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Lamborghini Outsold Cadillac Last Year In Europe

Cadillac continues to cocoon itself before it hopes to blossom into something beautiful in the next few years. Starting in 2018, the brand will launch a new vehicle every six months in a rapid fire of new product.

However, in the meantime, the brand is making do, and in Europe, it’s pretty quiet on the old continent. How quiet? Lamborghini outsold the American luxury brand last year by nearly 200 cars.

AutoGuide reports Cadillac moved 761 cars across Europe in 2016. The Italian supercar brand, in contrast, sold 941 cars across the continent. That means, if you’re the kind of shopper looking to own something truly unique, you have a better chance of running into another Lamborghini than a Cadillac on European roads.

Of course, these two brands hardly play to the same segment. Cadillac drastically lags behind its rivals in Europe, but it’s planning its invasion of the old world carefully. 2020 has been pegged as a date when Cadillac will likely begin to take the market by storm with a fleshed out portfolio of crossovers and diesel powertrains. At the same time, Australia may be eyed up for a launch, too.

In the meantime, skip a Huracan, grab a CTS-V.

Former GM Authority staff writer.

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Comments

  1. That’s obvious… I was able to sit in the CTS V last week at the car show and wow the interior is nothing special. Number 1 complaint from my friends and people around was the infotainment system . The controls are all sensor touch buttons and they do not work, also there is no turn knobs for volume or heat, just brutal for 90K car. I have a 2010 CTS and I love the interior, proper gauges and buttons that work. Plus asking 90k, which is up 20K from the previous CTSV is ridicules. I have not seen one CTSV on the roads, but a week ago saw a Huracan. I believe strongly the price is too high, and clearly sales prove it. Cadillac needs to change there thinking and needs to change it fast. There interiors need some vast improvements across all levels and please get rid of the ugly digital gauge cluster, just ugly.

    Cadillac needs to fire whoever is sailing this ship, as its clearly sinking. They need a young person to run Cadillac some who understands the market and cars. That’s it I’m going to apply.

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    1. First, you’ll have to enroll in grammar school. Lol

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    2. Time will tell if youth, or lack thereof, is the answer to Cadillac’s issues.

      They have the experienced Johan, the youthful Melody, and Uwe in between.

      It’s hard to conclude that youth, alone, is the solution, since they seem to have that variety of bases covered.

      Project Pinnacle is a challenge. As are design, pricing, and marketing – it’s been mentioned here before that GM could use a for-real CMO.

      After watching GM weave from odd Cleopatra Cadillac commercials, to GMC commercials filmed in Soho, to Dare Greatly (Soho again), a steady hand on the marketing wheel is likely a good idea.

      Maybe once mgt gets over the shock of Mr. Ewanick’s path of destruction (it still appears to ‘run deep’), GM will match improved vehicles with a marketing vision that’s up to the task.

      Regardless of age.

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      1. Well said and I totally agree. In addition, I’m just concerned that the designers are missing what the main stream public what from a car manufacture and its very evident with Cadillac current designs. Now this is most likely due to previous influence effecting their judgment, however I just wonder how long it’s going to take for GM to clean house and bring someone in who understands functionality and form have to work in unison. I love Cadillac and GM, heck I have 3 GM cars I just want them to produce excellent cars that we can all love and enjoy.

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        1. Man, this same statement again. GM brought in someone new to Cadillac – Johan de Nyssche – but he can’t just snap his fingers and change everything in one night. Everything currently available at dealers was done under the previous leadership. So although you have a valid complaint to the interior of the CTS – and I agree completely – new leadership is already there. Product development cycles take time. Why don’t people grasp this?

          Whether his changes are good or not is a whole other question. But the new Escala is supposed to be the new design direction.

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          1. One immediate thing de Nysschen can do is dial his arrogance back to the stops.

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        2. “I love Cadillac and GM, heck I have 3 GM cars I just want them to produce excellent cars that we can all love and enjoy.”

          And you want them produced for $20K less than what an older CTS-V went for when new?

          Good things cost good money, and Cadillac is not in the game of making luxury cars on the cheap. In fact, I think you’ll find no luxury automaker does that.

          Sales numbers aren’t the numbers you should be looking at. After all, if Mercedes can sell a $90K car, why can’t Cadillac? The unit sales are just a symptom.

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          1. LOL, Never said 20k less than the previous CTSV. I said they shouldn’t be 20k to 30K more than the previous generation. 80K is fare for a CTSV, not 95 too 102K. Come on.

            Validates my point, if other manufactures can sell 90K/100K sedans then clearly price and style are not inline and sales prove it. Simple supply and demand economics.

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            1. If other manufactures can sell a $90K sedan, there is no reason for Cadillac to ‘lower the bar’ just to make up for their inability to garner a higher ATP by going for unit sales. The lower total unit are merely a medium term risk when the ability to command higher prices is the ultimate goal of a luxury goods manufacturer.

              If you want cheap cars pretending to be a luxury, get a Chrysler with huge discounts. Just remember not to cry 5 years later when the residuals are lower than a 3 year old Hyundai with more miles.

              The sales numbers don’t prove your point. The ATP proves mine.

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    3. Missing something. U were at the car show.. and they actually had the car running in the building? If they didn’t.. how would U kno if the Touch Sensors worked?

      I’ve owned an 05 STS , ’09 M5 (for a month), ’09 CTS-V Sedan, ’12 CTS-V Coupe, and currently have a ’16 CTS-V.. and sorry.. CUE trumps them all in terms of user interface and useful capabilities. IF we are talking simple climate controls.. There was no lost of attention transitioning from the older button systems to the touch ones in normal driving. I feel the vibration at every “click” or touch. If I desire going from 70 degrees to 74.. I touch it 4x and I feel 4 vibrations. When I look down to confirm.. I look at the number no more time than I did with the button systems. Its a new system.. but most reviewers, including Motor Trend eventually become acclimated to it and no more issue. It is literally no different than moving from a flip-phone to a Galaxy

      Second. Age demographics in the U.S. are slowly dropping. In China.. Cadillac’s second largest market, perhaps largest now.. the avg. age demo is 35.

      Third.. Price is right and worth it. When I bought my Second Gen CTS-V Coupe it was $75K. So the base price of $86K is in line with the increase.. and worth it. Even more importantly is that the CTS-V is still $8K less than an M5 and almost $15K less than the E63AMG.

      Last. Interior is fantastic. Compared to any of its competitors from Benz, Audi, BMW, or Lexus.. the CTS and CTS-V meets or exceeds their level of luxury.

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      1. LOL, car was on however not running, and yes the car show was inside. The car was in some mode with all the accessories on, so you could see everything and change anything. Glad to know it’s 74 F where you live but when it’s -20 C, up here in Canada in January, I don’t want to take my gloves off to tap a button that doesn’t work. Plus the volume slide button is crap, you have to move at just the right speed to make it work, these are little annoyances that people don’t like. Do you watch Motor Trend?, Jonny Lieberman explains how the CUE system sucks on the CTSV watch the episode.


        .

        Your 09 CTSV is hands down, a way better interior, and looks and functions way better. Now for performance, no arguing there with you, your 2016 is way better and I agree with the numbers and power and pretty much everything else. I just greatly dislike the interior. The 2014 and up CTS gauge cluster on the base is the ugliest thing I have ever seen. I will go home and post on my Instagram page which interior people like better. My 2010 base CTS vs 2014 up CTS even against the CTS, proving Cadillac is not making things better but worse when it comes to interior style.

        Price, your wrong, totally wrong, sales numbers prove it. There is no reason to increases the price as much as they did and Cadillac is suffering for it. Also it’s the dealerships as well for their mark ups. There is a CTSV for sale in my area and they want 90K, some want 102K for the 2017, not work worth it in my opinion… most people agree with me, again sale prove it.

        We agree on one thing, age. That’s because young people are willing to finance these cars because there willing to live in the “now” instead of planning for their future. Old people don’t buy Cadillac’s because they can’t afford them and don’t want the debt. Bottom line CTSV or any CTS sales numbers are dead in the water, young people don’t want them because there too expensive and not worth what you get.

        I’m happy there are people like you willing to spend their money on new cars then I buy them for half the cost couple years later….

        Bottom line, I could do a way better job designing Cadillac’s.

        I do appreciate your feedback, good discussion and shows we love cars in our own unique way!

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        1. In Toronto, I live near massive Audi, BMW and Mercedes dealerships. The Mercedes dealership sells 300 to 350 cars per month and are looking for larger facilities as they can’t keep up with demand. I see every Luxury brand available but new Cadillacs are extremely rare. I have seen a single CT6 3 months ago. I don’t have to tell you that a well optioned German brand is at a significant premium to Cadillac vehicles. So price and affordability isn’t the issue. It’s the product stupid!

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          1. You’ve got old info bro! CUE works well now

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        2. I had to run outside earlier just to see if it were even possible for me to hit the CUE Touch Sensors with the car in AUX and GLOVES on my hands.. I don’t kno what kinda gloves U had on.. INSIDE of the AUTO SHOW… : ( but I put on a pair of leather Isotoners and touched the sensors… worked just as well as they would if I had of had on nothing at all. So again.. I’m missing something… As I think U did when U said something about it being 74 where I lived. If U read my statement in the original text.. U will see what I mean.

          Pricing?? Again.. the CTS is worth every penny. The issue with your grasp.. and a few others is that the 3rd Gen CTS is actually and really a new STS. Same size.. same pricing.. same position in the line-up. Admittedly.. as I have said many times before, Cadillac should have just called it an STS and the ATS the CTS and been done with it. In other words:

          The ATS is the old CTS (Catera)
          The CTS is the old STS (Seville)
          The XTS is the old DTS (Deville)
          The CT6 is the basically the Fleetwood

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          1. These dudes are clearly foreign car sympathizers all caught up in the, “America car bad, foreign car good” propaganda/brain washing! Good job sir! Keep up the fine work at calling these sorts out!!!!

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  2. Cadillac’s CTS-V competes not with just the Lamborghini Huracan as it competes with all of the familiar players like Mercedes, Audi and BMW just to name a few; but fr Cadillac to compete with true sports cars like Lamborghini, Porsche and Ferrari, Cadillac will need to build their own 2-door coupe either based of the CTS or possibly the upcoming Chevrolet mid-engine C8 Corvette.

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    1. I think Cadillac does not compete with Lamborghini — very different segments. Corvette competes with Lamborghini and Ferrari and Porsche (and wins on the racetrack, e.g. in Le Mans), and also in GErmany 2016 sold more Corvette than Lamborghini.

      The real competition for Cadillac are in the filed of four door premium sedans from Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Jaguar, Maserati, Lexus – and Bentley. Bentley outsold Cadillac in Germany 2016.

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      1. Corvette does not compete with Lambo or Ferrari and Cadillac has nothing to even come close to Maserati and even less Bentley. If Bentley outsold Cadillac in Germany, it just shows that Cadillac’s presence is non-existent.

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        1. Corvette, Lamborghini, Ferrari are all in the same class of sports cars. Cadillac is not.

          Maserati competes both in the “sports cars” segment and in the the “upper class” segment, in the letter with the Quattroporte and the somewhat smaller Ghibli (as the name says, Quatroporte distinguishes itself from the sportscars by having 4 doors).

          Maserati and Jaguar profit from their mythical past — Jaguar with the iconid E-Type, and Maserati with the fame of their Formula 1 and endurance racing in the 1950is with drivers like the Argentinan Juan Manuel Fangio and the British Stirling Moss.

          The Cadillac name is also well known, but that doesn’t help…

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          1. “Corvette, Lamborghini, Ferrari are all in the same class of sports cars.”

            Maybe in your mind but in the real world, nobody ever cross shops a Corvette with those other brands. Corvette is still blue collar while the exotics are for people with real money.

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            1. Obviously not in the market for a high end sports car, nor do you run in such circles. In the “real world” people with that kind of money just buy what they want. And when it comes to sports cars, more often than not the “class” of the car is determined by the actual performance its capable of, not the badge on the hood. The Corvette has run in ‘rich people’ circles for decades.

              The fact that a regular joe could own one is just incidental, and frankly a bonus.

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  3. Saw a 2016/17 V a few weeks ago while visiting San Fransisco – beautiful car. The interior definitely needs an upgrade (as does the ATS/XTS/Escalade) however these cars will be replaced soon. I love the interior of the CT6 & XT5. JDN will be put to the test in 2018 and beyond, and I think he can do it. However I have yet to see any Cadillac commercials on TV. The new ads put out are certainly better than what came before, but they better start marketing the cars features/power a little more.

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  4. Cadillac sales have to do with not marketing at all up until recently.. which I’m starting to believe was strategic. The carry the highest ATPs in the segment, or damn close.. They have a line-up comprised of only two SUVs where as competitors like Benz have 7. Heck even Lexus has 4. The CTS suffers from having the XTS, at the same price, sitting on the same lot larger, and thought to be more prestigious because of size.. and absolutely no variants compared to Gen 2. Not to mention the ATS exists.. which once basically took the CTS’s spot. Ironically the CTS is selling almost exactly in the same numbers as the last STS.. which it is sized exactly like

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    1. Definitely strategic if you ask me. I’m not in the marketing industry but having a strong base to build off of is a necessity in anything a person/company does; especially when rebranding.

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      1. Yes.. Rebranding. I actually considered the possibility that they were completely holding back until 2018.. but alas the debut of several spots after or during the Oscars proved me wrong. These new commercials are fantastic, and worthy of a Luxo car company with Cadillac’s Heritage. The only one I thought was a waste was the Escala one.. since that car is not out yet, if ever.

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  5. the CT6 and XT5 interiors is a joke….thay look cheap as hell.

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    1. You’ve never been a good judge of quality. Shut it.

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      1. That’s what I thought too! Just another “import envy syndrome” afflicted individual

        Reply
        1. He doesn’t have “import envy syndrome”. Rye has autism.

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