2022 Lincoln Navigator Is Now Order-Only, Thanks to the Chip Shortage
Don't expect to go to your Lincoln dealer to buy a 2022 Navigator that you can drive off the lot unless you're weirdly lucky.
If you've got yourself all worked up to go down to your friendly local Lincoln dealer and pick yourself up a brand-new 2022 Navigator that you can drive off the lot that day, you may be in for a disappointment. According to a report published on Sunday by Autoblog, Lincoln has already given up on trying to meet inventory demand for the model, which means the Navigator is order-only.
What does this mean for you, the consumer? It means that unless you somehow find a dealer with existing stock (good luck), you're going to have to plunk down some cash, tick some boxes and wait for a few months before seeing your full-size luxury SUV. Why is this going on? In short, it's the semiconductor shortage continuing to rear its ugly head.
The 2022 Navigator only went into production in January, which is late for a 2022 model. Even then, Ford has had a hell of a time keeping it in production, even going so far as to cut the chip-constrained features out of the vehicle in some cases. In others, as with Active Park Assist 2.0, it's installing the sensors and other hardware that it has on hand, calling it the "Active Park Assist 2.0 Prep Kit," and telling customers that they can come back in a year or so when the computer necessary to make the system work is available and have it installed for free.
Lincoln is planning on opening orders for the 2023 Navigator in June, but it's unlikely that the parts situation is going to be any better by then, so we expect this order-only situation to persist. You should manage your expectations accordingly.
We reached out to Lincoln for comment but didn't hear back in time for publication.
