Cadillac sales plateaued last month as the luxury automaker continues to trail behind its German rivals. Cadillac sales rose only 0.1% to 13,941 units in June. That’s discouraging to say the least, but better than crosstown rival Lincoln, which saw a 2.7% drop in sales according to 24/7 Wall Street.
Many would look past Cadillac’s lackluster performance if it were representative of the market’s performance last month. However BMW sales rose 11.5% in June, while Mercedes-Benz was up 8.8% and Audi was up 23.1%. It wasn’t just the Germans who had a strong month either, Toyota’s Lexus brand also saw a 10.1% rise in sales.
24/7 Wall Street thinks Cadillac’s inability to compete can be chalked up to its model lineup. The brand only has seven nameplates, while BMW has eight and Mercedes has 12. However former head of Global Cadillac, Bob Ferguson, said Cadillac isn’t going to go product-for-product with the Germans at the Chicago Auto Show In February.
“Just look at just how broad Mercedes and BMW are,” Ferguson told Edmunds. “Their portfolio is really, really wide. We have no aspirations to get that broad.”
Cadillac will add the 2015 ATS Coupe to the lineup shortly, which will compete directly with BMW’s 4-series. There are also plans to add a full-size flagship sedan to the portfolio, possibly called LTS, in addition to the high-performance CTS-V and ATS-V. Cadillac knows it will have to introduce more than a few new models to gain the necessary ground needed to be in striking distance of BMW, which may be why the brand has more new models under development today than in its history.
Comments
Cadillac needs to step up there cars and lower the price. Also it’s hard to sell a Cadillac next to a Chevy spark… Also the dealers are VERY VERY Unfriendly
Step up their cars?
m.motortrend.com/roadtests/sedans/1302_2012_bmw_335i_2013_cadillac_ats_mercedes_benz_c350_comparison/
http://www.nytimes.com/video/automobiles/autoreviews/100000002681797/review-2014-cadillac-cts.html
Also, I didn’t know that Cadillac and Chevrolet dealerships sold an amalgamation of their respective vehicle brands! I guess that I can have all my Spark-related requests filled out at the local Caddy dealer!!!
I apologize for the intense sarcasm, but I feel that Cadillac, in terms of product quality, is right on edge with the German sports car market. The only problem right now is the badge: people know Cadillacs are luxury cars… but do they know that the new CTS was recently awarded Motor Trend’s prestigious Car of the Year Award? Not a 5-Series or E-Class? That is just an example, but as previously stated, the badge is the problem. From a business perspective, if Cadillac keeps producing quality cars like it is doing now, it will be considered a direct competitor with the German market by ALL consumers… not just the small crowd of car enthusiasts who read the facts.
More engines to choose from and new models, a small crossover, the largest LTS and a convertible version of the ATS
Cadillac needs this
Regards from Spain
Here’s what the Cadillac lineup should be if it wants to compete:
ATS
ATS Coupe
ATS Convertible
CTS
LTS
LTS Coupe (Elmiraj)
Compact CUV on alpha
SRX on alpha
Omega CUV
Escalade
Two seat roadster, corvette based
The crossover segment is crucial right now, they need to expand in this area. A smaller CUV, a new SRX and an omega CUV are very important. The SRX is Cadillacs best seller, expand upon that. The ATS and CTS are great cars and compete if not beat their competiton. They just need to come out with the V variants now. The LTS is coming which will help complete the portfolio but it should then expand. An omega coupe would be a great halo car if a two seat roadster is not being considered. I’d dump the ELR, sales are poor, priced too high, and the controversy over the olympic ad didn’t really help. XTS needs to go too when the LTS arrives. On top of that, cadillac should be an all RWD based portfolio.
I’m sure the people at Cadillac know all this and hopefully the products are on their way soon.
sadly the large omega cuv will not be included.
David you are in the ball park with much but miss in a couple areas.
Cadillac will have a line up much like you outline since much of this is already in the works. It just takes a lot of time and money to compete a list like this. It is not going to happen overnight and this is a long term project.
Where you really miss is on a roadster bases on the Corvette. This will not happen again as it was not good for either brand.
Also there will be a place for the XTS for a while longer as this will be a car much like the Captiva that eats all the dirty work of fleet sales. It will help retain the value of all other models and provide a good income for GM with livery service companies.
The ELR will go very soon and will be replaces with the car Cadillac really wants in this segment. I suspect it will be a larger sedan and it may be all electric.
As for the rest it is pretty much as you state and we should see it all but we are looking 5-10 years here.
At some point they may do another roadster but that is far down the list as they have so much more to spend money on and bring to market now that will make more money.
I would like to see GM continue to set the Cadillac engines apart with special tuning and turbo set ups. I hope they do bring the Turbo V8 to set them apart from Chevy. The sharing of the base engine is a fact of life for Cadillac but that should not stop them from taking that engine and stepping up to the next level with higher standards and performance.
The sales are down mostly because of the ATS and XTS. The XTS I don’t care about, but the ATS needs a refresh with more rear leg room and new 8-speed automatics that should have came in last year. The most important models Cadillac needs right now are the crossovers. Those are really hot right now and are constantly boosting BMW’s and Mercedes’s sales.
A disturbing reality from the June sales totals: BMW 5 series up 77%, MB E class up 25%, CTS down 10%. Regardless of how many the competition is selling, I think most were expecting the new CTS to sell better than this? Less than 2200 units for the month and that includes the previous gen coupes, wagons and V sedans still on sale.
Please note this is percentage of sales not hard numbers
Benz and BMW both are coming off old slower selling models
Same thing wit C6 and C7 sales
You need to review the “Hard Numbers”.
5 series sales for June ’13 were 4484 units, June ’14 sales were 7940 units an increase of 77.1%
E class sales for June ’13 were 5181 units, June ’14 sales were 6500 units an increase of 25.5%
Neither of these cars is a new or significantly updated model for ’14.
The biggest disappointment/surprise for me, is the low sales of the ATS. It’s a great car, but it seems to lose out against it’s German rivals in one key area – powertrain. The 2.0T can stand shoulder to shoulder with BMW’s 328, and Audi’s A4, but it’s the other 2 N/A engines that needs addressing. The 2.5 N/A 4 pot should be discontinued, i think it has no place in a luxury sports sedan, they could possibly detuned the said 2.0T for the base model. The V6 also need some forced induction to compete with the 335i. S4 and MB new C400/450. The days of normally aspirated engines in sports sedans are almost over. The fact that the ATS has a tad less rear seat room than BMW is a non issue, i think it’s the engines that is the greates impediment
My old dealer explained to me that Cadillac’s vision was meet-and-exceed the competition. For this vehicle — ATS — they really have to exceed it, because the 3 series in particular is very entrenched. Instead, Caddy thought they could get away with kinda meeting it. But, the number of speeds on the transmission is low. And feature-wise, they do not exceed (why not offer a heated steering wheel or ventilated front seats when your competitors don’t?).
Hate to say it . . . Mary B needs to go. I think GM would better be served by an outsider, ala Ford with Mullaly (sp?). Things need to be shaken up.
The real key to the 4 cylinder line in the ATS will be to make it more refined with lower NHV and increase power. GM can do it but it is a matter of investment and time to do it. GM has a lot going on now and can not do it all at once.
Additional models will spark things too. In this class 2 years is old for these cars as you need to change things often. You can not treat a ATS like a Malibu or Cruze.
Id hate to say it but the reason why cadillac sales are flopping is because there are no wow factor models out……audi only began sales to rise when they drop the R8……..cadillac needs a model that will make people like being associated with cadillac engineering……yes the ATS and CTS are fabulous model (we enthusiast might know) but customers like to see something shiny and exotic….cough future XLR cough…all luxury brands are readying sports or have them out (R8, NSX, i8, emerg-E, AMG GT) people just like know there brand they buy into can build such a car….so cadillac get crackin’
Sorry Lance but the wow cars do not pay the bills. Most are lost leaders that are low volume and just barley make a buck. There is some roll over effect but the every day normal BMW and Benz are the cars that pay the bills.
Cadillac would be better off refining and getting the cars right and just let the V series do the show work.
2 seater sports cars have a place but it is the last thing Cadillac needs right now. the billion plus dollars would do a lot of upgrade the ATS in the near future.
The sports cars are cool and sexy but they are what supports a company. A 2 seat car is about as much help for a company as the blimp is for making tires for Goodyear. Great PR but not much in substance for the product. I am not saying not to ever do one. What I am saying is do it later when you can do it right and for the right reasons.
When running a automaker you have to think with your head not your heart.
Cadillac has a major branding problem. The average “Country Club” suburbanite isn’t looking to be unique, or chase quality; instead, they buy the “in” product parked in the neighbors drive.
What does Caddy stand for, mean as a brand? Do people view GM capable of true luxury? Why is Buick doing well while Caddy stalls?
Why would Cadillac’s leader say this?
“Just look at just how broad Mercedes and BMW are,” Ferguson told Edmunds. “Their portfolio is really, really wide. We have no aspirations to get that broad.”
What are his aspirations?
As one who ditched the SRX, after owning two of the old body style and two of the new one, for a Mercedes GLK, I’ll say this. Cadillac needs a CUV. Yesterday. It needs a transmission >6 speeds (or a 6-speed that’s not programmed for efficiency). Yesterday. It needs second generation CUE. Yesterday.
Cadillac is late to all these features. The SRX should be scheduled for replacement in 2015, but it’s not.
Mike
The pattern of your post are correct in some areas as Cadillac does need to continue to improve.
But you also have to understand this is not a one model or 2 year change as it take time and a lot of capital to make all the needed changes they need. Also GM has to correlate it with the other divisions as to who gets what when.
It would just be peachy if Cadillac had the 8 speed 3 years ago like they would have liked but it was not done or ready. Even the high cost of it was shared with Ford as it is that expensive to develop these things today.
While automakers pockets are somewhat deep they still can do it all at once. Cadillac has at least 5-10 more years of investment and development to get them fully where they need to be.
If this were football Cadillac is only in the first quarter. we have a lot of models and investment to go. Money from the new trucks and SUV are what is funding much of the other projects including many of the new Cadillac models.
You need to understand how the business side work and consider it when analyzing GM or any automaker. But even people like your buddy at the dealer do not always understand the full spectrum in play with building cars.
You have to think smart not emotional in these topics.