In the last few years, the Ford brands have been shrinking. They have gotten rid of Jaguar, Land Rover, Aston Martin, and most recently the Volvo brand, and now it seems that the Mercury brand may be the next on the “chopping block”.
Ford officials would not confirm reports that the company was thinking of shutting down Mercury, but they have admitted to plans to shrink the lineup in an effort to make Lincoln the featured brand for the company. The Mercury brand has just four vehicles, the mid-size Milan sedan, the Mariner and Mountaineer SUVs and the giant Grand Marquis sedan. Production of the Grand Marquis will end when Ford closes their Canadian factory next year.
In a previous interviews, Ford Chief Executive Alan Mulally said he was looking at ways to reorganize the company to be more global. That included cutting brands and slicing the number of vehicles Ford produces, and then using those platforms to build cars that can be sold around the world. The new Ford Fiesta that is going on sale in the U.S. this summer is nearly identical to the one already sold in Europe. The same will hold true for the new-generation Ford Focus slated to roll out early next year.