Lincoln to Pilot Monthly Subscription Service
Lincoln Motor Co., under the ownership of Ford Motor Co., plans to pilot a monthly subscription service next year, adding to the ever-growing list of luxury subscription car options.
The service will begin in California, enabling clients to select a month-to-month vehicle subscription that includes insurance, maintenance, roadside assistance, and vehicle pickup and delivery.
“Building on the early learnings from Ford Credit’s Canvas subscription service that launched in May, the Lincoln program will also incorporate the same technology,” a company statement said.
Canvas, the short-term vehicle leasing startup formerly known as Breeze, was acquired by Ford Credit in December 2016, the captive’s communications manager Margaret Mellott previously told Auto Finance News.
“Long-term leases will obviously play a role in our overall portfolio, but in the spirit of effortlessness, there is a consumer out there who doesn’t really need a three-year lease,” Lincoln president Kumar Galhotra told reporters at the AutoMobility LA conference. “We’re coming up with a different ownership model for them.”
The inspiration for the new service comes from the “success” of Lincoln’s Pickup and Delivery program, which launched in 2016, according to the company. Pickup and Delivery is a Lincoln loaner service, where a valet picks up a client’s vehicle for any need, at any location, provides the client with a complimentary Lincoln loaner vehicle until the original car is returned. This is a common service for many car brands, but since the launch, more than 60,000 rides have been completed, and — from January to October — usage increased 223%, the company said.
But more than just inspiration from Pickup and Delivery, there has also been an increase in luxury vehicle subscriptions. Cadillac launched Book by Cadillac; Porsche rolled out its own called Porsche Passport; Volvo now operates a 24-month subscription called Care by Volvo; and Bentley continues to test its Bentley on Demand service. All of which were announced in 2017.
