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Lincoln Aviator sales sputter; dealers say the new SUV is priced too high
April 28, 2003
By AMY WILSON | Automotive News
Though Aviator sales have been slow, Lincoln has seen signs of hope in younger buyers.
DETROIT - Even as Lincoln dealers worry about a product dearth, the luxury brand's newest vehicle is getting off to a slow start.
Five months after it reached showrooms, sales of the 2003 Lincoln Aviator SUV have disappointed some dealers, and a key Ford Motor Co. executive even acknowledged that the Aviator hasn't sold as well as expected. Dealers say the $40,000-plus SUV is priced too high, while the automaker says it needs some time to evaluate the Aviator's performance in a war economy and to give advertising a chance.
The Aviator's success is key for Lincoln dealers, who are concerned about a thinning product lineup and slipping sales. Lincoln's U.S. sales dropped by 5.6 percent in 2002 to 150,057 vehicles, its third decline in the last four years. Lincoln has said it is responding to the concerns with three new vehicles in the next three years.
Lincoln started advertising the Aviator in February and has seen some recent gains.
"It could be doing slightly better, but it gained a lot of momentum in March versus February," says Jim O'Connor, Ford group vice president for North America marketing, sales and service. "I would say it's priced a little high."
U.S. dealers sold 6,789 Aviators from its November 2002 introduction through March, when sales jumped 52.8 percent from February levels to 2,245. Inventory soared to a huge 160-day supply at the beginning of March and dropped to a still-high 113 days on April 1. Lincoln has targeted Aviator sales of 30,000 to 35,000 in 2003.
Because of price, many shoppers who look at an Aviator end up buying the larger Lincoln Navigator SUV, which starts at $49,050, or the similar-sized Mercury Mountaineer SUV, which starts at $29,950, dealers say. Or they cross-shop SUVs and sport wagons sold by import luxury brands such as Lexus or Acura that can be had for less money. The Aviator's list price starts at $39,995 and can top $54,000 for a loaded Kitty Hawk edition.
"Pricing is the one thing that has to be addressed," says Jack Straub of Straub Lincoln-Mercury in Keyport, N.J.
Lincoln officials say the Aviator has attracted more import buyers and younger buyers than other Lincolns.
But given price and its styling similarities to the Navigator, the Aviator is not likely to add incremental sales to Lincoln Mercury, says Jeff Schuster, director of North American forecasting for J.D. Power and Associates.
For $10,000 less, a buyer could get substantially the same vehicle in the Mercury Mountaineer, he says.
"It pretty much is feeding on itself," Schuster says.
The automaker still is working on the right pricing formula for the Aviator, O'Connor says.
While adjusting the list price isn't under consideration, Lincoln began offering 0 percent financing or a $3,000 cash rebate on the Aviator this month. Those are high incentives for a vehicle so new to the market.
Cutting production is another option if stocks remain high.
"It's off the same (platform) as the Mountaineer and Explorer," O'Connor says. "Both of those are selling well, and while there's more margin in Aviator for the company, it's not like you lost all your margin. We're mixing."
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Stacy94PGT
My first car was a 67 Mustang Coupe, 2nd one was a 67 Cougar XR-7, 3rd one was a 66 Mustang Coupe. Why did I get rid of these cars for ? I know why, because I'm stupid, stupid, stupid.
I don't want to sound like a broken record, but Ford/Lincoln/Mercury needs to make increased horsepower available on these vehicles. And the Cobra's supercharged engine is just the optional engine to be offered. What is it going to take to get Ford Motor Co. to address this issue? As it stands now, too many consumers see Ford Motor products as NOT the place to purchase a vehicle with segment leading horsepower/performance. Would Ford rather go broke than become competitive in the horsepower race? And for that matter, the Lincoln LS also could benefit from having the Cobra's engine as an option. Tune it right, and it could run with the new M5 for a savings of $10,000-15,000.
I agree to a point, I know many people have asked John Coletti from SVT if they would help produce a better handling and more powerful Ford/Mercury/Lincoln SUV by using the Cobra engine and he turned the idea down straight away basically telling the media that they (SVT) will never offer a performance SUV wagon.
Ok so the Aviator is not the horsepower leader in its segment but at least it does offer best-in-class torque range 95 percent of peak torque is available from 2,250 5,400 rpm, more than twice the range of the BMW X5 4.4 (2,950 4,400 rpm) and almost three times the Lexus LX470 full-size SUV (2,800 3,950 rpm)...so its not all bad news.
My brother has the Aviator, and he says it is much better (more complete a vehicle) than the Navigator that he had. That being said, I look at Ford's success with Mustang, and I see that it has a base vehicle, a GT, and the Cobra (as well as the Mach I,Bullitt etc.), and I know that those who buy an SUV would like a similar performance selection. I know that Coletti has his hands full (I wish that he could be cloned), but Ford has to answer the bell on this one or give up sales to the competition.
Coletti pointed out that it wasn't knocked back because they have too much to do, he knocked the idea back because he said something along the lines of SUV 4x4's should never be performance orientated. To a certain point I agree with him, they are reasonably dangerous vehicles as is with uneducated drivers...but then again if there is a demand for it, and there is, it probably should at least be attempted.
I believe that what SVT does is to improve vehicle control. Yes, handling improvements make large, heavy vehicles safer. And more power? Knowledgeable, experienced drivers are better off with more rather than less power as it too increases driver control of the vehicle. Should those drivers who want increased performance in an SUV be denied because of the soccer mom type driver? Also, there were those who would never have let SVT create the F-150 Lightning. The market place has shown those nay sayers to be wrong, wrong, wrong!
RP083, In the past I've let SVT and Ford know what I think, and I might do so again. However, all I'm concerned about is increased performance, and I wonder if telling this to SVT is preaching to the choir. But yes, likely I'll do it.
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