Ford and Lincoln are moving on from a U.S.-centric style of design, and that much is obvious in the 2025 Lincoln Navigator. The flagship luxury SUV now takes after the rest of the Lincoln lineup, which owes much of its design and production to foreign markets—especially China.
In a sense, the new Navi has not just been designed to cater to American tastes, but also to that of the car-buying public in China. Ford is now trying to look at car design in a holistic way rather than one that is discrete and broken down into regions—taking after its global production, no doubt.
The Lincoln Nautilus is currently made by Changan Ford, which is the Blue Oval’s Chinese joint venture. But the new Nautilus is not the only Chinese Lincoln, given that the Aviator is also made in Hangzhou. And the best-selling Lincoln Corsair is made in Chongqing, also by Changan Ford.
It only made sense that the 2025 Lincoln Navigator would follow suit. Not in offshore production since the new Navi’ will still be made in Ford’s Kentucky Truck Plant, but at least in its overall design, which now shares the same design language as the big SUV’s smaller cousins, many of them made in China.
The Navigator’s Chief Engineer Scott Grandinett told The Drive that the SUV’s design has been greatly influenced by global markets, which are vital even in a vehicle that’s historically and culturally associated with the U.S. He tells me that Lincoln’s goal was to move beyond the boundaries of America, explaining that his team took a broader approach this time. For example, designers say that part of the reason for the new split gate is that Chinese luxury car buyers are going gaga for the outdoors, and there’s no better view at the end of a long day than sitting at the tailgate looking out over nature’s bounty.
When asked if foreign markets like China had a marked influence on the Navigator, the Chief Engineer said, “I believe so. I really do. I think probably twenty years ago you could see across the industry differences—market differences—and I do think some of that is starting to homogenize in a positive way. I think one of the better quotes I’ve heard this week was really part of what we’re trying to do here is […] moving beyond American luxury into global luxury.”
Grandinett has some experience with foreign markets, having been one of the chief engineers of the 2013 Ford Fusion Mondeo. He was in charge of the interior of that sedan during the global rollout, and I asked him what he learned about the confluence of foreign and domestic markets on that program.
Grandinett replied, “I’ve been at Ford 24 years, so I’ve spent quite a bit of time in interior as well as software. And I think a lot of what I’ve taken from those experiences is the attention to detail. I think it’s very hard to write down on paper what is important when it comes to craftsmanship and execution and I think those years of really dialing in those last millimeters is something I’ve applied in every aspect of the vehicle and I think we’re really gonna elevate the craftsmanship and execution. When you step back—some people think you can’t describe what craftsmanship is, but I think you know it when you see it.”
He told me his time at global sedans was “a great learning experience.” And went on to say of the Mondeo, “We were launching that in multiple plants at the same time and got to see the innovative solutions in different regions from different groups. Some of that approach of looking at things differently has been really helpful. We’d see a solution come out the China facility that we hadn’t maybe looked at when we were at the facility in Spain, and I think that information sharing and being able to leverage those global resources and that global knowledge has been invaluable.”
Chinese automakers are now giving European automakers a run for their money and it’s sending small waves of panic through the industry. Even though Chinese automakers haven’t reached the U.S. outright—and it’s doubtful that they will due to tariffs—it’s just ironic to see that the reverse has been going on with American automakers like Buick and Lincoln, who are now designing “global luxury” cars, such as the new Navigator.
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