In an interview with Yahoo Autos, Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen hit a few major points he intends on fixing for the American luxury brand. Specifically, he’s extremely concerned with the lack of vehicles in the brand’s line-up where its competitors have the entire playing field.
This may be in regards to the entry-level luxury segment dominated by the Mercedes CLA and Audi A3, and even a tad by the BMW 2-series. Or in regards to the compact luxury crossover segment. You get the idea, Cadillac has some major product gaps, and it’s been recognized several times over.
His response to the lack of product in the brand’s lineup was a fitting one: Cadillac needs to be on the offensive with Millenials, who will become eighty percent of buyers by the end of the decade. This means crafting excellent entry-level product, while retaining the customer for life to move them into more exclusive product.
Specifically, when pressed up product gaps, de Nysschen was blunt saying, “It’s somewhat frustrating for me. I look at the luxury car market in the U.S., and the luxury car market in China, and the headlines are ‘luxury car sales grow 6 percent.’ All of the growth is in these segments where I do not have a single car to sell. I have got to fix this stuff.”
When Yahoo Autos asks about Cadillac’s dealership structure, de Nysschen sheds some light on what we will be seeing in the near future. de Nysschen says Cadillac dealers will be getting extensive makeovers, and will be extremely contemporary and fashion-forward. He also says he does not intend to reduce the dealership network, either. Rather, he sees it as an upper hand to his German rivals.
He also doesn’t care much for the idea of buying a car online, and understand luxury car buyers aren’t your typical customers.
“The dealer is a vital part of the ownership chain. Online is predominately used as an avenue to gain information. By and large it’s a capital-intensive transaction…Customers want to experience the product physically, they may have trade-ins — it’s a more complex transaction than mail-ordering from Amazon,” said de Nysschen in the interview.
It sounds like de Nysschen will have a busy rest of the decade as he prepares a full-scale offensive on the brand’s line-up, but it’s good to see someone in charge with a vision.
Comments
It’s about time someone developed a long term and viable strategic plan for Cadillac.
It’s about quality, exclusiveness, customer satisfaction and the driving experience. Get the recipe right and the customers will come.
I like this guy and hope GM continue support him for the longer term. Turnarounds do not happen over night!
He has good reason.
More models for Cadillac, smaller engines in their cars based versions; and more ways to customize, and you will find many people who want one of those Cadillac.
I always say the same, most German cars of Premium brands sold in my country are low power diesel models with a sport appearance package. Not //M`s not AMG’s…………….
That’s what Cadillac needs to offer.
And also offer very high luxury as only Cadillac knows
Regards from Spain
How long does the buying public have to wait for Cadillac to get competitive products into the trending marketplace ? In my opinion , it will take years and years . Competitive just doesn’t mean hot designs , it is integral with customer satisfaction and reputation . With Cadillac’s hit and miss models out there , its’ CUV model that had in 2014 something like 14 recalls and a stop/sell order , sales have plummeted , reliability is not a strong selling point . Customer satisfaction and reputation must lead the way to ever develop a strong brand awareness and desirability . What do readers of this forum or the general public think about Caddies reputation , is Cadillac the first thought in their minds for a prestigious automobile ??
The last time I read De Ny’s remarks about gaps in the lineup , Cadillac was announcing a large sedan model into the lineup or a 600hp model ?? The CUV/SUV market is the hot product in the trending marketplace , so why another large sedan or 600hp model ?? Now we are informed that CUVs will be coming in 2017 . Is there any buyer out there who will wait to buy a future Cadillac CUV ? By 2017 , the competition will be into the next gen of CUVs/SUVs with expanded model selection by all manufacturers and corresponding growth of its satisfied customers/buyers base . This continuing catch up philosophy by Cadillac is truly absurd , in my opinion , for it never does really catch up to the market . Now , GM seems to be giving Cadillac free rein to do its thing….how long will this last , I wonder ??? This division continually reminds me of people learning to dance….one step forward and two steps back !!
Young buyers? For most Cadillac is to damned expensive!
“Young buyer” and “expensive” are not mutually exclusive. There are plenty people under 30 who have the means to buy luxury products; in the US, China, Europe, and elsewhere.
Hey Johan, you want millennials? Then selling cars online is EXACTLY what you need to do! No one wants to deal with the commission driven snakes they call salesman, playing their games and trying to rip you off on either the trade or the purchase price. If I could have the car dropped off at my doorstep and never have to talk to a single salesman, I’d buy cars at least twice as often. Don’t get me started on the service writers.. These prickbags are worse than salesmen. The entire model needs to be changed. The commission driven, highway robbery incentivizing, dishonest CURRENT model we have for sales and service needs to be turned upside down. They should want to gain customers by being honest to them, not by selling them 1000 dollars of maintenance work that’s not even in the owners manual. It’s time this nonsense changes and people need to educate themselves before even speaking to any stealership!
Holy crap that’s some good thinking!
The abuse occurring at dealerships, even the good ones, is driving customers away.
The harem scarem about anti-theft window etching and electronic rust proofing BS is just that: BS.
I’d rather slip a $100 bill to a good and honest salesperson, than $500 to the dealership for a bogus permanent wax job.
The “electronic rust proofing”! Gawd, you know the dealer is an idiot when they pitch that one at you.
I had one try to pitch me “magnetic rust proofing. I poured cold water on his lies when I pointed out that the magnet would have to be many thousands of times stronger than his ceramic fridge magnet he was hawking. Even in practice, the magnet would have to be strong enough to pick out individual iron atoms floating around to have them attach themselves to the car, and if it was powerful enough to do that, I would be able to attract the iron atoms in nearby cars.
I wouldn’t be surprised if most dealership sales people failed high school science. They’re certainly unfit to get a taste of my money, and won’t get any if they keep acting like they have my best interests at hand.
As a Cadillac owner- who is also young- here’s the problem:
Cadillac dealerships LOOK nice, but the salespeople are no different than those in a Chevy dealership. Rude, pushy, judgemental. If your 35 years old and walk into a caddy dealership, no one gives you the time of day. They are incredibly friendly to my father whoever, at the ripe age of 78. They even send him free stuff and invite him to special events. I haven’t gotten any of that treatment.
Cadillac dealers need to know what they are dealing with. Yes, I want to put an exhaust on my CTS- and your going to call that “silly” to my face? The BMW dealer (because we also have a 3 series) said, “Here’s the BMW M certified exhaust system”
I’ve had great experiences at Audi and Mercedes, OK experiences at BMW, and my WORST experiences are at Cadillac dealers. I even went to three different ones. I still have the CTS, but I actually get it serviced at a Chevrolet dealer- they can do all the same service, and can get all the parts. Mercedes and Audi offer you food and drink while you wait, a nice seating room, and highly competent techs. I didn’t feel like I got any of that at any of the cadillac dealerships that make it worth “paying a premium for”
Secondly, its car options. Younger people like uniqueness and customization. The fact of the matter is, a Cadillac has less options than a BMW…. and sure you don’t sell many Manual Transmissions, but when you stop offering it, those buyers don’t just “settle” for an automatic, no they go somewhere else and buy from someone who will offer it. Heated seats- Until this year, to get heated seats you had to buy a $2800 option package. Audi, BMW, Etc. have their “Cold weather packages” around $500. For my Wife, that would be a complete deal breaker.
Cadillac seems so focused on BMW, they do everything that BMW does, 2 years later, and not quite as well. IT seems like they do that for everything, and they don’t have the clout to pull that off. I feel like they are making themselves the “wannabe” BMW, which means their buyers would be “Wannabe” BMW owners. If you want to focus on BMW, you better “out-BMW” BMW at their own game. You better offer better products, sooner. You better offer better service, and better quality, and better experiences- Not “almost as good”, but BETTER.
I prefer my Cadillac to my wife’s BMW, but the BMW does feel like its built a little better, and the engine + transmission feel better tuned/engineered, even though the Cadillac wins the numbers game. I prefer it for its larger size, and better efficacy at things such as the navigation (The BMW you have to put in “City” first. Anyone who lives in the suburbs of USA knows how hard it is to know what “city” some place really is in). I also do like the cheaper/easier maintenance. While the BMW won me early with free maintenance and free loaners for every service, over time some things just didn’t pass the smell test- $650 for a new battery, vs. $180 in the Cadillac, and $3300 for some “CCC module,” and the kicker, they can NOT write up a 1-line RO, but that may just be my dealer, so if you bring it in for new brake pads, they will “discover” a coolant leak, or an oil leak, or something like that. At first I believed it and paid for the extra services, but then I realized when I turned down the “really bad oil leak” because I was bringing it back in for something else later, then the next time they said “Everythings great, but there’s a gash in your coolant lines”. (what happened to that “really bad oil leak”?) The Cadillac on the other hand is a rebadged Chevy. Bad when new, GREAT when used.
Its time for us to replace our cars, and frankly Cadillac is nolonger on my radar. I’m uninspired, out priced, and disappointed by the entire experience. Mercedes won me over in the past, but the lack of a manual transmission is the only reason I’m not running back to them. I haven’t been real happy with the BMW dealership, but as they say, “you gotta pay to play”, so a new BMW is a possibility, as is Audi.
In short, Cadillac is doing NOTHING effectively to win over “kids”. If there is a luxury company doing it effectively, it may actually just be Audi. The only brand doing it worse than cadillac may be Lincoln.
You have the exact same feeling about Cadillac as i do.
I’m still a Cadillac customer, but maybe not for long.
BMW is now on my radar, and Cadillac always seems to be 2 steps behind the Germans.
Yes BMW parts are more expensive, but you drive a more quality built car in the mean time.
A BMW door closes like a fault door, a Cadillac door closes like a tin can door.
Since you have a Cadillac and a BMW on your hands, how do you feel about the difference in paint quality?
When “kids” spend $10,000 on a set of wheels and tires, money is not the issue. If Cadillac wants to get into the male youth market, they need something with a serious adrenalin kick. They could build excitement by expanding their racing program – EV drag racing (Tesla); Drifting. Sedan racing is great for the BMW and MB market, but American kids aren’t in that segment. Kids are adrenalin junkies – weren’t you?
The building of Cadillac will be, by far, the most difficult job in the entire auto industry. Pre conceived notions must be transformed, the brand must be introduced to an entire generation who at best saw grandpa owning a Caddy who means it will take much work to develop the ‘cool’ factor, regardless of product quality.
In some ways, it would have probably been easier for GM to have introduced an entirely new brand. GM is lucky with Buick in that it was almost a forgotten brand in terms of millenials, Alfa Romano has the same good luck, Acura is a slow seller but nonetheless connects to buyers under 50.
I’d almost suggest that Cadillac should consider mall or downtown based boutiques where people can get to know the brand. Many companies use malls to display offering but staff is needed to explain the car without trying to seal the deal. They would function as promotional efforts (not point of sale) but pay off well once a consumer eventually is in the market to purchase a car.
It will take decades to make-up for 30 years of neglect and your competitors are a moving target. Audi with already an impressive portfolio, will be spending 30 billion on product in the next 4 years.
In Cadillac terms, kids is anybody under 65 Lol
I read some of the comments on here about dealership experience. It seems like the sales associates are behind the times and do not want to adjust and the managers are not doing a great job at all in training and marketing to a wide diverse group.
Also, there are a lot of them that sells Chevy, Buick, GMC alongside Cadillac. That should never happened in the first place and now it is almost a North American and European problem that Cadillac can’t get a handle on.
The only remedy that Cadillac can’t do anything about thanks to laws that protect dealer franchises is to get rid of most of the sales associates who are not with the times and hire experienced and well educated sales associates who are younger and knows the luxury customer.
Also too it would help if a lot of these stores are boutique stores in a separate location form Chevy, Buick and GMC. Don’t have a handful of models like you do now but have couple of the vehicles of the same model for test drives, have customers put in orders and give them the usual luxury experience and that is how you win them over. And the bigger flagship dealerships are a hit and miss and a lot of them needs to be retrained over again also.
Personally, I think a lot of them are not car enthusiast and they are there just for a commission which is hard to support because more than likely they are struggling as sales associates compared to BMW, Lexus, Mercedes, Audi and etc with 300 dealers on average.
Personally, Cadillac needs to get rid a lot of them but a pro and con to each is as a potential Cadillac customer, if I am out of town in a small city and want my car service, I could go to the nearest Cadillac dealer instead going to the major city miles away as a pro but as a con for the sales associates since there are 928 dealers, they are not getting paid very well in commissions. As a consumer, there are advantages for having many dealers but as a business stand point, it is a disadvantage and Cadillac is better off getting rid a lot of them and do a complete overall but can’t.
It is easy to judge JDN from our seats typing on the computer and we need to sit back and try to emphasize of what he is going thru and it is not what it is crack up to be being a President. It will be interesting of what new stories about dealers will reveal in several months if we hear any which I believe we will.
First off you can buy a car on the internet. I did it at work one day with 3 e mails and got the price I wanted. And it was cheap. No dealing or hassle.
Second selling direct is not in the cards unless you can change the laws in all 50 states that hold different laws in each. Tesla is challenging that and not getting too far.
Now back to kids. It is a fact all brands target kids as they set their preferences early and keep them later on. This is why GM and Ford both did Tonka bases show trucks and Hot Wheels Camaro’s.