NEW YORK MOTOR SHOW: Lincoln not for Australia

As confirmation of Cadillac's entrance into the Australian market before 2020 arrives, so does affirmation that Ford's premium luxury brand, Lincoln, will not be seen down under.

Speaking to motoring.com.au at the New York Motor Show unveil of the brand's resurrected Continental large sedan, Ford president and chief executive officer Mark Fields said, "Lincoln is currently sold in around 20 markets. Our current focus is on expanding these existing markets. We want to make sure we continue our progress here in the US and in China especially."

Australian Ford representative Neil McDonald added: "Lincoln isn't a starter for Australia."

This was also confirmed by a highly-placed source at Lincoln, in discussion with motoring.com.au. Australia is not on Lincoln's radar.

The Continental concept shown foreshadows a production version, designed firmly with Lincoln's core US and Chinese markets in mind. The latter is "the biggest full-size car market in the world," according to Fields.

Lincoln entered the Chinese market in October 2014. As a sign of how heavily the brand is invested in China, its current 11 dealerships will be expanded "to 25 by year end, with 60 on offer, over 50 cities, by the end of 2016," according to Fields.

Although Fields would not discuss platform specifics, we do know that the large Mercedes S-Class rival will not be front-wheel drive; current speculation suggests it will be all-wheel drive. Whether the production platform will underpin a future global large Ford product to slot above the next-generation Mondeo platform with its front- and all-wheel drive capabilities remains to be seen.