Yesterday evening, Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen took to the hot seat on Autoline to answer some deeper questions surrounding the brand and its rebirth. Towards the end of the conversation, though, de Nysschen answered a question many have on their minds.
Over the next five years, Cadillac will introduce not three, not six, but 11 new vehicles. de Nysschen originally did not offer up when we would see the new product, but when pushed for a timeline, he immediately cleared it up with the five-year timetable.
Let’s take a moment to sort out what we may be talking about here. There are three additional crossovers coming to the Cadillac portfolio by 2020, likely two smaller than the 2017 Cadillac XT5, and one larger. The Cadillac CTS and ATS are also due for renaming, along with a refresh, so let’s count them, too.
There’s also word of the sub-ATS sized sedan on the way, too, poised to take on the Audi A3 and Mercedes-Benz CLA. Finally, let’s mark a new Escalade in with the next-generation of pickups and SUVs around the corner.
Even with our logical guesstimates, that’s only seven products. We could get wild and outlandish to fill the four other products, but we’ll save those thoughts for another time. What we do know is those 11 new products don’t include a large, flagship sedan.
Comments
My best guess would be,
1. Sub ats car ct2
2. New ats ct3
3. New ats coupe ct4
4. New cts ct5
5. Xt2 small cuv
6. Xt3 mid size cuv
7. Xt6 new sub
8. New escalade
9. New ESV I think they will differentiate them more
And I’m stuck for the rest. Maybe they will make an entry level coupe but market is slow for that. Also maybe they will make a ats convertible ?
Colorado/Trailblazer cousins for the other two, and the CT4 will be a hatchback.
Something electric and a sports car?
You are very close. The escalade will receive a “refresh” in 2017, replaced in 2019 with the XT8. The XTS will go away in 2018.
See my comments below….
“What we do know is those 11 new products don’t include a large, flagship sedan”…
But have we ever heard anything official? It’s all been reliable reports…which may be true, or may be a smokescreen.
Maybe the flagship sedan will now be a flagship crossover? The flagship doesn’t have to sell in any great volume, it just needs to sell enough to make people want a Cadillac. Any Cadillac.
This change in perception cannot happen overnight, in fact I think if it happens too soon people might think it a fluke. But if Johan and company are thinking long-term, and are given the opportunity to act long-term, it not only will be good for Cadillac but the rest of GM as well.
There WILL BE a new, large, flagship sedan. It may not be in the 2020 timetable. The CT7, and CT8 might be later that originally planned, due to some chanres in the need for more SUV/CUV’s in the Cadillac lineup, but they are definitely “in the works”……
There will be a flagship Sedan, and a flagship SUV. Both will arrive sometime after 2025. The CT6 is the current flagship sedan, replaced by the CT6 VSport in 2017. That will be replaced when the CT7/8 arrive sometime between 2019 and 2024. The ultmate flagship sedan and SUV will be the CT9 and XT9, both arriving sometime around 2025-2028.
Your thoughts about the growth in image and perception of the Cadillac brand, and desirability/sales are correct thinking. Transaction price is very important to the quality, and perception of the brand. More so than sales numbers at the sake of brand image and desirability.
3 Crossover
CT5- new CTS
CT4- new ATS
CT3- sub ATS
A few Coupe model, based on CT5-CT4 or both
Escalade variant
Roadster or Sport high performance coupe like the old XLR?
New ATS will be AT3 or CT3
The ATS replacement will be the CT3 (Cadillac Touring 3).
I doubt its 11 separate vehicles, more likely 11 models. Right now the ATS, ATS Coupe, ATS-V, and ATS-V Coupe are 4 models according to Cadillac. They made this type of claim before and that’s exactly how it turned out.
Agreed! Cadillac should already be a credible luxury option in customer’s minds. Slow sales demonstre that we live in a mindless “me too” consumer culture.
But building a luxury flagship hurts. It is a great image builder. Like Infinity, Cadillac will ultimately have way to many SUV/CUV options that will lead to canibilation.
Design is a big use for Cadillac. Mark Adams would be great for this.
Infiniti doesn’t have cannibalization of anything, especially crossovers. They’re all carefully positioned and appeal to very different buyers.
Along with the 7 logical ones mentioned I think Cadillac may also get;
-mid-engined sports car
-large convertible (Omega platform) – no way they spend that much money to only build 1 vehicle on the platform
-CT7 (4 door coupe styling)
-fully electric compact crossover on a modified Bolt architecture
More realistically though I think that the missing 4 or 5 models will be V and V-Sport versions of the more likely models.
Five years is a relatively short automotive life cycle to cook up entirely new platforms and get them to market. $12B only goes so far in today’s economy.
Should be fun to watch and see how things unfold. Hopefully the execution is top notch.
You are very much on the money. There will be PHEV variants across the line beginning with the CT6 PHEV coming in late 2016/2017.
Also the CT6 VSport….late 2016 as a 2017.
Look to NAIAS and NYIAS for the surprises over the next 3/4 years.
There will be a CT2, and XT2, with variants (PHEV, possibility VSport, Diesel), before 2020. and they will be RWD/AWD.
There will also be , CT3 (ATS replacement), CT5 (CTS replacement) with variants (PHEV, VSport, Diesel, TTV6, RWD/AWD, and V) as well as the TT4. Look for new technologies, colors, and interiors.
There may be a CT4, with variants…could be Coupe, ConV. and possibly a Sport Wagon, possibly before 2020. Look for same features, and technologies as the CT3/CT5.
There will be an XT4 before 2020.Look for RWD/AWD, TT4, V6, PHEV, and possibility a Diesel.
There will also be an XT7 before 2020. Look for RWD/AWD, TT4, TTV6, TTV8, PHEV,) upscale interiors.
There will be new technologies like Super Cruise, Cadillac Sense (includes perp. parking, self start, EBS, new driver recognition, accident avoidance, driver awareness, lighting, and child safety technologies to name a few.
All Cadillacs will have;… signature lighting, more upscale interiors, Rainsense, twilight sentinel(AHD), with more widespread use of Start/Stop, Brake Assist, Driver Assist, Lane Change, Driver Awareness(including the safety seat), and AWS. CUE/Navigation will be standard on more models, and Night Vision will be offered on more models.
The CT8 and CT7 programs ARE NOT CANCELLED. They have given more priority to CUV/SUV’s , but they are very much well along in development.
After 2020, but before 2030, look for:…
if the CT8 does not arrive before 2020, then The CT8, with the CT9 to follow. One or both will be mostly bespoke with regard to color choices, interior details, options, technologies, and “size”. The CT9 pricing will begin at $225,000. Segment…RR, Bentley, Maybach.
XT9, similiar features to the CT9 only an SUV. Segment…..Range Rover, Bentayga, new RR Cullinan, and Lambo SUV under development.
Look for 9/10 spd ps tc transmission….TTV6 and TTV8, along with PHEV powertrains….newly developed technologies that will amaze, including the elimination of “keys” and “start buttons”, side and rear view mirrors, and drastic lighting and safety changes.
The CST (Cadillac Sport Touring) , think CIEN, 2 passenger, mid-engined, TTV8, PHEV, and possibiy Supercharged. Will share many newly developed chassis features with C8 ZORA, which will appear earlier, includidng 9/10 spd ps, and 7 spd tc/wc, AWD powertrain. It will be the lightest in the segment with new metals and Carbon Fiber.
wow, john. hope thats true. Ur thoughts or some inside info?
Thanks for the info John, do you know if the CT7 will be a formal coupe or a four door coupe?
To be honest, I am excited about all the future models from 2-9 XT & CT models. Did GM made trademark reservations for CT9 & XT9?
Not Positive but I’m pretty sure the EXT is coming back to market.
I sure hope not.
5 years this goes grazy. go go go ihiiii. this generation escalade is short time
So, what would happen with CT8? Any info other than it is, presumably, cancelled?
The V-Series and V-Sports will be added to the ” new ” vehicle count . A refreshening of a model doesn’t count , but by renaming them with the new alphanumeric names is smoke and mirrors . Just because the ATS and CTS go to CT4 and CT3 isn’t going to fool customers . Will the XTS get a new name ( CT5 ) ? Seems logical .
Could there be a 2-door version of the Escalade be in the works or maybe the XT5 . I seen on a website where they photo bombed the XT5 into a convertble , and I use bombed because the comments from people were not good ones .
The XTS is going to be allowed to die so no point in re-naming it.
Hopefully includes a proper Alpha based XT5 replacement.
The XT5 was just introduced and not even at dealers yet. There is no way that they replace it on a new platform in only 5 years.
I hope the XT8 won’t be slab sided like the XT5
Well what we do know is we don’t know what is coming.
These are the models we need to use to judge the work of the new Cadillac staff and JDN.
There are some out there that just want to hate and really have nothing to base it on as there is not really much on the market that he has touched since he arrived. It is very difficult to many changes in to a car in only a year and a half.
Will these cars be the home run we hope they are? Don’t know. I am sure some will be hits and some will do just ok but that is better than what we used to see in the past as these all will be competitive at least.
Some will not like some of the new products but they have to move in new directions as the past models have not really put them in the place they need to be.
Some of these models will be expected models like the new CT versions of the ATS and CTS but we should also see some surprises.
With Cadillac what they had been doing has not set them apart and we will need to be open to them trying new things to see what sticks.
Being a product person at a company is a difficult chore as you can tell by the replies by some on the web. They know going in they will never make everyone happy but they are looking for the growing segment with the money to buy their cars and try to make them happy.
Product planning is one of the most difficult and thankless jobs. You always have a segment of the public that hates you. Then the company either blast you for missing it on a product or if successful they expect you to keep repeating it. There are few thank yous from anyone.
I think with the level of product we have seen and the expectations of new management that is not intimidated by the board we will see much better product and more diverse product than we have had. They will be motivated by profits and to deliver a higher quality car than they have been expected to have in over 50 years.
So if you want to hate Cadillac and JDN at least wait till these models arrive to hate them for a real reason. Odds are good you may just find you will find many things to like out of all these products. Just keep an open mind till we have some real product to judge them by.
Again wait for word if the CT8 really is gone before you slit a wrist.
I Dare You to make an informed Opinion on Cadillac!
Whatever the models.. 11 new vehicles over the next 5 years say things will continue to be exciting and this is definitely a different Cadillac and General Motors of yesteryear where cars linger longer than they should and the new cars were almost obsolete by the time they got to the showroom.
Cadillac along with all car companies is at a crossroads. The sand is shifting beneath their feet. Yet, they pretty much still do things the way they have for a 100 years. I own an almost 9 year old Cadillac CTS 2008. It’s been a good car for me but I only drive about 3K miles a year. It only has 25k on it. I’m looking at new cars. I’m interested in the Porsche Macan, Jaguar XE or F-Pace, etc. The car that most intrigues me is the Tesla S sedan. The Tesla is not like any car I’ve ever seen. Overnight software updates add new features to existing cars. No dealers to argue with. Supercharge stations. Insane performance. No oil changes, etc. Hybrids never interested me. Pick a technology and go balls out. Tesla has flipped the auto world on it’s head. I can understand why all other auto manufacturers must hate Tesla. The only reason I haven’t bought a Tesla S is I don’t want to spend $100k for something that sits in my garage 85% of the time. I’m thinking probably $50k-$70k is my personal sweet spot. I don’t know why I can’t have all my needs met for that kind of money. That’s why I placed a reservation for the Model 3. This could be Tesla’s Waterloo? I have read all the naysayers. But, if Tesla can pull this off with some amount of success, it could be game changing as they say. Existing auto companies keep doing business as usual at your own peril.
Tesla did nothing more than break ground that a six figure luxury car could be built and sold. Otherwise their technology is nothing that anyone else could have easily have done. The fact is the others were not sure enough of a market and Tesla was the first to try it.
Now that they have proven this we will see more EV and hybrid EV cars in various sizes and expense.
As for the Three. Well how it works out is going to amount to a lot of things we can’t answer at this point.
The 3 is priced much like the German Luxury cars so it will not be easily bought at $35K even if offered by the time it arrives. Options will easily add $20K to the price making it less than the average persons car. That is not a killer but it does hit Tesla for trying to sell this as entry level like the Bolt is and will be.
The other issue to be answered is will it be on time or late just as most of the other Tesla products. In the past that was not an issue but today with many more models coming into the segment it could rally matter.
Might note too that your down payment for a reservation was for money they really need to put the car into production. Tesla is very weak on capital since they really generate little profit from cars and had high development cost for the X and 3 at the same time.
The other issue is the 3 will not show as much profit as the X or S since it is cheaper. The volumes will have to be much higher to make money. That is TBD.
Then when the Porsche Sedan hits it could be devastating to the S model that will only see a refresh soon. That will be determined once the Porsche arrives but it appears to be very promising.
I think you will find a all electric Cadillac hidden in the coming new models too. GM can do a car as well and cheaper as they at this point do not have to survive on EV cars to build new models.
So while I am not trying to hit Tesla here I just want to state some Sobering thoughts they will face. The fact is all other MFG need Tesla not to fail as if they do it would damage the EV segment more than helping them. It would be a great negative for all EV makers.
But on the other hand Tesla is going to find it much more difficult to compete with the others as they join in as they just have so many more advantages over Tesla. Growth is difficult and it will only be more challenging in the future.
The fact is as Auto Companies continue to change how they are doing business and product make up Tesla will just be another fish in a large sea of automakers facing their own peril of being a small low volume maker.
Chris do not mistake naysayers for people of sober thought. Tesla is much like Trump and Bernie but in the end the odds are still against them. The 3 is not the car they promised and in the end I wonder just how many reservations are unfilled because of other new product or the much higher than expected cost once you option the car up. Lets face it the base price of the S is not that much compared to the average selling price. You want the good battery $$, You want the better stereo $$$, You want the better seats $$$$ etc.
@scott3 you seem to think I’ve drunk the Tesla coolaid. I am well aware that they could fail big time. The things you ignore are that the cars that Tesla built are not cars as much as they are bundles of software and hardware with the emphasis on Software. No other car manufacturer is doing anything as disruptive. You mention the Porsche Mission E. I reckon this will be a close to $200k car. That’s twice the typical Model S. Hardly a Tesla killer. Cadillac produced the ELR that was a lightly skinned Volt with a lawnmower engine that rattled the teeth out of reviewers. They had the audacity to sell it at $70k plus and call it a Tesla killer. The public saw through this charade and rightly ignored it. They sold at best a couple thousand. GM has resources up the Wazoo and this was the best they could do? GM also nearly went bankrupt, too. Check out the latest Rob Report magazine that lists the finest cars based on their members test drives. Of course there are the super cars, etc. What car came in number #4? It was a Tesla P90D. The other cars ahead of it were more than twice the price Ferrari, McLaren. The Cadillac CTS-V came in like 12th or so. You say Cadillac can easily build a better Tesla than Tesla? Well what are they waiting for? Is Cadillac willing to throw away the dashboard for a simple flat screen? When was the last time Cadillac sent out a software update over the air to their customer’s cars to fix their god awful CUE system? Maybe never? The last time I looked at the new CT6 it had acres of Dashboard gizmos and whole trees of wood grain. I see very little that is new or innovative happening at Cadillac.
The problem with the status quo Auto Industry and Cadillac in particular is they have to protect their infrastructure (Suppliers, Dealers, etc) to continue to function. They can’t see that they need to abandon their ways and build a new future. Think Kodak before the onslaught of Digital Cameras. Think Nokia before the calamity of the iPhone. Existing car companies are unwilling to sacrifice the cash cows today in order to guarantee their future.
Tesla innovations that apparently anyone can do but somehow only Tesla had the balls to attempt:
1. Re-imagine the Automobile as a mostly Software device
2. Sell direct to customers, eliminate the Dealers which no one likes except the Car Dealers and maybe even not so much the Auto companies themselves anymore
3. Build a charging infrastructure from scratch to benefit their customers and negate the fears of adopting a new propulsion technology
4. Announce a car that is two years from being built, has created more questions than answers and yet somehow take in 325k orders in less than a week
Piece of cake. Like you said anybody can do what Tesla has done! Problem is none have?
No I don’t
My post was just pointing out to those who are the zelots that this thing is not for sure a slam dunk.
Hell they took orders for more than 200,000 more cars than they ever built over the years.
As for this post you appear to be nipping at the Koolaide.
1 The EV cars from anyone are like a software device. They all use flash computers and can be easily upgraded. Hell my HHR Turbo gained 55 HP with a computer flash. Nothing new here others have had this ability for over a decade. Over the air can be done but there are also some risk involved too. What if you down load a program and it locks up the car? Or do you believe computers never have issues. This can and does happen. All the cars have this ability if they have a SAT antenna but there is so many things that could be a liability at this point that the risk for companies that sell more than 50K cars-a year are willing to risk yet. Technology too fast can be problematic like an 8-6-4 Cadillac is proof of that.
2 Selling direct? Well there is not a company that would not love to do this but for one the laws prevent it most places and second they can not afford to buy out all the dealers they were forced to take on. Ford in limited areas has tried to do direct dealers as has Chrysler but the laws become an issue.
They fight the laws changing because of the Chinese as if the law is set back the Chinese companies can come in and flood the market with cheap cars and no dealer system. So no Tesla is not the first nor the last here.
3. Yes they have tried to build a charging system but it has slowed with most of their money going into development. Many areas like mine you have not seen one nor will see one anytime soon. With so many 3 series coming the lack of chargers outside SO Cal may be an issue in the future. Like the Battery swap not spoken of anymore because it was another undelivered promise.
4 This one is a bit sticky. I think it is more a denouement of how sad our country has become. Keep in mind these are the same people who are now arguing over Hilary, Trump, Cruze and Sanders and sit and watch the Dancing with the Stars and a top less Geraldo. As the saying goes the larger the crowd the lower the general IQ. Or in PT Musk case there is a sucker born every minute.
I find the smarter we get the less wise we become.
I don’t care what the company is I will be damn’ed if I would put $1,000 on a car that one is not complete, Has no configurator or any way to price the options that will be much more expensive than the $35K base price [We know this from the S and X already]. We have little idea if this reservations total is real as Musk could say anything he likes. We have no idea if this car will be here in a year or late as like every other Tesla made. Then by the time it reaches market will the buyers still be there and how many will move on to other models as they come out.
The list you provided is not a list of innovations as much as a list of pointless facts.
Tesla’s battery system is no more innovative than anyone. Their electric motors are no more innovative. Their charging systems may be more plentiful in some areas but no real difference in charging times or ability.
I will give Tesla credit for some of the best manipulation of the web and marketing. They have taken something not all that exciting and made it very appealing to many people with little understanding. and to some with some understanding. This is a good accomplishment. That is something few companies can do well but in this case reality may catch up to it. Musk can only over promise and under deliver so many times.
Other factors like the rise of the CUV and decline of the sedan market along with cheaper gas prices all make for a more difficult sale no matter who is making the EV car. The price of a well optioned SUV is going to be the same as a well optioned 3 model. If gas is cheap I can tell you which one will benefit.
Also Musk has to start making money and a lot of it. When you sell about 3-3% of the production of Hyundai you either have to grow fast for find a dance partner as development cost continue to climb and get even more expensive as you grow. It is not like it used to be. They already need to refresh the S and still find new models to bring to market.
I hope Tesla makes it as a high profile failure here would do a lot of damage to the segment for everyone.
As for protecting their suppliers well Musk may have wanted to consider that. They are losing sales do to the lack of ability to get parts. He now things they can just make them in house in a short time. Sorry it does not work like that. They missed projections this quarter already and more than likely will miss sales projections the next couple quarters. Not good when you need money to put the 3 into production and you need to crank out more x models.
I hope you like your 3 if and when you get it. If worst comes to worse maybe you can get your deposit back if it takes too long. The deposit is refundable?
Sorry Chris but this is not a judgment of you but it is a sobering case off reality when it comes to Tesla. They are a good car but I am not going to oversell it like you have tried here or other on the web.
Yes I own a Apple Phone too. But I am not going to say it is perfect either as I tunes suck but it does other things well. I see both sides to these cases and just tire of the sell out zealots trying to make things much greater than they really are.
Chris, have you test driven the ELR? You are over reaching with that lawnmower comment.
The ELR, IMO, is more reliable and less anxiety type of vehicle whereas such cars like Tesla, Leaf and Bolt are not since they only operate on electricity only.
Cars like the Volt, ELR, Pruis or anything that is a hybrid makes sense to own.
I’m not alone in noting the trend towards insitu software/hardware upgrades becoming the norm:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/2016/04/10/s-time-upgradable-cars-odonnell/82864532/
“As a result, while the ultra-conservative approach to upgrades taken by most car vendors wasn’t necessarily an issue in the past, it’s quickly becoming not only unattractive, but downright untenable.”
I would be careful of what you wish for. The over the air just opens another bigger door for hacker too.
http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-car-hacking-20150914-story.html
No matter what any automaker does when there is a major pathway there will be more attacks.
Right now If I were a programmer I would be working on security software for cars as they all will need it in the future if not sooner.
As it is many cars can have many things done and even though the air. On Star on most GM cars could easily do the changes if they would like.The computers have flash memory and the Sat system can transmit it with some minor changes. Hell I can start my car in the states from Japan if I would like and tell how much fuel I have, tire pressure and even how many miles. I can have a check engine light and they will tell me just what the code is and just what is wrong.
These things are mostly here and will continue to advance.
Tesla’s upgrades is not all that advance and what little lead will be gone very soon.
If you want to impress how about a battery that charges in the time it takes to fill a tank of gas?
Or we could use a car wit 500 mile ranges and charges in the time to fill a tank of gas.
You make a electric car you can take on a trip that does not alture your life stlye and delay your trip unduly then you have accomplished something. They are all working on this but no one including Musk has done that yet.
The greatest issue with EV cars are that you have to plan your life around them and still yet the cost. Yo make it to where you can buy and drive one as cheap and as fuel it as fast as a Gas car then you have done the moon shot move.
The math is easy on 11 new vehicles.
ATS rename 4
CTS rename 3
New crossovers 3
CT6 v-sport 1
There is your 11 new vehicles. Nothing new and exciting out of GM in the near future.