The 2025 Lincoln Navigator is a clear example of how Ford and Lincoln have moved away from designing cars for the United States. The top-of-the-line luxury SUV is now behind the rest of the Lincoln lineup, which is highly affected by the needs of Chinese and other international markets when it comes to design and production. The new Navi was made with both the Chinese car industry and American tastes in mind. In the end, this is an industry worldwide. As of now, Ford is trying to build cars as a whole rather than separately and by region. Changan Ford, a joint partnership between Blue Oval and Ford, is making the Lincoln Nautilus in China. There is also another Lincoln made in Hangzhou: the Aviator. The new Nautilus is just one of two. In Chongqing, Changan Ford also makes the most popular Lincoln Corsair. The 2025 Lincoln Navigator would do the same thing. The new Navi will still be made at Ford’s Kentucky Truck Plant, not somewhere else. However, its general design will be the same as that of smaller SUVs that are similar to the big one. Many of these smaller SUVs are made in China. Chief Engineer Scott Grandinett of The Navigator told Invoice Pricing that markets outside of the United States heavily influenced the SUV’s design. This is important even for a car with deep cultural and political ties to the United States. He tells me that Lincoln’s team had a full plan this time and that his goal was to go beyond the borders of the United States. The designers say that one of the reasons for the new split gate is that Chinese buyers of luxury cars are becoming more interested in outdoor areas. The best way to unwind at the end of a long day is to sit on a deck and enjoy the scenery. I asked the Chief Engineer if countries outside of the United States, like China, had a big effect on the Navigator. He said, “I think so. I really do. It could tell the difference between market and industry differences twenty years ago, and I think that some of those differences are starting to become more similar in a good way. I think this is one of the nicest things someone has said this week: We’re trying to move beyond American luxury into global luxury.” Grandinett worked as a senior engineer on the 2013 Ford Fusion Mondeo, so he knows how to work with people in other countries. As the person in charge of the sedan’s interior during its global rollout, I asked him what he had learned about how domestic and foreign markets are coming together on that project. Grandinett replied, “I’ve worked at Ford for 24 years, so I’ve spent a lot of time in both software and interiors. More than anything else, these events have helped me become more careful. It’s hard to put into words what is most important in terms of quality of work and delivery. However, I believe that the years I spent carefully perfecting the last few details have been applied to every part of the car, and we will make both much better. A step back, some people say that artistry is hard to explain, but you can tell when you see it.” He said that working at Global Sedans was “a great learning experience.” The speaker talked about Mondeo: “How they were able to see creative solutions from different groups in different areas as they launched those in various plants at the same time. One part of that method for seeing things from a different point of view has worked really well. At the China facility, we saw a solution come together that we might not have seen at the Spain plant. Sharing knowledge and being able to use global tools and experience has been very helpful.” There is a bit of fear in the industry as Chinese automakers try to compete with European automakers in terms of price. It’s interesting that American automakers like Buick and Lincoln have been making “global luxury” cars like the new Navigator, while Chinese automakers haven’t come to the US yet and probably won’t because of taxes.
