Cadillac CT6 Production To Cease In January 2020
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Production of the Cadillac CT6 at General Motors‘ Detroit-Hamtramck plant will cease in January of 2020, the automaker confirmed in a memo sent to plant employees this week. It is currently not clear if it plans to build the full-size luxury sedan at another one of its plants, or it will replace it with a different product sometime in the future.
The Detroit-Hamtramck plant has been earmarked to produce GM’s new line of large electric vehicles, which will use a new platform currently being referred to as BT1. The new line of large EVs will include a battery-electric pickup truck, which will begin rolling off the Hamtramck line in the fall of 2021, along with an electric Cadillac crossover and potentially an electric Hummer SUV as well.
GM has not said if production of the CT6 will be moved to another one of its plants, or if it will build a next-generation version. GM is slowly moving away from the sedan business after committing itself to building more crossovers and SUVs instead, which typically sell for more and have higher profit margins. The automaker is also axing some of its car programs in order to free up the cash needed to engineer and produce more electric vehicles, so it would not be a surprise if the CT6 were to be killed off in North America.
It is believed that he sedan will remain in production at the Jinqiao plant in China, it is believed. Demand for full-size luxury sedans like the CT6 remains strong in China.
Sales of the CT6 in North America were down nearly 22 percent in the first nine months of 2019, with GM moving 5,675 examples through to the end of Q3, compared to 7,270 in the first nine months of 2018. The automaker also killed off the Cadillac XTS this year, which had stronger sales than the CT6, the automaker having sold 10,242 examples through Q3 2019.
While not a strong seller, the CT6 was used as a technology showcase for the Cadillac brand, with GM debuting the twin-turbo 4.2-liter Blackwing V8 engine in the sedan, along with its Supercruise semi-autonomous technology. Cadillac may be planning to use another one of its future products to showcase new technology, such as the upcoming 2021 Escalade SUV. The new Escalade will also spawn a fully electric variant with up to 400 miles of range.
The Chevrolet Impala, which was built alongside the CT6 at Detroit-Hamtramck, will be killed off in February of 2020. Sales of the Impala have been on a steady decline since the tenth-generation version of the sedan was introduced for the 2014 model year.
We’ll provide an update on the situation surrounding the Cadillac CT6 once more information becomes available.
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Such a shame!
Here’s a 12 billion dollar question:
Other than the CT4/5, what does Cadillac now offer that can’t be had cheaper in another division?
THAT’S a shame in and of itself.
Curtnik
Maybe Cadillac should start selling work vans like Mercedes.
GMOs shooting itself in the foot again. Too bad.. the xts.impala.ct6 are great cars. Barra is going to ruin it again.MAybe it’s time to dump the stock. I’ll never buy an electric Cadillac.
Why, just purchase the GMC version
Better, safer did I say more dependable……
Cadillac hasn’t been a winner in how many decades,
Copy cat , nothing original…. ???
This is immensely upsetting. Cadillac, and GM as a whole is such a tragically-run company.
Now people looking for a big luxury sedan have no choice but to look at the Europeans.
The CT6 is far and away the best Cadillac sedan EVER, and the LAST true Cadillac. Watch it finally get the appreciation it deserves.
As someone whose been rooting for Cadillac as an underdog for years, I’m not just upset at GM, I’m also upset at some other “fans” and journalists here and elsewhere who constantly made excuses for moves that got GM to this point. I knew this was coming ever since the XT4 was in development on a FWD platform.
Ever since then I knew that behind the effort to finally make Cadillac competitive, there were remnants of Old GM continuously chomping at the bit to turn Cadillac back into upscale Buick/Chevrolet.
This is why I’ve always said Cadillac should be RWD/AWD-only. This is why I’ve always been against Cadillac borrowing corporate FWD platforms.
How did Old GM apologists respond?
“Luxury CUV buyers don’t care about handling.”
“Audi is FWD-based (wrong btw). What about them?”
“The Escalade is just a Cadillac Tahoe and it’s doing just fine.”
“Cadillac should stop competing with the Germans and stick to making luxo-barges like they used to.”
All of these gave Old GM cover to shoot themselves in the foot. I’d bet one thing: this wouldn’t be happening if GM committed to adapting the Alpha and Omega platforms to support CUVs.
I get it, luxury sedan segments are shrinking.
Is Mercedes-Benz cutting their core sedan lineup? No. Not only is it unnecessary, thanks to their modular RWD/AWD platform, their enthusiasts would be pi55ed. ALL of them.
But then again, Cadillac isn’t competing with them anymore. Cadillac is just being Cadillac now.
I Blame GM Ceo mary barra for nearly destroying a once proud company.
She’s not done yet….. give time….. it will be a faded memory also…
Chetnik,
I agree with everything you said but take it from me, Cadillac is never again going to be the acclaimed Tier 1 carmaker they were in their heyday where the name alone was a euphemism for the finest of its field. Those days are gone; dead, gone, buried. The sooner you accept that fact and quit rooting for them, hoping for a bright future just over the horizon, you will be a lot happier. I certainly am. I have no hope for Cadillac anymore.
CT6 is gone and I expect the visually challenged CT5 and dated CT4 to be phased out soon too. I doubt very many of either of these uncompetitive products will ever be built and sold. My expectation is that in terms of ICE products, Cadillac will only offer models that are essentially an upscale trim level for Chevrolet SUVs/CUVs in a few years.
I think Johan de Nysschen tried to save Cadillac but he was outgunned by Mark and Mary and their loyal band of gleeful cost cutters. You cannot build luxury cars on the cheap but that’s the only thing GM knows how to do. I believe that if Cadillac is even still around in five years, all remnants of what de Nysechen tried to do will be gone and their lineup will have further devolved. I have no hope for anything beyond that. I also have no hope that Cadillac being recast as Tesla is going to work. GM’s electric Caddy’s will most assuredly be as half-baked as everything else they’ve done since the Cimarron. Elon can rest easily.
Although I have no hope, having accepted Cadillac’s future allows me to no longer be upset by announcements like this. Honestly, learn to love someone else. It’s vital to your wellbeing. Loving Cadillac is like being in an abusive relationship. You will perpetually be hurt. It’s best to move on.
On one level, the demise of CT6 is still sad for me too. I think It was the best product from Cadillac in 40 years and was so close to being exceptional but although it’s sad, it is not at all surprising. Cadillac is a loser brand so just figure they are always going to lose. The sooner there is acceptance of that fact, the better of you become.
I can’t.
One of the most iconic brands of all time is being destroyed right before our eyes.
This is Cadillac’s last chance. GM has shown that they are more than willing to axe or bastardize their own iconic nameplates to make a quick buck.
When Cadillac ends up on the chopping block, us consumers lose choice.
@Curtnik
With you on most of your feedback except that the majority of Audi models at the core are based upon FWD platforms.
I keep asking myself why do I continue to read about anything GM or Cadillac. Mary Barra is slicing and dicing the company to profitability. I get it, keep pace with the changing times and move towards electrification but damn, what about current brand offerings and perception for long term viability!!??
If Cadillac does become GM’s showcase for electrification, surely it won’t sell in the volumes needed for profitability. So what happens then? Sell a cloned model as a Chevrolet for scale.
GM will recoup its investment in the Omega Platform because of the Chinese Market. Otherwise for consideration as a top tier luxury marque here in the states, Cadillac is certifiably a has-been.
Completely agree, and good points all around. The worst part of this is that those of us who own a ct6 (2019 Sport) and that buy the Cadillac Flagships have nothing to look for next. There is no “aspirational” model in their lineup.
Instead, they are sending us to a foreign maker; I’ll probably head over to Benz, reluctantly and without enthusiasm. Do they expect us to get a ct5, or (cough!) an Escalade? No way.
My ONLY optimism and hope is that, as in the past, Caddy will bring out a new Flagship after cancelling an older one. There was the Eldorado, the Seville, the Allante, the XLR, and now the Ct6. They all got cancelled, but something else came out a few years later. Maybe we just have to wait and hold onto our Ct6’s for a few more years.
So interesting. What we knew (or seems to be the case) is now being put in words. The CT6 seems to be dead. IMO, that is really sad that they decided to kill the best looking sedan in the lineup, and YES I’m including the “all new” CT4 and CT5. I took a fair amount of time at the Cadillac display at the LA Auto show and really looked the two new sedans over quite closely. No, the CT5 is not better looking in person. No, the CT4 is not really new, but a thinly renewed ATS but with a more ugly back end. No, the CT5 funky rear/side window treatment does not look good. No, the interiors are not at the level they must be at. This is the first I’ve mentioned this since being at the show, but boy what huge disappointments.
Now back to the CT6: By far the best looking car in the lineup. By far the most Cadillac looking and has the best interior, although not to the level it should be, of all the sedans there. And away it goes. Sad.
I agree. The CT6 looks very good (the refresh) other than the S class this car has the looks of a high end sedan
S/CTS
XJ
7
A8
LS….too bad its interior sucked compared to any of these cars.
Yes, that rear CT4 is awful. But I did see a CT5 is south Miami about two weeks ago. I have to say not bad..
I agree. The CT6 is one of the finest current versions of the Art and Science design language.
Yet another thing some Cadillac commentators took for granted:
“Art and Science is getting stale.”
Yet look at what’s replacing it: The CT5 and XT6. Arguably the worst Cadillac designs since Irv Rybicki’s in the 80s.
This is a darn shame. I currently have a 2017 CT6 Luxury 3.0 TT. It is by far my favorite car in the past 15 years and I’ve had lots of different vehicles including: Mercedes ML63 AMG; Lexus ES (2); Infiniti M45 Sport V8; Mercedes C350; 2-CTS’ (2011 & 2014); 2014 Impala and a 2017 LaCrosse.
I’m a sedan buyer and don’t really want any part of an SUV. Every soccer mom in my neighborhood has an Escalade, Tahoe, Yukon or some other bland, boring SUV/CUV. None of the other vehicles I’ve owned can match the ride of the CT6.
“I’m a sedan buyer and don’t really want any part of an SUV. Every soccer mom in my neighborhood has an Escalade, Tahoe, Yukon or some other bland, boring SUV/CUV. None of the other vehicles I’ve owned can match the ride of the CT6.”
That’s the thing. Along with the cancellation of the Buick Regal and Chevy Impala, as well as other sedans, GM now relies on a CUV/SUV-heavy lineup. They’re not even the good kind.
The bulk of GM now caters to that soccer mom clientele; the opposite of young trendsetters.
Until now, GM sedans were the only real differentiators for GM’s core brand lineups. Pickup trucks and Corvettes don’t count.
These CUVs and SUVs are even less differentiated than GM sedans during the pre-bankruptcy era. At least back then GMC was the truck brand.
Almost all GM CUVs are some variation of Gamma, VSS-F, E2XX, or the ubiquitous C1XX.
None are very engaging to drive.
None offer anything bigger than the same naturally aspirated V6 mated to that darn 9 speed automatic.
This is nothing if not incompetence. Mary Barra… is incompetent. Her team is incompetent… This Omega Platform is insane and without question the best vehicle GM has ever built. (including the mid-engine Vette as mid-engine technology has been out there for decades).
I can go on about what they should have done, etc… but this is simply typical GM… abandon markets. They don’t know how to compete and are fraggin quitters. While Hyundai/Kia/Genesis double down on what might be a declining market with fantastic new products that offer extraordinary value GM abandons markets. Whats so tragic is the markets where they remain, they field vehicles that are not compelling. GM leads NO where… they consistently underwhelm and lead in zero categories, except ones they make up.
I think I am probably done on this site as Cadillac is dying a miserable death and it’s frustrating. The XT4 is junk, the XT5 is off 18%, the XT6 was outclassed and rendered irrelevant before it was even on the market. The CT4/5 are confused and the Escalade… I predict the new E is going to under whelm as well. GM offers pathetic value and again… it’s frustrating, NOTHING changes… BTW: the Blackwing and the Omega Platform I predict die with the CT6, GM is just too cheap to keep it. They’re pathetic in showcasing the finest engineering, styling, quality, and value in the world. While other vehicle mfr’ s commit and want to increase market share, GM is just full of quitters, its un-American how they embarrass the nation with such poor decision making.
The electric future GM envisions will be full of hard plastic, crappy “jet black” interiors and poor value. This company is run by arrogant morons….
I couldn’t agree more. You’ve got it right. I think GM should have never been bailed out or at the very least all of GM’s lifers like Mary Barra and Mark Ruess should have been fired. The most foolish part of the bailout was to put members of the same team who’d run the company into the ground back in charge. What do we have? More failure. Contrast that to Chrysler that got new leadership from outside and has gained market share while GM is still in decline.
Mary barra and mark ruess should have been let go period.
Just another sad day at Cadillac.
So really nothing new !
CT6 BEV.
Watch them kill the CT4 & 5 next.
Cadillac’s last opportunity to get back to relevancy is for someone to buy them from GM. Geely got the vision and capital to turn Cadillac’s luck around.
100 percent right. That’s the only hope they have. I hope it isn’t a Chinese company but even FCA would be an improvement. Imagine what BMW could do. They took Rolls Royce from the brink of extinction back to being the purveyors of the most esteemed cars in the world. I think pretty much anyone would be an improvement over Mary Barra and GM.
“I think pretty much anyone would be an improvement over Mary Barra and GM.”
Ain’t that the truth.
I agree that GM is behaving in a defeatist manner.
Toyota Honda, Hyundai and Volkswagen will continue to build great sedans and they are eating GM’s lunch.
GM is fantasizing about success with electric cars in the future.
They are jumping on a bandwagon without realizing that the public is not really ready for mass consumption of electrics.
Electric cars are still in an early phase of development and there is much to be accomplished.
The EV/car/SUV needs to have a range of over 300 miles and it needs to be possible to recharge any electric car at any gas station within 10 minutes in order to make this truly acceptable by most people.
I hope they do, they’re both mediocre and compromised products that will also fail to attract customers……
From the outside looking in, you gotta worry about the fate of the CT4/CT5. They seem to be taking forever to hit the market and I worry the Blackhawk V editions might follow the CT6-V in being DOA.
Geely would be a massive improvement over Barra and Ruess. A 10 year old could run this company better
Cadillac’s best car, probably, ever. GM says they’re killing it, then back off, then sales nosedive (who’s paying a premium for a soon to be discontinued model), then they kill it again because it’s not selling. No foresight on GM’s part. Self-inflicted wounds, again and again.
I know I’ve said this before, but chancing sounding like a broken record, I so hope they retooled Lansing during the CT4/CT5 retool to also build this thing. Would help justify operating a plant of three current low-volume vehicles. I agree with earlier comments, I’d argue that the 2019+ CT6’s are the best cars Cadillac has built in the last 50 years, full stop. What a crying shame if Barra and the Bean Counter Cult she’s surrounded by kill off one of their best efforts in decades. How stupid can you be.
If they’d done that they would have already announced it. I think it’s safe to say LGR is not going to be building any CT6s.
Instead, i imagine if a trade deal is reached with China that eliminates punitive tariffs, GM could bring the car back as a Chinese import; Carlisle basically said that was a possibility. I think right now though, politically, GM cannot announce that they’ve laid off Americans working in struggling Detroit and effectively given their jobs building Cadillac’s flagship to workers in China. Plus, not knowing the tariff situation, they can’t make a public commitment to that plan.
Personally although I’d love to see the car continue, I think GM is foolish to think they can source it in China and US consumers will buy it. The Envision was a flop largely because of its Chinese origins and that situation has only become more toxic recently. Although that may have been the plan, and may still be the plan, I don’t see that option as a viable way to save Cadillac’s best product in 40 years from execution.
VSS-R/BEV3.
Anyone buy one of these in the last 2-3 years?
Wanting to buy does not count.
The numbers are just not sustainable.
This car just had too many cooks. It started under a Mark and the board direction. Went to JDN who tried to fix it but never got it all done. Now it is back to another board chosen divisions puppet to kill it.
C8.R,
Your comment is the trouble with the GM sedans !!
You see there are ALOT of sedans sold in the USA, just NOT GM sedans !!!!
Why, because AGAIN they are NOT what the customer wants !!!
I am so, so sorry you don’t see it !!
I REALLY WANTED a Cadillac XT4, was WAITING in line CASH in hand !!
Did I buy one ————– NO ——- NO I did NOT——– I DID NOT !!!!
WHY ?
Because I did NOT want a FWD 2.0T vehicle from Cadillac !!!
I would buy this very CT6 if it was the size of the CT5, CT6 interior, 3.0TT or 2.7T.
However I will NOT buy this CT6, its to big, and will NOT buy the CT5 because its just to cheapened out and do not care for the interior over the CT6.
This CT6 failed do to GM and the introduction of it with a 2.0T and a junk GM 8 speed transmission.
This vehicle DID NOT fail because customers did not want one.
The customers bought something ELSE !!!!!!!
Cadillac is just done as a GM brand —- The to high priced cheap EV that are to late to market , is to late !!!!
Please GM, just sell the Cadillac name to a company with forward thinking customer focused vision !!!
Yes, I leased one and want another one with the 3.0TT. Of course they killed that for 2020, but the lease isn’t up until September.
VSS-R/BEV3 that’s these fix.
Mary Bara what goof man like this car if given more time could have really taken off. It has the looks and handling. The CT6 is by far the best looking cadillac in the line up. Ive seen a couple on the roads and man they stand out. What shame the heads at GM need to be fired starting with Mary Bara boy what an idiot. Ive seen the XT6 and that is the item cadillac should have cut from the line up hideous.
For a company that claim to be budget conscious they sure know how to waste money. The spend billion to redesign the CT6 and develop a new V8 Then turn around and cancel them. They get my vote for the dumb move trophy.
@VCAT
Totally in agreement with the intent of your post/comment. However keep in mind that for GM and Cadillac, the U.S. market is secondary to the China market. So GM will recoup its investment in the Omega platform because of sales in China.
Ps. The CT6 is a new design; not a ‘redesign’. Either way it’s a loss for us.
Sorry to say, but it just didn’t sell well enough. There is no way GM is going to continue devoting an entire factory floor to a vehicle that only sells 5000 units a year. All current Cadillac products are placeholders. Yes its sad. But why don’t we show a little enthusiasm for them trying to turn Cadillac around amidst a massive technological shift. We may get some great performance EVs yet. Impossible expectations always lead to disappointment. Lets temper our expectations and just hope they release something good. They’ve done it multiple times in the recent past and they’ll do it again. I fully believe Cadillac can create a series of electric vehicles that are more fun to drive, more stylish, and more compelling than Tesla, mustang mach-E, or any of the europeans.
Bye bye Cadillac! Rest in Peace 1902 – 2020.
Condolences from Europe. It was a beautiful car.
I don’t necessarily blame Europe here.
Sure the Europeans took this market from GM.
And the Asians have taken the rest of the sedan market from GM !!
But like I have said, these vehicles are NOT going away !!!
Look at the numbers of sedans sold just in the US !!!
The boomers took the GM sedan away !!!
Stock dividends for example !!
Greed !!!
Profit above all else !!!
A wealthy boomer in the US drives Mercedes, BMW, Audi Not Cadillac !!
Yet they want the dividend check, from GM to pay for their Mercedes etc.
How much did GM pay out in dividends in a year ?
1 in every 3 years not paid out and reinvested in the sedan, these vehicles this would be a non issue !!!
GMs debt to equity ratio is huge, yet skimp on product and pay dividend, ? ???
Its like a trucker not buying tires and paying for his truck in stead !!!!
GM needs to just drop dead quit with the slow bleeding !!
Cut the union !!
Go broke again or I guess still are but whatever !!
GM is NOT going to win at the EV market overnight. GM does not know how to win !!
Mary is quoted as saying something like ” give GM a level playing field and GM will compete and win ”
When has that ever been true ? in 1957 ?
GM has had the same opportunities as any automaker, even greater if you figure government contracts, the chicken tax tariff on the US trucks, and the US taxpayer bailout, yet when is the last time GM has been competitive ??
Mini-van — NOPE.
SEDAN — NOPE.
LUXURY ____ NOPE.
GM competes on a truck and a grocery getter vehicle. That’s it.
Why ?
GM takes to much profit per year out for the donothingers !!!! People who do nothing towards GMs profit !!!
But you keep going trying to compete making the cheapest version of a vehicle and trying to sell it along side of real value !!!
I just don’t get it !!
Any good business leader would tell you, if you have a product of value, you will sell more than you can make !!!
GM can you make the 6.2 – 10 speed, GMC, AT4, fast enough ?
Do you wish you had more on the lots ?
Or even the GMC AT4 HD ?
Yet you cant figure out why a $80,000 Cadillac with a 2.0T 8 speed junk transmission, would not sell !!
WOW !!
BLAME, Lets blame it on the Europeans, or Asians !!!
Opinion !
Because one model got cancelled?, Lincoln has a great sedan line…uh um. I don’t like the CT6 leaving the US but sedans isn’t keeping Caddy alive, be thankful you can buy a new Cadillac sedan beyond 2021 as the CUVs and Escalade keeping things afloat. Who knows?, a flagship may return with an EV structure in mind as Omega can’t support an EV drivetrain.
I’m gonna play devil’s advocate here and say that the fault lies almost solely on the shoulders of today’s market!! I find it very frustrating to see people constantly giving in to the need to “sit higher for better visibility” and “have more versatility” that rarely gets used! Today’s taste in vehicles has utterly soured, and it’s costing us great sedans like the CT6!! Personally, I’d rather have an SUV/CUV be a secondary vehicle, used to haul the family and things around when needed! But I prefer a powerful, stylish, good-handling and comfortable sedan (or coupe) to be a personal/daily driver! I was raised in a household of 11 and this is how my father got around: he used the Chevy Beauville Passenger Van to haul us to school, church and around town, but had a Caprice as his daily driver! And he bought our mother a Mazda 626 as her personal driver!
Now I understand that the fuel economy, and even performance gap between SUVs and sedans has significantly dwindled thanks to better powertrain tech and engineering, but to see the option of a compelling sedan be taken away is frustrating to say the least! I feel manufacturers are intentionally handicapping sedans and coupes in favor of these SUV/CUV models! Offering the same powertrain and tech packages in both vehicle types, but charging more for SUV/CUV models because the market is sweeping them up without a second thought!!
IMO some of the problems that caused the demise of the CT6 ( other than the less than top tier interior, lack of promotions and less than stellar quality) was the last of foresight in designing a classic that could accommodate more than one vehicle.
To spend millions to design a chassis for a single vehicle is ridiculous in today market. The omega classic should have been designed to accommodate Sedans,coupes,and SUV’S. There should have been a XT6 and a XT7 built on the omega classic to slot between the XT5 and the Escalade.
That way they could have spread the cost and let the profits from the SUV’S carry the CT6. Cadillac without a large sedan is just not Cadillac to me. The new sedans they just brought out is unimpressive so I suspect they won’t last long in the Cadillac corral. The you have Cadillac with no sedans. That will be a sad day in Mudville.
Look at Genesis the currently have 3 sedans parent company Hyundai. With the G70 the are competing and able to offer a product that is compelling in the shrinking luxury sedan market. Why is this so difficult for Cadillac? We must keep in mind that we are all enthusiast and Mary Barra s obligation is to the stock holders which I understand. Cadillac is bigger then the Person at the top. When GM understands this they will make better choices.