Lincoln Motor Company has no plans to offer a formal buyout program like some of its rivals, such as Cadillac and Buick.
Lincoln president Joy Falotico said the brand expects a continued winnowing of its dealer network in the coming years as it shifts its focus on electric vehicles
Ford's luxury brand says that will happen voluntarily and not through formal buyout programs
Falotico said she expects Lincoln to end 2022 with under 600 US retailers, down from more than 1,000 about five years ago.
Falotico added that as Lincoln pivots to electric vehicles, dealers will have the opportunity to decide if the investment required to sell Lincoln EVs makes sense for them or not.
Lincoln president said "it will be completely up to them if they want to proceed with the Lincoln brand."
Lincoln's approach to dealers in the EV era is different not only from Cadillac's, which offered buyouts to about a third of its dealers that refused to invest in electric vehicles, but also Ford's.
Falotico added that Lincoln's certification program will likely have a different timeline than Ford's, which makes sense given that the luxury brand doesn't have a single electric vehicle on sale at the moment.