor Company, founded by Henry Ford in 1903 and is the second-largest automobile manufacturer. Ford is also one of the leading automobile manufacturers competing with Hyundai, Toyota, Volkswagen, and General Motors. Although Ford Motor Company has had a loss of almost 9.8 % as of January 6th, 2021, Forbes has estimated that the total worth of Ford Motor Company in revenue is around $127.114 billion. 

  1. Which are some of Lincoln’s most famous automobiles?

Lincoln has created countless models in its nearly hundred years of history, and some of these models have been more popular than others. These models are the 1929 Lincoln L Dietrich Convertible Coupe, the 1932 Lincoln KB LeBaron Convertible Roadster, the 1937 Lincoln Zephyr Coupe-Sedan, the 1939 Lincoln Continental, the 1951 Lincoln Cosmopolitan, and the 1984 Lincoln Mark VII.

Link to an article listing the Lincoln models that are the most popular of all time:

  1. What is the Premier Automotive Group?

The Premier Automotive Group, also known as PAG, was formed in 1999 by the then CEO of Ford Jacques Nasser. In simple terms, PAG form to oversee the business of high-end brands that Ford acquired. These brands included Lincoln, Mercury, Aston Martin, Jaguar, Mazda, Land Rover, and Volvo. However, this group has now disbanded after Ford sold most of these brands to various companies.

Link to an article illustrating more about the PAG:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premier_Automotive_Group

Who Owns Lincoln?- Full History

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