Cadillac ATS sales decreased in the United States and increased in Canada in July 2017.
Cadillac ATSÂ Sales – July 2017 – United States
Cadillac ATS deliveries in the United States totaled 777 units in July 2017, a decrease of 63.3 percent compared to 2,119 units sold in July 2016. In the first seven months of 2017, sales of the ATS family decreased 32.8 percent to 7,986 units.
Sales Numbers - Cadillac ATS - July 2017 - United States
| MODEL | JUL 17 / JUL 16 | JULY 17 | JULY 16 | YTD 17 / YTD 16 | YTD 17 | YTD 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATS | -63.33% | 777 | 2,119 | -32.79% | 7,986 | 11,883 |
Cadillac ATSÂ Sales – July 2017 –Â Canada
In Canada, ATS sales increased 53 percent to 219 units in July 2017. In the first seven months of the year, ATS family sales decreased 3.4 percent to 1,379 units in Canada.
Sales Numbers - Cadillac ATS - July 2017 - Canada
| MODEL | JUL 17 / JUL 16 | JULY 17 | JULY 16 | YTD 17 / YTD 16 | YTD 17 | YTD 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATS | +53.15% | 219 | 143 | +3.37% | 1,379 | 1,334 |
The GM Authority Take
The Cadillac ATS continues to suffer at the hands of newer and more modern competitors while being the oldest vehicle in its class with almost zero marketing support.
That series of events has led the ATS family to come in dead last in terms of cumulative sales volume in its segment, behind BMW 3/4 series in first place with 9,617 sales, Audi A4/A5 family with 4,907 sales, Mercedes-Benz C-Class family in third with 4,889 deliveries, Infiniti Q50/Q60 in fourth (3,361 deliveries), Lexus IS/RC in fifth (2,965 deliveries), Volvo 60 series in sixth (1,184 deliveries). Even the segment newcomer, the Alfa Romeo Giulia, managed to find more homes than the ATS in July, despite limited brand recognition and, compared to Cadillac, a minuscule retail network.
It’s worthy to note that the industry-wide slump in car sales at the hands of crossovers impacted the compact sport-luxury car segment in July, but not significantly: the space saw a 10.16 percent drop in sales volume, while the ATS’ 63 percent U.S. sales drop was the highest among its peers.
In all, the replacement for the ATS can not come soon enough to turn the sales slump around. Though the current model is a great car, it comes short when compared to the competition in many aspects, including refinement of its cabin and powertrains. The vehicle does, however, excel in terms of driving dynamics, in-vehicle technology, and safety.
So, about that replacement: it will likely be called Cadillac CT3 and has recently been all but confirmed to be based on the second iteration of GM’s highly-praised Alpha platform called Alpha 2. The biggest expectation for the CT3 is that Cadillac will finally hone in on the weak points of the ATS, which was a great first try at a proper compact sport-luxury entry.
What we expect to be called the CT3 will slot in under another sedan that was recently confirmed to be the Cadillac CT5, serving as a replacement of sorts for the current-generation Cadillac CTS. Both models will continue to be built at the GM Lansing Grand River factory in Michigan for sale in North American markets, while a factory in China will build the vehicles for the Chinese market. Expect to see the CT3 and CT5 for the 2019 calendar year as 2020 model year vehicles.
Sales Numbers - Compact Luxury Cars - July 2017 - United States
| MODEL | JUL 17 / JUL 16 | JULY 17 | JULY 16 | YTD 17 / YTD 16 | YTD 17 | YTD 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 SERIES | -24.87% | 5,123 | 6,819 | -15.98% | 27,707 | 32,976 |
| 4 SERIES | +41.14% | 4,494 | 3,184 | +5.58% | 20,351 | 19,276 |
| C-CLASS | -22.45% | 4,889 | 6,304 | +8.81% | 47,451 | 43,609 |
| A4 | +1.53% | 2,652 | 2,612 | +13.63% | 19,921 | 17,531 |
| A5 | +203.09% | 2,255 | 744 | +77.12% | 8,994 | 5,078 |
| Q50 | -7.45% | 2,596 | 2,805 | -3.73% | 22,199 | 23,059 |
| Q60 | +1,133.87% | 765 | 62 | +797.32% | 6,703 | 747 |
| IS | -29.41% | 2,443 | 3,461 | -28.16% | 14,771 | 20,560 |
| RC | -46.57% | 522 | 977 | -42.24% | 3,621 | 6,269 |
| GIULIA | * | 1,104 | * | * | 4,578 | * |
| S60 | -51.50% | 904 | 1,864 | -10.41% | 6,853 | 7,649 |
| S60 CC | -23.81% | 32 | 42 | -61.60% | 139 | 362 |
| V60 | -68.49% | 121 | 384 | -20.25% | 1,690 | 2,119 |
| V60 CC | -62.54% | 127 | 339 | +9.56% | 1,604 | 1,464 |
| ATS | -63.33% | 777 | 2,119 | -32.79% | 7,986 | 11,883 |
| TOTAL | -9.18% | 28,804 | 31,716 | +1.03% | 194,568 | 192,582 |
- ATS sales include Cadillac ATS Sedan and ATS Coupe, along with their respective high-performance V variants
- C-Class figures include Mercedes-Benz C-Class Sedan, C-Class Coupe and C-Class Convertible, along with their respective high-performance AMG variants
- 3 Series figures include BMW 3 Series sedan and 3 Series GT, along with their respective high-performance M variants
- 4 Series figures include BMW 4 Series coupe and 4 Series Gran Coupe, along with their respective high-performance M variants
- A4 figures include Audi A4 sedan, S4 sedan;Â does not include A4 allroad
- A5 figures include Audi A5 coupe, A5 convertible, A5 Sportback as well as S5 coupe, S5 convertible and S5 Sportback and RS5 Coupe
- Q50 figures include Infiniti Q50Â Sedan
- Q60 figures include Infiniti Q60 Coupe
- Volvo 60 series figures comprised of:
- S60, the sedan variant of Volvo 60 series
- S60 CC, the ruggedized variant of the Volvo S60 sedan
- V60, the wagon variant of Volvo 60 series
- V60 CC, the ruggedized variant of Volvo V60 wagon
- Alfa Romeo Giulia includes Giulia sedan and Giulia Quadrifoglio sedan
Related News & Info
- GM news
- Cadillac ATSÂ information
Related Sales Reporting
- Running GM sales results
- Running Cadillac sales results
- Running Cadillac ATS sales numbers
- Running Chevrolet sales results
- Running Buick sales results
- Running GMC sales results
- Running Cadillac sales results
- July 2017 GM sales results
- U.S. GM July 2017 sales results
- U.S. July 2017 Chevrolet sales results
- U.S. July 2017 Cadillac sales results
- U.S. July 2017 Buick sales results
- U.S. July 2017 GMC sales results
- GM Canada July 2017 sales results
- Canada July 2017 Chevrolet sales results
- Canada July 2017 Cadillac sales results
- Canada July 2017 Buick sales results
- Canada July 2017 GMCÂ sales results
- GM China July 2017 sales results
- Global July 2017 Cadillac sales results
- U.S. GM July 2017 sales results
Reporting by Francisco (Frankie) Cruz. GM Authority Take analysis by Alex Luft.
Comments
Great car but the lack of refinement is sad on Cadillac ‘s part. I’m still driving my 2013 ATS.
Drop an Escala-esque interior onto a refined Alpha platform and throw some ad money at the launch and you’ll be up at 4,000 units a month in no time.
Exactly!
But don’t forget to follow the continuous improvement model post-launch, and update these things yearly with minor items, and do a midcycle refresh after 3/4 years.
Exactly!
You put a whole product plan into one sentence. That’s nothing more than what every other well run car company is doing. What’s so difficult about that?
Many won’t appreciate the ATS and CTS, until they are no longer available!
CTS much more so. The ATS was half backed from the word Go. ATS needs to be in the category of the A3 not the A4/3/C
Well, it needs a car in the A4/3/C class much more than the one below it… but it needs to make a killer product and price it slightly below those rivals.
They will not do that, their greed gets in the way. They do not know their customers.
If you follow the future product articles in this close enough, you’ll see that this is actually exactly what they will do with the CT3 and CT5. Same product as now, defined, and priced slightly below today’s levels.
A great used car.
It was a “Price Leader”, the older customers could not get into it or out of it easily, and it is too expensive for the younger buyer that it is aimed at. The Cadillac buyer would rather spend $200 a month more and get a car they can use with the family.
The customers I see, when they come out of them usually want something else next time.
They just got tired of not being able to drive it in the snow (We get snow here), Trunk is too small, and the lots of replacement tires at at least twice that of regular ones.
This is some of what I have been trying to warn about. The Cadillac customer is not interested in this car.
Want to make a “Cheap” or Entry level Cadillac, Take the XTS, FWD, No Nav, No SR, no heated seats, no memory seats, Make it with No Options available other than color, Take away the Remote Start, Scrap the Goodyear tires and Put Michelin’s on it. Price it about $40,000. and Stand back.
We are seeing q systems fail all over the place, and that will hurt its resale we have been changing them like crazy
The ATS was never aimed at the “older people” who are not Cadillac’s target audience. The model for them is the XTS. Outside of that, Cadillac’s goal is to change the composition of its audience at the core, setting it up for significant increases in profitability and increased success long term.
So, if the “Cadillac customer” was not interested in the ATS, that’s a good thing. The customers that should be interested in it are the BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Infiniti, Volvo, etc. customers. That’s the point. But unfortunately, the first generation model was not good enough to take sales from the rivals. The replacement models should be.
Now, all the points you mention against the ATS are valid — but they are also shared with the other vehicles in the class, like the 3 series, which has no problem moving 5,000 units a month. It also has a small trunk and doesn’t do well in snow (AWD or snow tires should help). These are characteristics of the segment, which is the biggest luxury car segment in the world — and people who buy these cars don’t see these are negatives. I have owned 3 cars in this segment from 3 different brands (ATS, A4, IS), and I do not see an issue with these items.
CUE was ok, but the third generation addresses all of the issues with the first two generations. The same took place at BMW ten years ago when iDrive came out.
What will happen is this: Cadillac will improve on the ATS with the CT3, addressing the low points of the ATS. And then it will price it several grand below the current model, thereby creating a great value proposition. The same for the CT5, the replacement of the CTS.
Stand back and watch sales take off then 🙂
I know the ATS was not aimed at the Older buyer. Yet I do not recall very many younger shoppers in looking at the car at all. Older customers ended up buying the car because it was smaller and cheaper, and easier for them to handle.
When I talk to customers about why they are going to something else instead, they say the ride was too harsh.
The other side is that the younger (target audience) likes the car, and as a used car, the $20,000 is the budget they can afford.
In the snow an All Wheel Drive car is wonderful, the factory pushed too many Rear Wheel Drives on the market. Here we have new 15’s we cannot give away at used car prices because they are RWD.
I understand that a car is not designed to fail in its objective. The problem is that the target audience was not looking for it, and could not afford it once they discovered it.
I am sure we will see the same thing with the CT3 (naming aside) If it does not have a smooth ride, and a useable amount of space inside it also will go the way of the ATS.
Steve, great to have your view on this as a Cadillac salesman, and your take on the ATS makes so much sense. I think one problem for GM was that they viewed the old Cadillac as a lost cause, and they treated it as a “new brand” to make it into whatever they wanted it to be. But Cadillac had an existing image and existing customer base. On top of all that, GM tried to make Cadillac a BMW imitator, when BMW already existed. Just bad all around. If Cadillac was no longer going to be the top luxury brand in the US, at least it could have continued a very lucrative niche market. Instead it wound up with unhappy existing customers, and their “new” market either didn’t like the old image or couldn’t afford the new cars.
As far as the hard ride, the tiny back seat, and the poor performance in snow – the apologists will say that “other cars like BMW are the same”. That’s not good enough. Cadillac should be Cadillac, and should offer something that the competition does not offer, rather than copying the competition down to their flaws.
What if the ATS had 2 nice roomy comfortable seats, instead of 4 cramped ones, as Henry on this message board has suggested? What if the suspension had been comfortable – worthy of the Cadillac name – instead of hard? What if it had been FWD instead of RWD, for better performance in snow and extra legroom? What if they’d brought back reliability instead of pursuing fast track times at the Nurburgring? Sure ATS would no longer be a BMW wannabe, but how many units would it have sold vs. the actual sales numbers?
I don’t buy into the concept that younger people only want a cramped hard riding car, with RWD. Sure some do, and there are plenty of choices for them, including Camaro from GM. Some people just want a 1st class ride, regardless of age. I also don’t buy the idea that once the current generation of people over 55 dies off, no one will ever want a nice roomy comfortable ride again, no matter how much they mature. But that’s what GM has been sold with the “new Cadillac”. Plummeting sales have only made them double down on this “throw out what worked for us, let’s imitate BMW” strategy. It’s sad, seeing the end of an American icon, not to mention all the lost $$$ in pursuing the wrong strategy.
Steve,
I had an ATS service loaner for two days. It was a kick to drive. I loved that it moved along. Puts my CTS to shame in that respect.
Thr ATS had more room inside than it appeared from the outside. Too small for me to purchase but not bad. It was a base model so it lacked some of the safety gissys I’ve learned to tolerate.
No problem getting in or out. I don’t know the demo considered an older customer. I consider myself to be on the downside of the hill.
Not a bad little car. Too small to drive regularly. Fun as a loaner.
I hope Cadillac find it’s way. The RFT have to go. They are terrible.
I’ve thought of your comment that any worn out Cadillac is better than all the new cars. I’d love to find a worn out Cad absent a lot of rust. I don’t mind a mechanical restoration to drive a comfortable car.
You can find them with just over 100,000 miles, the problem is no warranty, and Cannot buy one, It would be Great if GM would come out with a High Mile Extended warranty and a Finance program, it would really help the resale of all the cars. No financing from Banks on 100K+ cars, so that means a cash purchase, really limits the audience.
We got a 50K CTS for our daughter and she put 177,000 on it before totaling it. We got her an SRX that she put 225,000 on before it needed any work, then it was time for another car.
A really good 100K mile car is going to run around $8000. Really shortens the number of people that will buy one.
Steve,
A decent 100k Cadillac would suit me fine. Cash sale, no problem. No warranty, no problem. I have an excellent mechanic for PPI. With his sign off I am driving the car.
I’m in an area that has winter. The older Cads in this area have a lot of rust from the road salt. The Cad I recently retired had 215k on it. Great car developed a mechanical issue. My mechanic told me it’s not worth the repair due to the rust.
I still miss it. I miss all my old Cadillacs.
I really enjoy my 2014 ATS 3.6 Premium AWD. I’m currently shopping for a 4 seat convertible and looking at BMW, Audi and Mercedes. Do you think that the CT3 or CT5 will be a available as a convertible?
Luxury marques have convertibles
The ATS comes down the same assembly line as the Camaro which has a convertible. I presume that will also be the case with the CT3 /CT5.
That would be wonderful to see about March.
Another Cadillac Convertible? I think not.
That is such a low production item that even the coach builders are not doing it. Then there is the Insurance potential problems.
Try looking for a used Allante’ Any of them, or any of the XLR’s. Those are Factory built convertibles that are really nice.
The Allante’ started around ’78 with a 4.9 V8. was a very good car but the press was so hard on them they put the Northstar into it. Those are Really hard to find.
The XLR is an outstanding car, a really great upgrade from the Allante’. Made in the US. At almost any time now you should start to see them available for reasonable money. Get to March and the market on them goes through the roof.
For now, that would be your best bet.
I see a few Alante’ listed at Hemmings from time to time. It was a good looking car. The price at that time seemed to be a deterrent. Nice body style.
The Alante’ was a great car. GM had made the decision to kill it, before it caught on. The Northstar engine transformed it, but it was too late, then they let all the Press types, ruin them, and the Mega Dealers were faced with actually selling something, which they were not used to, so they would dump them at Auction, while we were screaming for them and could not get any.
It doesn’t matter who is at the helm, they always panic. When they were running it through autoshows as a Prototype, they told the customers it would sell for about $25,000 and they based all their production on those numbers, however it came out at $50,000 and GM could not understand why it didn’t sell in the numbers they foretasted.
They make the same mistakes over and over, and never analyze what went wrong.
The Allante’ was a great car. GM had made the decision to kill it, before it caught on. The Northstar engine transformed it, but it was too late, then they let all the Press types, ruin them, and the Mega Dealers were faced with actually selling something, which they were not used to, so they would dump them at Auction, while we were screaming for them and could not get any.
It doesn’t matter who is at the helm, they always panic. When they were running it through autoshows as a Prototype, they told the customers it would sell for about $25,000 and they based all their production on those numbers, however it came out at $50,000 and GM could not understand why it didn’t sell in the numbers they foretasted.
They make the same mistakes over and over, and never analyze what went wrong.
He wants a 4 seat convertible. Neither the XLR nor the Allante have 4 seats. From GM the only options are Camaro or Cascada.
I had a 2013, and it was great, except for the 2.0T which was rough, raspy and would mysteriously loose 2 1/2 quarts of oil (in a week) two or three times a year. The rest of the car, including AWD was flawless. The genius from BMW has been there long enough to make a difference, but he’s only managed to make NYC the brand headquarters and loose maeket share everywhere but the small SUV. And I’m not certain the ret of the country is impressed by the new urban chic persona. I’m not.
The executive you are referring had a career at Audi, not from BMW.
He hasn’t been there “long enough” to make changes substantial enough to impact product that we have seen yet. The first vehicles with his input will be the XT4 and newer coming in 2018 onwards.
The other changes that have been made position Cadillac to be a leader in this space. They are behind the scenes changes to processes, marketing, retail, etc. – all things that are necessary when the new product starts to hit in waves. Just because you can’t see the changes doesn’t mean they aren’t happening. Moreover, the ATS, CTS or XTS are not the focus of JdN or his team, so it’s easy to see why sales are so poor. That’s ok though, the replacement models should change this substantially.
Lastly, Cadillac’s move to New York was not his idea. It was well underway before he arrived.
Facts!
Fact–ATS consistently ranked at bottom in segment in every customer survey in CR!
My experience parallels exactly. My nearly $55k 2014 Premium was far and away the most problematic vehicle I have owned in 51 years of driving!
Fine looking and handling vehicle with no other redeeming features!
At $55k for an ATS Premium, that had to be a nice car.
You could have had a nice Luxury XTS for that money.
GM just spends too much time and money on the wrong stuff, and misses the mark, That is because they are not Sales oriented any longer. Until they return to that, and stop letting Production run things, the trend will continue.
I agree with Alex and the comments he made about Cadillac ‘s future replacement for the ATS and CTS models. I am also confident that those future Cadillacs will be knockouts right from the get go. So as long as Cadillac price these cars right with the expected improvements, other competitors will also loose some sales in the future that they are enjoying now.
Thank god for China as 4,132 Cadillac ATS-L were sold in July 2017 as it makes you wonder whether Cadillac should import the ATS-L for sales in the United States because everyone has complained about the lack of rear passenger leg-space since Cadillac introduced the ATS.
A car like that would work here. We need an L version of everything.
Then the Country music would start singing about Cadillac again.
We don’t need L versions. They just need to right size the current models to segment. Stretch the wheelbase 2 inches per model… and done.
That would solve lots of problems. A longer wheelbase would give a smoother ride, and more cabin space. After all has anyone seen the size of the American People? Looks to me like 300 pounds is getting to be the norm. That, as they say is another story.
Right Steve,
Just look at the people on television being evacuated in Houston. Many are so big they can hardly walk! Authorities need Dump trucks just to move them around. Half of America could not even fit into an ATS!
What’s really criminal is the fact that Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen didn’t even consider importing the ATS-L from China to the United States; wouldn’t it make sense to import 500 units and see how well they’re accepted before making the factory changes to build the ATS-L in the US as well as this is what an open-minded leader would do.
Hopefully with the CT5, Johan de Nysschen will consider building a CT5-L long-wheelbase variant especially given the US population of people over 5-6.