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Ford retires 72-year-old Mercury brand
Dearborn -- Ford Motor Co. today confirmed that it is killing its mid-market Mercury brand to focus its resources on its luxury Lincoln marque.
"We are very proud of its history, but we are now looking forward," said Ford Americas President Mark Fields, who promised that the nation's 1,712 dealers would be fairly compensated for the loss of their Mercury franchises.
He said the company would work with them to make sure their remaining Ford and Lincoln franchises make up for the lost sales. "We absolutely remain committed to working with our dealers."
There are no stand-alone Mercury dealers left. However, 276 of those stores are paired only with Lincoln, and Ford acknowledged some may have a hard time surviving alone.
Ford said no employees will lose their jobs as a result of the decision, which was ratified at a meeting of Ford's board of directors this morning. It had been expected for some time; the brand has been losing market share in the United States since the 1990s.
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Dearborn -- Ford Motor Co. today confirmed that it is killing its mid-market Mercury brand to focus its resources on its luxury Lincoln marque.
"We are very proud of its history, but we are now looking forward," said Ford Americas President Mark Fields, who promised that the nation's 1,712 dealers would be fairly compensated for the loss of their Mercury franchises.
He said the company would work with them to make sure their remaining Ford and Lincoln franchises make up for the lost sales. "We absolutely remain committed to working with our dealers."
There are no stand-alone Mercury dealers left. However, 276 of those stores are paired only with Lincoln, and Ford acknowledged some may have a hard time surviving alone.
Ford said no employees will lose their jobs as a result of the decision, which was ratified at a meeting of Ford's board of directors this morning. It had been expected for some time; the brand has been losing market share in the United States since the 1990s.
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