General Motors Company’s luxury Cadillac brand/division will soon launch a new diesel engine. Here’s everything we know thus far about the upcoming Cadillac diesel engine, thanks to new information uncovered by GM Authority in collaboration with our colleagues at Cadillac Society.
The Backstory
Back in October 2018, GM published a written update surrounding the next chapter of Cadillac in Europe. The update, which went unnoticed until we unearthed it with our associates at Cadillac Society, contained some juicy info from Felix Weller – the man in charge of Cadillac in Europe, Russia, Israel and the Middle East.
Weller stated that the Cadillac XT4 will launch in Europe in the fourth quarter of 2019 – exactly one year after going on sale in the United States. That’s a rather long time for a vehicle already in production to become available in a different market. But Weller states that the delay is strategic and actually translates to “very good news”.
That’s because “the XT4 will be offered in Europe with specially developed engines, gasoline and for the first time in quite a while a brand-new diesel. These engines will be powerful, efficient and clean and correspond with the latest Euro 6d emission standards,” Weller added.
In other words, the European launch of the XT4 is being purposefully delayed until the right engines are available.
- If you wish to read Weller’s update in its entirety, you can do so here.
Vital Engine For A Vital Market
GM has never really managed to develop Cadillac into a successful luxury brand in Europe. Today, the brand is nothing more than a boutique player, selling just a few dozen cars (if that) across the Euro region. The biggest reasons for Cadillac’s misfortunes in an otherwise large and vital market are as follows:
- Lack of diesel engines: the overwhelming majority of vehicles sold in Europe are powered by turbo-diesel motors, which Cadillac has historically not offered.
- Lack of right-hand-drive models: the United Kingdom is one of the largest markets in Europe, and cars sold there drive on the left side of the road, and have the steering wheel on the right side of the vehicle as a result. Cadillac has historically not offered right-hand-drive models, with the exception of the bygone Cadillac BLS.
- Lack of dealer network: the European Cadillac dealer network currently consists of very few, haphazardly-placed locations stuffed inside existing Opel dealerships. All this means that Cadillac dealers in Europe are either invisible or non-existent, making it difficult to sell new Cadillacs and service those few that have already been sold. But hey, at least there is a posh Cadillac house in Munich that will serve you a tasty coffee in a chic environment. Unfortunately, it doesn’t sell or service Cadillacs.
Turbo-charged 2.0L I-4 LSY gasoline engine in 2019 Cadillac XT4
Those three roadblocks make it difficult, if not impossible, to gain commercial success for any automaker or auto brand in any market, Cadillac in Europe included. Luckily, GM’s luxury division has been working on a strategy to become exponentially more successful in Europe, and introducing a new Cadillac diesel engine is part of that plan.
Truth be told, diesel currently has a somewhat sullied reputation thanks to emissions cheating by German automakers, notably the Volkswagen Group, in the EU and other parts of the world. Even so, diesel engines play a dominant role in the European auto industry, and will continue to do so in the foreseeable future.
Expectations
The arrival of the new Cadillac diesel engine this year is consistent with promises made by ex-Cadillac president Johan de Nysschen, who told Car and Driver a few years ago that the luxury brand “will introduce an all-new diesel engine developed specifically for Cadillac by around 2019.”
On other occasions, de Nysschen was also quoted as saying that Cadillac was working on not one, but two engines as part of its international expansion strategy. One is a four-cylinder, while the second is a six-cylinder.
We expect that the new Cadillac diesel engine destined for the XT4 will be of the common-rail, four-cylinder variety with a displacement of 2.0 liters – a segment standard in Europe. What’s more, this will be an all-new engine, not a rehash of an existing GM-Opel WhisperDiesel unit.
Availability
It would make sense for Cadillac to use its new turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine in other future Cadillac models, such as the CT4, CT5, XT5 and XT6. Meanwhile, the larger, six-cylinder Cadillac diesel engine will be used in larger models, including the CT6, Escalade, as well as Cadillac’s rumored flagship passenger car as well as its rumored crossover derivative.
At this time, it is unclear if the new Cadillac diesel engine will make its way to other markets such as North America. Last we heard, recently-appointed Cadillac president Steve Carlisle said that plans for the United States are under review. Similarly, it’s not known if the six-cylinder diesel engine referenced by JdN will make it through this revaluation process.
Stay tuned to GM Authority for ongoing Cadillac news coverage and join the discussions in our Cadillac forum.
Comments
LOL. You’ve got to be kidding.
Cadillac is so lost and confused. A couple of weeks ago, Cadillac was going all-in on electrification. It was going to be a “last chance” for the brand. Presumably if they fail again, it would be curtains for Caddy. Now, there’s news of a new diesel Cadillac….seriously? Diesel is so 2005. Didn’t anybody tell GM that the diesel ship has already sailed and they missed it. Even if it is still viable in Europe, Cadillac doesn’t sell cars there and will likely never be a force in that market so why develop and engine that’ll sell only a few thousand units at best when there are so many other needs at Cadillac.
I seriously had to laugh out loud at this headline.
Wrong. Gasoline and diesel is how you earn sales and make money today. Electric is how you earn sales and make money the day after tomorrow (if that). Both are equally important, and Cadilac as well as GM are doing both. They know exactly what they’re doing.
Alex is right: they don’t have EVs ready (at least not at a price point where they would be profitable). At least they’re listening to what the European market wants. The question to me is whether launching diesel products now will confuse European customers. Would it be better to get all their ducks in a row and launch as a coordinated, EV-only brand when those vehicles are ready? We know what GM is betting. It should be interesting to see how well received these new diesel Cadillacs are. Hopefully they can translate these initial offerings into pure EVs as soon as they can sell them profitably. It should be interesting, too, to see if they’re offered in the U.S.
Alex,
I respect your opinion and judgement but it is hard for me to believe anybody at Cadillac knows what they are doing anymore. Perhaps they actually do have a coherent plan but their messaging is all over the map. They seemingly contradict themselves every time they issue a statement.
What I am saying is that launching a diesel after announcing you’re about to become an electric brand is hard to make sense of.
In my opinion, they should be looking at an electrified future but Mark Ruess making the ‘last chance’ statement was foolish. Cadillac should be developing a multi-pronged approach to propulsion for the future (I think VW has killed diesel in the United States so I don’t see that as a viable part of the strategy) but the brand shouldn’t be wedded to any one of them. In other words, a big pronouncement that Cadillac will morph into Tesla in five years was not wise.
Mercedes Benz has the forthcoming EQC but they haven’t reinvented themselves because of it and their brand image is not tied to that propulsion option. They’ve wisely chosen to not try and outright imitate Tesla although they are perhaps adapting to what their competitor from the Silicon Valley does.
Cadillac seemingly has been trying to be BMW for at least 25 years but according to the latest statement’s from Ruess will be shifting their strategy to become more of a Tesla-like brand going forward, which is why a diesel seems so bewildering now . Neither BMW’s nor Tesla’s image is a fitting match for Cadillac’s illustrious history but chasing after either of them and continually changing direction only confuses buyers and chases them away.
The comments and quotes from the execs you’re referring to serve to underline how complex the global auto business is, and how difficult it is to compete, let alone to claw your way back to the top after decades of losing. However, I would not hang on to every word or every statement they make… not take them at face value due to context and a myriad of other potential factors.
As for the more pertinent items: electric is the way of the future, but they will get there with gasoline and diesel. The fact that Cadillac has been unsuccessful in Europe in the past is irrelevant. The more pertinent question is why they have been unsuccessful.
And the why is because they have done it completely wrong in the past: wrong product, wrong engines, wrong steeeing wheel location for UK, and wrong distribution and logistics model. They could have been offering gold on a stick for pennies on the dollar (euro), and they still would have failed because they were doing the basics completely and utterly wrong. But there is no reason to believe that they will be unsuccessful if they do the basics right… and that’s what they will do going forward.
Johan’s strategy is sound, as it addresses the biggest issues facing Cadillac that were previously ignored or swept under the rug by the likes of politicians posing as business people, who have no business running a company, let alone a division of an automaker (I won’t name names). Carlisle will be smart to stay course on that direction, which he seems to be doing.
And as that unfolds, there is ultimately no reason to think that a strategic, measured, and focused approach won’t be successful – whether it involves gasoline, electric or diesel… or a combination of all three.
Diesel was an obvious progression given how they designed the fuel filler door and the space within.
Be interesting if Cadillac has better success passing the Euro WLTP than the German manufacturers have had.
Alex, would this engine have been developed at the GM Italian diesel development facility that you had an article on not long ago?
GM has been around 100 years. They shoulda figured the Market out by now.
Problem is, that it has had the wrong leadership in place for about a third of that time frame… resulting in poor decision making that prevented it from figuring out most markets outside of the United States and China.
It’s only recently that GM has gotten the right leadership in place, and even that is debatable.
So the whole Paris banning diesel engines by a certain date no is taking seriously. I really don’t see the issue with it because until you get electric batteries to go 400-500 miles on a single charge it is only going to be a small market. And charging within 30 mins as well. ICE motors will be around for quiet awhile.
But no diesel for North America?
How can they possibly reach decent economies of scale? Sell some to European manufacturers? Put them in the Colorado?
I thought crossovers weren’t popular in Europe. It’s possible Cadillac could start a trend, but I would try to get a footing in the expensive sedan market first. The 450SE really got Mercedes rolling in the US and the LS, Lexus.
One problem is Germans won’t or wouldn’t buy non-German luxury cars.
This seems like a band aid for now until the real vision of what Cadillac will end up being at the end of the next decade!
For one, and having worked for a German company for 25 years, the typical European buyer has a different mine set. When German colleagues would come to the the US, they loved the larger vehicles that we take for granted, but there lifestyle, fuel cost, taxes and city roads pushes them to the smaller cars.
I worked with a women born and raised in Iran. She becomes a US citizen and earned an engineering degree. When she bought her first dream car it was a BMW. Then she told me her ultimate goal was to buy a Mercedes.
For here it was a status symbol to work yourself up to afford a Cadillac. That was my Father’s generation (born 1927). Now here in the US and Europe what does Cadillac mean especially to the younger people. My son’s that are 40 and 37, last year bought new vehicles and Cadillac was never on their radar. How many people in Europe even know the Cadillac brand even as well as BMW and Mercedes, probably not many. What Cadillac in Europe needs to have is Super Bowl type ads to sell themselves as “who we are, not what we have” before moving on to vehicles ads.
With a diesel Cadillac it should get some attention but it could be a hard battle when the price points would be near BMW and Mercedes that boost German quality whether being true or false.
General Motors CEO Mary Barra must be ready for the rubber room.. Barra talked about wanting to electrifying the entire GM fleet and that Cadillac would be leading the way; but Cadillac installing diesel engines appear to be a step backwards as it may not be warmly accepted in Europe or Asia where they want ZEV starting in 2025.
Diesel engine!?
Sorry to use harsh words but putting that POS into a Cadillac would be like putting a two stroke engine into a brand new Rolls Royce. First of all, you’ll have to fill AdBlue in addition to Diesel in order to stay compliant with today’s emission standards. It reminds me about the days when I was a youngster, riding around on a two stroke moped where you had to fill oil for the fuel mixture together with gasoline. So we’re back to filling two liquids again…. I hate it… sorry. You will say that AdBlue is concentrated and you won’t have to put in much…. that’s just a lie. We’ve got a VW Transporter/Caravelle Diesel and it sucks up 1.5 us-gallon every month. It might not be crazy much, but it’s really annoying since the car constantly bongs for more AdBlue every month. I’ve had several Diesels because I live in Norway and thank God I have a proper gasoline engine now. I love my petrol engine because it’s quick, responsive, silent (all diesels sound like they’re constantly falling apart), cheap to repair (diesel repairs are expensive, there isn’t a single affordable component in a diesel engine except the dip stick and oil filler cap), odorless and since I bought a fairly big high torque/low rpm engine I get aqually good mileage. I had a 150hp diesel powered pig earlier that was guzzling diesel and sluggish. Lots of torque…. of course, but it was as responsive as a truck or tractor….no fun to drive. If they make a Diesel Cadillac, I’ll go and buy the gasoline one instead. Enjoy riding a luxury tractor… ??
If Cadillac can give us a Diesel XT4/5 that gets 40+ MPG and can still get to 60 in under 8 seconds.
SIGN ME UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
One can only hope that this means the Escalade is getting the new 3.0 I6 Duramax!!! Because if the Escalade is getting it, its almost certain that the Suburban is getting it!
Here’s MY prediction:
The 3 Escalade engines will be; the new 3.0 I6 TD, the tried and true 6.2 Gasser, and the 4.2 TTV8.
In 2025 europe will ban all diesel sales.
In 2030 europe will ban all ICE sales.
The only way forward is electric.
cadillac today is non existant and completely irrelevant in europe.
How is trying to get into that market as a new and unknown brand with an obsolete engine going to work.
It won’t, period.
They could have had a tiny little change of some sales as an electric brand, if they would start building somewhat competitive cars (not their current bottom of the barrel lineup).
With diesel or gasoline they have zero change, Z E R O.
But diesel fuel is a lot more expensive the regular gas so where is the savings–# 2 if this engine is anything like the 350 cu in conversion back in 1979 – 1984 GM will have to close
“But diesel fuel is a lot more expensive the regular gas so where is the savings”
The savings are in the range.
“if this engine is anything like the 350 cu in conversion back in 1979 – 1984 GM will have to close”
If you think there have been no diesel engineering changes in passenger cars for over 35 years, then maybe you should close.
Engineering students now learn of the GM boondoggle when they took a 350 block and slapped on some diesel heads. Doesn’t work, never will. That was old GM, short sighted for short term profits.