Cars and Drivers

Lincoln Clobbers Cadillac in Growth During February

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: March 2, 2016 6:33 am

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 12:30 pm

February sales results for the two U.S. luxury car brands showed a 30.4% growth in the sales of Ford Motor Co.’s (NYSE: F) Lincoln to 8,039, while General Motors Co.’s (NYSE: GM) Cadillac division sales were flat at 11,840.

Lincoln’s sales improvement was based largely on the success of the new MKX, with sales up 109.3% to 2,375. It has a base price of $38,360. Sales of the MKZ rose 16% to 2,128. The low-end sedan has a base price of $35,190.

At Cadillac, sales of its aging entry-level ATS collapsed by 21.5% to 1,591. Cadillac needs an entry-level car to bring in younger customers. The base price of the ATS sedan is $33,215, which puts it against the lowest priced cars of most other luxury manufacturers.

Sales of Cadillac’s best-selling SRX were also disappointing at 4,017, up only 5.5%. The SRX is another entry-level vehicle, in this case in the crossover category. Its base price is $37,650. SRX sales are a third of all of Cadillac’s.

Each brand has a large gulf to cover to move nearer to the sales of the most successful luxury car makers. Lincoln has the popular line-up to do that, for the time being.