Ford ramps up plans to build Lincoln in China

Ford, banking on China to revive its long-lagging Lincoln brand, is trying to accelerate plans to begin building its luxury models there and avoid profit-sapping tariffs brought about by President Donald Trump.

Ford, which had planned to start production of Lincoln models in China in late 2019 with a local partner, is trying to move that timing up, even if slightly, to help overcome tariffs China has imposed in retaliation to levies by the Trump administration.

"What we want to do is accelerate that," said Joy Falotico, head of Lincoln and Ford's chief marketing officer. "We will look for opportunities but it's a big undertaking, and I think it won't be a significant change in our plans."

Even a small move would help Lincoln, which lacks the local production most of its competitors have in China. Prices have soared as a result of the 40 percent tariffs the country has put on U.S.-built vehicles. Ford is absorbing some of those costs, but Lincoln's sales have still slowed to a crawl.

Lincoln is also reconsidering plans to export Chinese-built models back to the U.S., Falotico said. Instead, the automaker will likely build the same models in both countries.

"It's about ensuring our competitiveness with the pricing given the tariff headwinds," she said.

The fallout from the trade war came at a bad time for Ford, which was pinning its hopes for growth on a country that it expects to become Lincoln's top market.

Ford still believes there's plenty of Chinese appetite for SUVs, and Lincoln arrived in the market just four years ago, so the brand feels new there. Ford hopes to have 125 dealerships in China by year's end.