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Cadillac ATS Sales Drop 37 Percent To 1,593 Units In October 2016

Cadillac ATS deliveries in the United States totaled 1,593 units in October 2016, a decrease of 37 percent compared to the 2,528 units sold in October 2015. In the first ten months of 2016, sales of the ATS family — including the ATS Sedan, ATS Coupe, and their respective V-series variants — have decreased 17 percent to 17,723 units.

Sales Numbers - Cadillac ATS - October 2016 - United States

MODEL OCT 16 / OCT 15 OCTOBER 16 OCTOBER 15 YTD 16 / YTD 15 YTD 16 YTD 15
ATS -36.99% 1,593 2,528 -17.05% 17,723 21,367

In Canada, the ATS recorded 165 deliveries in October 2016, down 56 percent compared to October 2015. In the first ten months of the year, sales of the compact prestige-luxury vehicle family totaled 2,036 units in Canada, down almost 27 percent compared to the first ten months of 2015.

Sales Numbers - Cadillac ATS - October 2016 - Canada

MODEL OCT 16 / OCT 15 OCTOBER 16 OCTOBER 15 YTD 16 / YTD 15 YTD 16 YTD 15
ATS -56.12% 165 376 -26.87% 2,036 2,784

Further Info And Sales Resources

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Comments

  1. Sorry, not “feeling” it. Why? Well, I’ve got a neighbor who wants to buy an ATS-V and there is minimal to no inventory here in S. FLA. Please explain to me why there is virtually nothing to go look at or test drive and yet they complain sales are down? Go figure….

    Reply
    1. That sounds like an issue with the dealer not ordering the V variant of the car — something the corporate cadillac sales manager should take note of and address with the dealer.

      Reply
      1. I should have clarified what he’s looking for as there is some 2016 and 2017’s. He wants the manual transmission and the only ATS-V’s with manual trans (3 shown on the website for zip 33060) are in raven black while he wants blue. He’s willing to test drive but then it appears he will have to order it. Not much inventory though for manuals.

        Reply
    2. I have had a 2017 ATS Premium Luxury on order for 2 and a half months.Dealer has my deposit and neither the Dealership or General Motors can tell me when or IF it is even going to be built….It is not as if they cannot keep up with demand,It is not as if it is a new model they are introducing.This is a sold unit and i dont even know if they are building it so yea i can understand why ATS sales are down….I am sure BMW or Audi would build a sold unit for a customer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

      Reply
  2. I see 2 reasons for the sharp downturn in the already disappointing sales;

    1)current model is a little long in the tooth (in car years). Cadillac has not updated this vehicle at all since it debut in 2012 as a 2013 model.
    I get that addressing the vehicles overall dimensions would require a major re-do so they are likely waiting on the Gen. 2 ATS to do that but they could have done something about the instrument cluster, the look of the centre stack and freshened up the front and rear ends without to much cost.

    2)overall sedan sales are down as the exodus to crossovers continues. Look at BMW and Mercedes compact offerings. The whole segment is down dramatically.

    Reply
    1. I concur on your first point. Perhaps, if Caddy follows through on what people want, they will produce the Escala and perhaps the next ATS could also look like the Escala concept. I’d love to see it in an aggressive ATS-V variant.
      I believe the Alpha platform is perfect, just look at what the ZL1 can do so there’s no reason an ATS-V with a 1LE package couldn’t be almost as impressive with a bit more boost.

      Reply
      1. I own an ATS, Alpha is not perfect. Very good, yes, but very packaging deficient. Increased and easier to use cargo space would be a plus.

        Reply
        1. How does it compare to a European alternative? Maybe not perfect, but is the boot/trunk of a BMW/Benz/Audi/VW perfect? Please give some explicit comparisons so we can understand your perspective, please. As a chassis, the Alpha kicks @$$ yet I don’t own an Alpha so I speak from specs and not ownership.

          Reply
  3. Bring over the ATS-L and drop a V8 in it as a standalone option on all trim levels. If the Chevy SS Sedan is departing us with only 1000 units next year then you could pick up a few people from there.

    Reply
  4. One has to wonder whether it’s the marketing approach used by Cadillac to promote the ATS because this is the car that the magazines said was better than BMW’s 3-series; but when you see Cadillac’s commercials, it seems if Cadillac is still trying to market the ATS for people in their 50s instead of buyers a generation younger.

    Reply
    1. Enthusiast represents a very small portion of car buying public. Getting enthusiasts to part with their Bimmers is almost impossible. Generally why should you leave a vehicle that has met your needs.

      The traditional Cadillac buyer has no interest in a cramped kiddie car!

      Little conquest sales and little traditional buyer interest spells disaster that marketing won’t resolve!

      Reply
      1. Well said, Martin! Yet I wonder why Cadillac management doesn’t understand this. Cadillac is an awesome brand for what it is, but it is not BMW nor should it try to be.

        Reply
      2. I think marketing is very important but not just to extol the virtues of the ATS but also creative market should help to build the brand and increase its desirability.

        A lot of clients who buy a C-Class, 3 Series or A4 are buying those vehicles as a way to show off their success (there is nothing wrong with that).
        The Germans have done a great job branding their products to the point that many people buy them just to be a part of that brand and have no knowledge or place no importance on the vehicles engineering.

        Reply
        1. Sadly must partially disagree. Individuals buying entry level C series, A4, and 3 series are buying entry level or near entry level luxury cars and are looking for value for their investment and not just status.

          Until Cadillac gets to the value/reliability level of these brands they will miss this stepping stone level to the real status symbols above this level!

          Reply
          1. Well Martin first never call any automobile an investment as they are not. They all devalue to sharply to be considered one.

            Also the German luxury automotive brands are hardly know for their reliability or value for that matter.

            I do think that the ATS (and CTS) missed the mark on value relative to their perceived ‘status’ in the market place and set themselves up for sales volume failure right away.
            Cadillac simply is not regarded as an equal to the German brands yet.
            For anyone that watches ‘Dragons Den’ or ‘Shark Tank’;
            their valuation killed them.

            Reply
            1. Investment also includes expected future benefit–reliable top notch vehicles which the ATS is not. ATS is never rated equal or higher than the German competitors in any reliability survey I’ve seen.

              Totally agree with perceived value statement and stickers setting ATS and CTS up for failure. Buying public always establishes price of a vehicle. Cadillac thought they could price status/equality and that is basic stupidity!

              Reply
      3. You pretty much hit the nail on the head. The enthusiasts have very little reason to leave what they love, and the traditional Cadillac buyer doesn’t want a car this small (unless it’s the only one they can afford). The ATS needs to up the perceived value to pull in some first time luxury buyers, who will help get others interested in Cadillac. They need a bargain entry price to get people into the showroom, and need to put the money into what OTHERS see, like standard LED running lamps and HID headlamps so people know you’re coming in something important, and better gauges for family/friends/co-workers that ride in your Cadillac to be impressed by too. It’s similar to what Buick did stating that no 2017 Lacrosse was to look cheap. That meant standard LED running lamps, HID headlamps, dual exhaust outlets and fake leather *cough, pleather, cough* seats that look close enough to the real thing to those that don’t know, even on the base model. Second, reliability needs to be rock solid so those that do buy it have something to brag, or at least not complain, about. Only word of mouth through satisfied owners over time is going to help Cadillac here, and allow them to justify charging more without damaging sales. Despite all of the hype over ATPs being up, Cadillac would kill to come even close to the 3-Series or C-Class with the sales of this car. Looking at the peppering of comments from ATS owners here, even they know the car isn’t up to current standards in the class where Cadillac needs to exceed them.

        Reply
  5. Yeah, Cadillac still has terrible, inconsistent advertising.

    Reply
    1. Agreed! Cadillac has not decided exactly who they want to be yet, and the ads reflect that. Personally, one of my favorite ads was for Audi where they played off the stereotypical BMW owner to paint themselves as a brand for people with a little extra disposable income, yet aren’t arrogant tools. I think it worked well to convey what Audi is all about. Cadillac will always be different in that it’s American, not German. That can either be seen as an advantage or a fault depending on who you are talking too. Cadillac has little choice but to embrace the difference and use it to their advantage. I would like to see them playing up to the glitz and glam of vintage Hollywood back in the days when Cadillacs were truly a status symbol. This gray and dreary splashing through puddles in New York has to go!

      Reply
  6. Cross-shopping ATS against Audi A/S4 right now, and the new Audis are a tad less engaging, but *much* more refined. The interior and exterior finishes on Audis are superior and the quattro system is audi-specific (some sharing with porsche, but that’s not really a negative). Cadillac on the other hand looks like a luxury car from the GM parts bin, especially the ATS. The base engine boasts high hp, but is poorly reviewed and is not specific to the ATS (variants can be found in cheap camaros and high end malibus). How Cadillac can sell a $55k CT6 with a cheapo engine is beyond me. The 8-speed auto transmission is ubiquitous in the GM lineup – audi, for example, has a new 7-speed twin clutch that doesn’t require a transfer case for AWD. Also, it’s a luxury car – include a sunroof on the base model! At half the price, Honda Fits have sunroofs included. Regarding the look of the ATS: it started out gorgeous, but Cadillac has made some compromises. First, the “nose” with that massive poorly placed new Cadillac logo is a real turn-off. The old crest was classier. Cadillac seems bent on changing its heritage every 2 years – all other automakers are consistent with their logos. The Cadillac logo has become a design element, rather than a brand image. I think this is a huge (and on the ATS, ugly) mistake. Second, the lights: the advertised LED side lights are only available on the top trim, which means you could spend $45k on a car and get cheap ugly looking lights. Hard to show off when your car doesn’t exude luxury. Third, that sexy red paint is a $1k option. So you’ll never see sleek red ATS’s on the road, since nobody will buys them. Now, the dealer network: Cadillac dealerships are very uninviting. Visit one for yourself to find out. All of this contributes to very poor resale values on used Cadillacs, making it an even more undesirable car in the long term. GM reps, if you’re reading this, make the ATS truly special and I’ll buy one. I have no problem paying a high price for a car that offers more. How about a base 3.0 turbo V6 with a twin clutch transmission – that engine already exists and is unique to Cadillac. I’d get it in a second. Right now, it’s just a 4-door camaro with nicer seats.

    Reply
    1. ALSO why do cadillacs even offer pleather seats?! It’s absolutely embarrassing for a luxury carmaker. It would prob cost GM less to design, manufacture and stock 2 types of seats. Just make leather. Seriously. A $25k civic is better equipped than a $40k ATS. If all we wanted was brembo brakes and ZF steering you’d be selling more than 2000 a month. When did luxury car become synonymous with ripoff cheap parts?!

      Reply
      1. Megatron, I agree nearly 100% with your sentiments here. About the only thing I don’t mind is the sharing of some parts with other GM cars. But you are spot on with all the rest, including the oversized, wreathless Cadillac badge (how often will they keep changing this?), charging $1k extra for some head-turning red paint (that might actually help sell other Cadillacs, if they see it on the road), and having fake leather seats at lower trim levels. Just give everyone leather!

        It reminds me of some of the terrible marketing done by VW of America. VW sells a lot of cars worldwide, but virtually none in the USA. Why? Partly because they charge too much overall and offer too little content on their lower trim levels. For example, VW doesn’t offer “automatic” (dusk sensing) headlights on their lower trim levels, and they offer only very large diameter wheels (I.e. hard-riding tires) on their highest trim levels. It would cost VW less to offer one wheel size and automatic headlights for all trim levels, and the customers would be getting more of what they wanted. I realize this is a Cadillac forum, not VW. But they both make similar marketing mistakes, by not adapting to the American consumer. In VW’s case that’s slightly more forgiving, since they are a German company. How is it though that Japanese car companies adapt well to the US consumer but Cadillac does not, even though it once understood it’s customer base to be #1 in the US luxury segment for many decades (until 1999)?

        Reply
        1. Happy to hear I’m not alone out there. I think we all feel the same way but we’re being vocal while others just vote with their wallet.

          How much more does it cost gm to use leather rather than pleather? How much more to assemble a 3.0 v6 compared to a 2.0 i4? How much to make LED lamps standard. Save money by offering fixed interior-exterior color combos like Honda. Cadillac can no longer compete on a level playing field with the Germans. 1000 CTS’s this month? Those numbers are depressing for such a sexy car! I could fix Cadillac in a second and it all starts with the discontinuation of low tier models and low quality materials. Remember the 2.5 i4? The 2.0 should follow and it should be replaced with the 3.0 which is unique to Cadillac. All cars should have sunroofs, heated seats, parking sensors, and some self parking features (might as well benefit from the gm parts bin). Pricing should start competitively at 40-42k. Check out the Infiniti Q50 3.0t if you think this is bogus. Make the car a dream sports car. If you can buy a camaro SS for 40 you should be able to get an equivalently sporty base caddy for 45. Make the panaray standard on all ct6’s. johan is going to take caddy to the grave with their current strategy. Soon it’s going to look like Lincoln. Or Oldsmobile.

          Reply
          1. Megatron, again I strongly agree, and it’s baffling as to why Cadillac doesn’t see it as simply and obviously as we do. A Cadillac should never be de-contented to the point of having pleather (vinyl) or cloth seating surfaces, a strong engine, or less than great sounding stereo, etc. To my thinking, at some point a de-contented Cadillac is no longer a Cadillac; people shouldn’t just be paying for an outer shell and a badge.

            Some people don’t like sunroofs – I’m not one of them though, I always want a sunroof in my car – but I could see possibly making that optional. I once looked at a Lincoln MKZ (current model, the one that started in 2013) mainly because it had an optional huge sunroof. The car itself was a little cramped for a luxury sedan, and the seats were not cushioned to Cadillac quality IMO, but the sunroof and optional THX II stereo were awesome. I asked why people would NOT want the big sunroof and the dealer said it was a $3k option, so they had 3 thousand reasons not to buy it. So ok, not everyone wants a big sunroof, but a lot of luxury should not be optional or de-contented.

            To some extent I feel Cadillac extends its reputation over decades only if it ONLY offers real Cadillacs. If some young person today rides in a de-contented Cadillac, with the pleather seats and inferior stereo, etc. they may think “what’s the big deal about Cadillac?”. I feel the same way about Cadillacs that are too cramped and/or have hard rides, maybe part of that is my personal preference but it’s also the way I (and many others) have identified Cadillacs for many decades.

            GM used to position Cadillac as their top of the line luxury model, something that people probably wouldn’t buy until they had previously owned Chevrolets, Oldsmobiles, etc. There wasn’t a “need” to offer de-contented or small Cadillacs, because GM already had those segments covered by their other brands. But somewhere along the line, someone decided that Cadillac had to match BMW in practically every way. Well BMW doesn’t have the lower brands like GM does (ok they own “Mini” but that’s a much different market), so they feel a need to offer cars at every level, including small cars. Cadillac needs to STOP trying to copy BMW (including even their naming conventions) and just be Cadillac, superior to but an extension of the GM family. And they should never offer small or de-contented cars under the Cadillac logo.

            Reply
            1. Drew, great point about BMW not having a lower tiered brand. Great Cadillac-fixing pow-wow!

              The gist of what we’re saying is: Rolls Royce doesn’t sell many cars, but every car they sell is unmistakably a Rolls Royce. This is why Rolls is considered a luxury brand and can demand high prices. When you see a Rolls, you immediately know it’s an ostentatious vehicle and that the owner is a successful person.

              Cadillacs used to have this aura about them. No longer. Seems like a simple fix. No retooling of factories or any of that nonsense. Just drop all low tier models, sell fully-loaded models at a somewhat lower price than currently listed. Lower volume, yes. But goodbye to incentives and poor reviews. Put it this way: if I bought a cheaper $38k ATS now, I’d learn to despise the compromises of the car. This would likely ensure that my next car upgrade at $45k or $50k, would be that of a competitor (BMW, Mercedes, etc). Cadillac gains *nothing* by offering “entry level” compromises. This is why the 2.5 engine was killed off – a decent start.

              Another point (repeating myself). The CT6 is a bigger version of the CTS and ATS – but at a much higher price tag. At that “entry” price, why is the Panaray optional? Who in marketing thought: “Lets build a larger 2.0T ATS, charge $20k more and make all the good stuff optional upgrades”.

              Johan, learn from Apple! All their products are expensive, are class-leading, and make their owners happy. They have NO lower tier compromise models. We are happy to pay a reasonably high price to get a great product!

              Some of us out here still love GM and want to see American Luxury succeed.

              Reply
  7. Did not need that model in the the lineup. ATS too small and CTS too big. Should have have kept last generation CTS dimensions, with an expanded trim and model variation..ie. coupe, wagon, sedan with all wheel drive across the board, including the V models. A more diverse powertrain availability for more choices.

    Reply

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