Former Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen set an aggressive product timeline in place during his tenure. Beginning with the 2019 Cadillac XT4, a new Cadillac will launch every six months through at least 2021. The time has nearly come to execute the strategy.
Automotive News rounded up what we can expect from the de Nysschen-era plan, which new Cadillac chief Steve Carlisle will execute. In fact, Carlisle could even accelerate things to speed up the luxury brand’s rebirth.
The first vehicle is the XT4, which will launch this fall, and we’ll likely see the three-row Cadillac XT6 follow shortly after in mid-2019. The XT6 will likely share the stretched C1XX platform with the Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave; AN speculated the XT6 could also offer a Cadillac-exclusive engine.
Late in 2019, we’ll then likely see the Cadillac CTS and ATS’ replacement called the CT5. We’ve spied the CT5 testing on numerous occasions, and the sedan will adopt a previously successful “tweener” strategy. There could even be a CT5 coupe in the works, too.
Moving into 2020, we’ll then be shown the Cadillac CT4 or CT3, a much smaller Cadillac than the current ATS akin to the Audi A3 or BMW 2-Series. The car will allegedly retain a rear-wheel-drive layout, but the need for crossovers could push its introduction back further into next decade.
Sprinkled between the new vehicles will be a refreshed XT5 crossover, and a fully redesigned Escalade is expected to arrive in 2020. It’s after 2021 when Cadillac will spice things up with a halo car based on the Escala concept vehicle and perhaps a handful of electric cars. Before de Nysschen departed the brand, he publicly said the majority of GM’s forthcoming electric cars will be Cadillacs. The automaker plans to introduce 20 electric cars by 2023.
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Not at all the kind of product onslaught I think Cadillac needs.
We’ve seen XT4 and it’s been widely panned. It’s a disappointment already. Giving Cadillac a version of the FWD Traverse isn’t going to wow anybody either, no matter how nice the leather is or how big they make the crest on the grille. CT5 would be the most anticipated and promising but it’ll merely be another mid-sized luxury sedan competing in a very crowded field which BMW and M-B will likely continue to dominate. A new Escalade based on a new Tahoe….no big excitement there either. A small CT3/4 entry level car with a low price doesn’t give me high hopes either. I hate to be so pessimistic but Cadillac is going to have to do better than this. They need to do a lot better. They need a home-run product that will stun people and I’m not seeing it in these plans.
For years, they’ve shown us home-runs like Sixteen, Cien, Ciel, Elmarij, and Escala. All of those are the kind of market disrupting products that would signal Cadillac is back if they ever showed up in dealers. However, GM steadfastly refuses to actually produce anything truly exciting or ground-breaking like that. It’s just heartbreaking for everyone like me who yearns to see something more from Cadillac than a “stretched C1XX”. The cruelest irony of all perhaps is their new slogan, Dare Greatly, which is the total antithesis of what Cadillac actually is.
GM’s lack of foresight strikes again.
They can play CEO musical chairs as many times as they want, as long as GM’s bureaucracy & beancounter culture remains the same, nothing will change & Cadillac will always be a “good enough” effort.
I think we will see CT5 prior to XT6. The CT5 was spied testing months prior to the first XT6 shots. ATS sedan has been phased out for the next model year, setting up a reveal of the CT5 in the Fall and a launch in the Spring, 6 months after XT4.
Are these dates after the XT4 for unveils or roll outs? If that’s the timeline for roll outs shouldn’t we start to see production ready Cadis soon? Normally a car is shown 5-6 months before roll out
Well let just see what happens.
Sorry but reality comes into play as the show cars were not production ready and the only one close is the Escala and it appears it may be coming.
Use care in wishing for show cars. Remember the SSR and ELR. They look cool but never functioned well.
Here we go, the XT4 is outclassed by the new Q3. inside and out.
New Q3 looks boring and outdated
Yeah, sure. Look at the Q3’s infotainment system. They have already released the video. XT4’s multimedia looks like it is from 2007/2008. Plus it does not have a fully digital dash. Now wait for the Benz. I thought Cadillacs would have set the golden standards in each segment with JDN, but they are still behind.
Btw, Cadillacs marketing still sucks as *uck… I mean there already are couple of videos of the brand new Q3. Everything is shown from the best angles. People can see how the infotainment works, how the tail lights and the headlights work etc.. I mean everything.
Cadillac has not made at least a one good video to show how the XT4 really looks like. I remember there was a small teaser and thats it. I can’t even find a video of how the navigation looks like… Im pretty graphics look dated, but anyway.
Just sat through a 13 minute video on the Q3 and it really is impressive. It’s obviously a small, entry level CUV intended to serve as a bread-and-butter product for the brand but it’s very tastefully designed in the restrained, purposefully elegant way all Audis look. It does have a hint of Bentley Bentayga flair to it though in the way the belt line kicks up at the C-pillar. The standard all-LED lighting and infotainment system are both top-notch for the class too.
Sadly for Cadillac fans, and for Americans, the XT4 isn’t at the same level and despite all the lofty promises from Johan de Nycsshen, the Cadillac entry once again won’t be ‘the Pinnacle of Premium’. Instead it struggles to even have a high-end visage and comes across as more of a CRV competitor than a product on parity with the Germans.
I have to wonder, and hope actually, if that’s not why JdN was sacked. Could it be that GM perhaps agrees that his first vehicle doesn’t measure up and therefore sent him back to South Africa. If so, there’s perhaps still a glimmer of hope left for Cadillac. I certainly hope XT4 gets replaced very quickly with a much better Steve Carlisle-era product.
XT4 is not JdN’s car. First JdN’s car will be CT5.
The XT4 on the Cadillac website looks great in black. Not sure why it debuted in copper.
Just watched the same video. XT4 looks better than I’ve ever seen it in black. It doesn’t change my overall impression of the vehicle but it does for sure look better in that video than the orange car from New York. The thing is that the XT4 video was followed by one for Escala which is so gorgeous, so perfect, and such a pitch perfect modern day Cadillac that it is confounding why it can’t become a reality.
In their heyday, Cadillacs were grand and ostentatious cars that made no apologies for being extravagant. They didn’t try to be imitate anybody and certainly not the Germans. Escala has that same classic Cadillac vibe. It feels like a car to be imitated instead of an imitator.
If someone gave me the keys to Cadillachaus for a while, there’d be three “senior” Cadillacs; the Escala liftback, the Elmiraj coupe, and a more formal sedan. Those products would serve as Cadillac’s image leaders. They’d be built in the tradition of grand Cadillacs from the past. There would also be about four “junior” Cadillacs which would be the smaller, cheaper cars built in higher numbers to compete with BMW’s 2-Series, 3/4-Series, and 5-Series cars. Of course the CUVs, of which there would need to be three, would have to stay but I’d prefer them to be based on Alpha and Omega platforms and be clearly different from the FWD offerings coming from Flint and Warren.
I suppose that would be expensive and daring but I think that’s the only way Cadillac ever makes it back. They must embrace their past, build authentic Cadillacs again, and stop looking to Munich for inspiration. The GM Heritage Center has all the inspiration they’ll ever need. Personally I think the market is ripe for such a plan and success awaits them if only they try. I’ve seen so many German luxury cars and German luxury car wannabes for so long, I’m totally bored with them. A modern iteration of the classic Cadillac formula would be something exciting and different.
Because it’s not a JdN’s car. And Q3 graphics don’t look outstanding.
No is not.
No media center it’s not outdated on XT4 crossover.
Yea wait till you see the lease payment on the q3……
Not worried about XT4. Orders already being taken.
I wonder if de Nysschen really wanted GM front wheel drive SUVs and a GM 2.0T as standard engine. We will see if the CT5 offers us anything new for Cadillac, because again all I see so far is GM with a different badge. And I wonder if the CT5 will have a 2.0T standard also. All this hype of new products and offering low standards is sad. The new Buick will have to be beat. Does GM really think there are that many Cadillac buyers that will continue to spend more to get the same old GM or less, because every year there are just more and more of us moving away from Cadillac, and not moving to another GM. Can anyone give me an opinion on why Cadillac has to do a 2.0T with 235 to 300HP standard and then 550 HP for performance. Why cant we get a 350 to 400 HP Cadillac standard. If you are the person who wants the low HP 2.0T order that. All these low HP Cadillacs sold standard will just continue to be junk in the future worth nothing. I would love to know from the GM people making the decisions for Cadillac, just who Cadillac is competing with. How long are they going to say WAIT the next will be great .
Did you saw the figures for XT4 V-Sport?
The 2.0 T is a must for export markets where big engines are overly taxed… As an example, my CTS 2.0T in Belgium, Europe, is taxed 450 USD per year for the license plate and 630 USD per month (!) for CO2 emissions.
If I jump to the CTS-V that becomes 5000 USD tax when licensing it, then 4800 USD per year for the license plate, and 1200 USD per month (!) for CO2 emissions.
Except for the US, the 2.0T is a necessity for the brand. And even in the US it helps achieve the CAFE standards.
lifelongGMowner,I’m driving my last Cadillac. Never thought I’d feel that way. I’ve always loved and enjoyed my Cadillacs. This one cured me. I don’t know what my next car will be but won’t be a GM product. Good enough is not good enough for me.
We drove a 2018 Audi A4 2.0T AWD. It is a great car. Smooth, quick, comfortable. Everything easy to use. Leather was soft, thick, nice. Yeah our 2014 ATS 2.0T AWD is like junk compared to the Audi, and the Audi is less expensive. Also the Audi sales man has been with them for 17 years, he knew everything about Audi. Today we checked out a Tesla, not sure what I think of the 250 mile then charge deal but were looking. Maybe we will come back to Cadillac some day, if there is a Cadillac. Even Ford quit selling cars and are pushing all there car customers to Lincoln. At least it will save Lincoln. We will see. Its sad after owning 5 Cadillacs. Good luck
Thanks. I hire a car and driver for some meetings. I love that Lincoln. Each time I slide in the Lincoln I know I bought the wrong car. I like comfort and luxury. I have no fantasy about being a racer.
A friend who races advised me against another Cad when I was last in the market for a car. I’ll check with him before my next purchase. Maybe I’ll ask him to select a car for me.
The Cad I have now is low milage, 9100 on the clock with two more years on the B2B so it’s safe for now. Really a shame the way GM screwed up Cadillac.
One thing you are not understanding is that most luxury brands are offering a 2.0t engine for the base model. Another thing you need to understand is that by 2025 ALL brands need to meet an average mpg of 35. Which for the most part, every brand out there is barely starting to achieve that with one or two of their vehicles. You can’t just expect manufactures to wait until 2025 and all the sudden they are able to achieve those numbers. They need to have trial and error and test what works and what doesn’t, so that they can perfect the technology. Or at least get it to where they don’t have to have recalls and lose more money than what they were planning for.
Also Cadillac has exclusive engines that offer the HP ratings that you are asking for. They have a 3.0tt v6, a 3.6tt v6 and a 4.2tt v8 offering anywhere from 400 to 550 hp and 400 to 630 tq. But don’t expect a base model to get 400 hp unless it’s able to achieve 30 plus mpg.
I do understand. Isn’t that what Chevrolet is for. Why is GM willing to ruin Cadillac for the sake of Chevrolet. You are just assuming a 400 HP engine cant get the same mileage as the 2.0T. Think, try, work, test, improve. The 2014 ATS we own is a 2.0T AWD, it is a rough running, terrible shifting car. Other brands 2.0T are smooth and quick. Sure we have been told the new 2.0T GM will be smooth, we have been told a lot by Cadillac. This is the main thing I don’t get. A base with 235 HP or a V with 400 – 550 HP. This is just my opinion but I think Cadillac would go along way with a middle of the cost and middle of the HP, standard. O well if you can’t do the job you blame, or find an excuse. If you want a 235HP vehicle buy a Chevrolet, if you want a 350HP vehicle buy a Cadillac.
Like I said before Cadillac will gain more traction with XT4/XT3/XT6/XT5 crossovers. New escalade SUV,etc. It’s only certain people who keep asking these same questions over and over or write these same narrative over and over again. Cadillac is not asking that question, or weighting.
Cadillac can rename the Escalade as the XT8.
Don’t understand why they don’t do that. Logically it should be XT8.
Yes it should logically be the XT8, however the Escalade has an un-reproducible amount of great history and image. Ever since its introduction in ’99 the Escalade was known as the “king of the road”; imagine if the average Joe who known absolutely nothing about cars no longer see the Escaqlade for sale, but instead sees “the all new, first ever XT8”. Is he really going to buy it over the new (also well known and praised) Navigator?
If Cadillac were to rename the Escalade; I would be certain that they WANT to fail.
I think that Cadillac needs to UPGRADE it’s interiors on all vehicles. Return to using buttons instead of the current pulse-type controls. Each new Cadillac needs to have a vehicle to truly compete in every class of MB or BMW if they want to retake the lead as the WORLD STANDARD, as they were in the late 40’s & 50’s. Come up with Multiple vehicles from every class of German competetor and continue to go upscale. The ESCALA should really be out sooner. There should be multiple applications of the ESCALA as well. i.e.: (((Fleetwood 62 & 75 limousine))) Come out with a Coupe & Convertible to compete in the Large-Medium-Small class and consider an XT5 Convertible SUV truck as well. Back in 1968 & 1969, Cadillac boldly pushed the envelope with about 14 different large vehicles in 13 different leather interior/exterior colors. Also a VAN to compete directly with the MB SPRINTER would be a nice option. ESCALADE VAN would be a great choice! Time to be ahead of the competition in every single way. Full Glass Panoramic Roofs need to be in all vehicles including Escalade. A Center Console needs to also be a REAR SEAT option. Upgrade the Rear Entertainment Screens to have an Stainless Steel or Aluminum 12″ Frame (Jaguar/Rolls Roice). XT4 is beautiful but needs a Platinum & V-Sport trim. Time to go all the way up!