GM Says Cadillac CT6 Will Live On In US After All, Plans To Move Production Underway
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Like a cat, the Cadillac CT6 may have only used up one of its multiple lives. General Motors went on the record and said the CT6 is not dead in the United States and both the automaker and Cadillac are looking at plans to move production out of the GM Detroit-Hamtramck plant to another facility.
Automotive News (subscription required) reported on the change of heart Monday and spoke directly with Cadillac President Steve Carlisle and GM President Mark Reuss. Both said the company is evaluating options to keep the sedan on sale past June 1, which is when GM was – according to earlier reports – planning to sunset the model. Details were slim, but both executives mentioned production could move to another, unnamed plant. Another option is to import the sedan from China, where the CT6 is scheduled to live on.
Carlisle said importing the CT6 from China is the least desirable option, while adding that the company has some time to sort out a new production plan before the final CT6 rolls off of the assembly line at D-Ham this summer.
The news is an absolute about-face after GM included the car as part of its far-reaching car cull and restructuring announcement this past November. A Cadillac spokesperson also confirmed the nameplate’s end with numerous media outlets last year. Cadillac additionally said there would be plenty of CT6 sedans in stock to last the entire year before the car dwindled away.
Adding to the confusion, both executives said the CT6 was never intended as part of the restructuring, adding that various officials did not communicate the plans correctly at the time. Carlisle added that the company “never said” the CT6 was going away and the brand is keen to keep the sedan as its banner Super Cruise vehicle and launch the 4.2-liter twin-turbo LTA V-8 engine, aka Blackwing.
The CT6 will receive the brand-exclusive engine in a regular-output version making 500 horsepower for the CT6 Platinum, as well as a high-output variant making 550 horses in the CT6-V.
Moving CT6 production will be part of the automaker’s discussions with the UAW as the current labor contract expires this September. But for now, it appears that the large Cadillac is safe from the chopping block.
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It seems that there is a serious disconnect in the upper echelons at GM in terms of communication. Barra is so hellbent on cutting jobs and idling plants to appease Wall Street that they did not look at the collateral damage to their products’ reputation and perception.
I called it!
My dealership assured me that it was not going away any time soon.
I bet that GM will dedicate one factory to only Cadillac products.
EXCELLENT NEWS!!!! (whew!)
This is good news. And it doesn’t sound like a miscommunication – I’m sure GM changed their mind
To me it says
1) There’s a lot of high-level chaos at GM with the beancounters given free reign to throw out the proverbial baby with the bath water
2) Reuss may have put his foot down
I hope #2 was part of it…
KEEP THE ASSEMBLY IN America and also keep the sedan . although there maybe enough in stock many object to purchasing a model that is being discontinued . A Cadillac from China or any model UNACCEPTABLE
Unfrickinbelievable.
They intended to use it as a bargaining chip with the UAW negotiations all along, that’s why they didn’t set the record straight from the beginning.
For efficiency’s sake, just continue to build it in China. Americans won’t mind as their houses are already filled with Chinese crap. Americans love anything Asian. All top selling cars in the US are from Asia.
Neverwong
Wait!!! Woa!!! A sensible move to ensure the brand is sustainable!!!??? Feeling faint and woozy. Please. Pass. The. Smelling. Salts.
Nice move GM!!
When reports of the CT6’s demise first surfaced, this website did hint at the possibility of production being moved to a different plant.
And my first thought was: If they would at least continue to offer it by at least importing it from China’.
Either way, this does help to improve the brand’s perception.
I just bought a Buick La Crosse Premium and I would suggest they move the XTS and the Impala to this platform, which saves the Buick and then offer a “trimmed” down Buick version of the CT-6 – this keeps costs low and efficiency high
Some things I’m not sure about, but I can tell you one thing I’m 100% certain about. I won’t be buying any Cadillac made in China.
Materialman,
You would be shocked to find out the Chinese parts content in US assembled cars or anything else assembled in the US or North America for that matter. Chinese parts absolutely dominate the aftermarket.
Why would you have an issue with Made in China? Take a walk around your house to see where your money is going? All your electronics, appliances, toys…
The flag you wave on the 4th of July is probably made by good ol’ Communists.
Unless one’s aversion to buying a Made in China Cadillac has more so to do with concern for labor laws or protecting jobs here, steel is steel and specifications are same no matter where assembled.
The vehicle would still have to meet NHTSA and other standards to be allowed on American roads anyway.
Put the Impala on the La Crosse Platform (114.4 inches P2XX) and move the XTS to this platform as well. This allows Cadillac to stay in the livery end of the market and provides Buick with keeping its Senior Sedan in the market
At a minimum they should import the La Crosse as this is a key car for Buick.
Second, they should come up with a dress down CT-6 for Buick as well in order to spread production costs and increase sales.
Also, for the CT-6 they need to drop the black plastic power window holders and use either Chrome or Wood.
Great news. Love sedans and this is the best looking of the bunch. Nice of dealers to reserve all the V’s though.
That said, the detuned 500hp is just fine. But is that confirmed for the Regular CT6?
Any chance at all that it can be mated to an awd system? Looks live the V is/was, so I assume the same for the detuned.
I am going to bet this moves to Fairfax Kansas or Lansing Grand River Assembly. If I were making the decisions it would be Fairfax, they have some of the best build quality of all GM shops.
The CT6 should have been built on the Alpha platform, then you could have built it at the Lansing plant with little or no additional investment. BMW builds all of its cars on one platform. Thank God that the XTS is still going away. It cheapens the brand. Cadillac has done great things with exterior design, performance, technology, and now powertrain. The one lingering issue is interior quality. Stop the bean counters!
You obviously do not understand Cadillac vehicles nor their platforms.
I am glad to see the CT6 staying in the United States. There was a couple of videos online from the 2018 New York auto show . One had Brandon Vivian, who is in charge of the CT6 development, stating that there were to be the 550 horse for the V sport at the time and 500 horses for the Platinum edition
As we can all see from the Jan 14, 2019 offering of the CT6 V . The 275 cars sold out in 15 minutes .
That should show that Americans want this car , BUT , they want a V8
If Cadillac would offer the CT6 V again and again until there is no more demand for it
The sales numbers for the CT6 are under 10,000 units in the past
If 275 cars of the V sell out in 15 minutes , that would be 1100 an hour
If 10 hours past , then 11,000 units would sell
If the average car is $100,000 , then 275 would be $2,750,000 or 11,000,000 an hour
Now since the line will not close, Cadillac can make those cars
If Cadillac has to add more shifts, the UAW would be very happy for its workers
AND THE UNITED STATE WOULD KEEP AN ICON IN THIS COUNTRY WHERE IT BELONGS
Tony you have a simplistic view of the world, even if it only exists in your own mind.
You must be a Trump supporter and believe in his populist, ultra simplistic fairy tales that don’t work.
VCAT says:
January 20, 2019 at 11:38 am
I think Cadillac needs to upgrade the interior to class leading in all of their offering without a increase in price. Then they need to offer Engines to exceed or at least compare with the competition. Eliminate the TT 4 from the CT6 and make it a somewhat oversized competitor to the E class and 5 series. Do all o this without raising the price and with help from the dealers providing equal or better service than the competition they might survive.
Give the people a better product with better customer service and more than likely they will give you a chance. Of course you have to reassure them you are comiiite to that product and quit sending mixed signals.
Read more: http://gmauthority.com/blog/2019/01/cadillac-discounts-ct6-by-8000-in-january-2019/#ixzz5dBvqvNwf
We need a Full-size car and a full size AWD Impala. GM needs to stop forcing everyone into mid size cars, it’s getting old.
I’m one of the rare german CT6 owners. I got my Platinum 3.0 TT in October 2018 from one of the 11 official german Cadillac-Dealer. At the date of order there were 2 trim-Options (Luxury & Platinum) 5 exterior colours and the 2 interior colours to choose of. Since jan 2019 there is only one CT6 you can buy in Germany. A black/black Luxury with a 3.0 TT. No more options to select. This is not, what you expect for a flagship model of an uprising Brand.
Cadillac started 2016 with marketing campaigns across Germany and even a new flagship-store in Dresden has opened. And now, after perhaps a hundred sold CT6 it looks really like already the end of this beautiful model.
The streets in Germany are flooded with those boring S-classes, 7-series or Audi A8 so it is remarkable, that every Head turns after the fantastic design of a CT6. It isn’t even possible to make a quick stop at the gasstation, the car-wash or at any parking spot without beeing asked, what car is that. Of course… there are less than 100 in a Country with 62 Million cars. The Chance to meet a Bugatti Veyron on the streets is three times bigger.
Claus,
The CT6 isn’t discontinued.
Is anyone here in a position to recommend Plus Size Corsets? Cheers x
Move the plant to Oshawa and bring back the CT-8. The car is to midsized and is not large enough to represent the brand as a flagship model. They need to stop pawning off mid sized cars as full sized from the plans from the ‘90’s. It’s bad policy.