Ford Commits to $5 Billion Tune-Up For Lincoln Brand

Lincoln MKS

Ford Motor Co. has committed to invest at least $5 billion over the next five years to rev up its Lincoln brand with new models and a platform specifically designed for premium vehicles, sources tell Reuters.

CEO Mark Fields declines to reveal specifics. But he tells Reuters that a "relevant and vibrant luxury brand" is important to Ford and will require significant investment. One Reuters source says the carmaker has invested about $2 billion in Lincoln over the past two years.

Reuters' sources say Ford plans a highly flexible premium chassis, code named D6, that can be configured for front-, rear- and all-wheel drive powertrains. It will be several years before the first D6-based model hits the market.

In the meantime, Ford hopes revamping existing models through 2018 will help it achieve Lincoln sales of 300,000 units worldwide by 2020. The company introduced the 92-year-old brand in China earlier this month.

Lincoln sales peaked at 187,000 units in 1998 and totaled less than 82,000 in the U.S. last year.