It is important to remember that the brands are very different. Volvo is a safety and reliability vehicle while Ford is known for value and American attitude. Both brands should focus on different aspects of their businesses and the marketing and r&d efforts should be different as well. Even if you compare the cars, they have different parts, so the cost of both brands should be lower. While Lincoln’s market share has been increasing over the past five years, Volvo’s share is decreasing. This is not surprising as it has been heading downmarket while the company was focusing on selling off Volvo.
Lincoln’s long-running success has been due to the fact that it didn’t follow the common American automotive industry practice of making yearly model changes. Instead, it only made minor tweaks to its models and made powertrain upgrades. That meant they left the body alone for the 10-year production cycle. However, the company did have some good news in the form of a mid-size sports sedan, the Lincoln LS. The LS was developed alongside the Jaguar S-Type and shared the same chassis and powertrain.
While the MKC was the cornerstone of the brand revival, the company’s other models were getting better reviews. The company had previously worked with celebrities but not McConaughey. It tried that with John Slattery during its 2010 ad campaign, which was a misstep. The aging actor seemed out of place for a luxury brand targeting younger buyers.
