The Lincoln MKZ is Officially Discontinued – Buy Pre-Owned while you can

The Lincoln MKZ, in production since 2006, is a five-passenger, four-door sedan whose concept form debuted at the 2004 New York International Auto Show. The MKZs original name was to be Zephyr, a name that has been used by Lincoln and Mercury a few times in the past. In the 1930s, Lincoln used the Zephyr name for a line of mid-size vehicles in the Lincoln-Mercury line. This name was also used by Mercury during the late ’70s and early ’80s for a number of vehicles built on the Fox Platform. In 2007, Lincoln renamed the Zephyr the MKZ.

Lincoln made modifications to the MKZ as it got older. It received a facelift for the 2020 model year; Lincoln brought out a hybrid model of the MKZ in 2011. The second-generation MKZ model came out in 2013, and Lincoln gave the model its last facelift in 2017.

Having been talked about for awhile now, Ford made it official. Effective July 31, the last day of production for the Lincoln MKZ took place at the Ford Hermosillo Plant. The Ford Fusion also ceased production at that time. In the Hermosillo Plant, Ford will be manufacturing the Ford Bronco Sport, taking place of the MKZ and the Fusion. Production full-scale on the Bronco Sport will begin on October 26, 2020.

It seems that Ford, with finite resources to invest, has elected to focus new efforts on a full portfolio of SUVs. Lincoln’s line of SUVs will be bolstered; and the company has plans to launch the Corsair Grand Touring later this year. Ford also plans on bringing out a fully electric vehicle in the near future.

The MKZ isn’t the only model that Lincoln will be discontinuing this year. The Lincoln Continental’s production will stop at the end of 2020, effectively retiring the Lincoln name again- for the fourth time in history. The MKZ utilizes the same Ford CD4 Platform as the Continental and Fusion, so it looks like that platform gets effectively “retired” as well.

Much of the reason that the Lincoln MKZ is being discontinued may be financially driven. The Lexus ES, the MKZs primary competition, has been totally dominating the market since their new seventh-generation model came out in 2018. The ES captured a huge 72 percent segment share in Q1 of 2020; the MKZ was way behind that figure at just a 27 percent share.