Cadillac Europe Has A Tiny Vehicle Lineup, And A Tiny Dealer Network
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Cadillac Europe has released details on the size of its dealership network, and just like its vehicle lineup, the brand’s Euro retail footprint is decidedly small.
As we reported earlier in the year, Cadillac Europe currently has just one model on sale, the Cadillac XT4 crossover. Fittingly, the brand’s dealer network is also minuscule, consisting of just 20 retail storefronts and 123 aftersales partners, René Kreis, Head of Public Relations at Cadillac Europe, recently confirmed to GM Authority.
This figure represents less than one Cadillac dealership per EU member country. In the U.S., meanwhile, Cadillac has an average of nearly 18 storefronts per state. It wasn’t expected that Cadillac’s European dealer network would compare with its U.S. one, especially since it only sells one model, though there does still seem to be room for the brand to grow in the region.
The Cadillac XT4 was introduced to the European market on October 10th, 2020. The Euro-spec version of the crossover comes with GM’s new turbocharged 2.0L LSQ I4 diesel engine, which is rated at 174 horsepower and 281 pound-feet torque. This Euro 6-compliant engine was developed for the European market specifically and serves as the primary engine in the XT4 in the region. The gasoline 2.0 LSY I4 turbocharged engine that comes in the U.S.-spec version of the crossover will eventually arrive in select European markets, though the diesel is expected to be the more popular option among consumers there.
All diesel-powered versions of the Cadillac XT4 in Europe wear the 350D badge, as per Cadillac’s recently implemented torque-based naming scheme.
Cadillac is hoping to entice European buyers to the XT4 by offering a diesel engine in the region, but the availability of a diesel may not have the same draw for Euro consumers that it once did. Industry analyst JATO Dynamics found that just 24.8 percent of new vehicle registrations in the region were diesels – down from more than 50 percent ten years ago. Registrations for hybrids, plug-in hybrids and EVs, meanwhile, achieved a higher proportion of the total than diesels for the first time ever.
Between its small retail footprint and tiny product portfolio, Cadillac Europe is in a rather sorry state at the moment. The future may be bright, though, as the automaker is currently in the midst of transitioning to an EV-centric product portfolio. Given the increasing popularity of hybrids and EVs in Europe, these future battery-electric products could be well-suited to Euro buyers’ wants and needs.
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This post was created in collaboration with our sister publication, Cadillac Society.
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We know the Caddy EVs are coming, setup a KDC operations in Britain or so for the CT4/5/6 already..
Cadillac will have 4 EVs by 2025 which is just around the corner and should make Cadillac a leg up on the competition which might not have EVs until 2030-2035 meaning Cadillac has 5 years to rebuild it’s reputation.
What a joke, GM once had a strong market presence in Europe through the Opel/ Vauxhall dealer network, same as Australia/NZ through the Holden dealers, now all gone either sold or destroyed by Mary
size < profits. Just because you're there doesn't mean you make money. And GM spent 20 years trying to turn around Opel, and 10 years with Holden.
I seriously don’t get it this circus called Cadillac&Chevrolet Europe. GM is widely known from axing brands and cost-cutting. Meanwhile nothing changes at GM Europe. All of these people have huge six-figure salaries. Cadillac has 20 dealers in whole Europe. No customer care, no service, no PR&Marketing, no advertising, no cars for sale. NOTHING. Why can’t her highness Mary Barra just fire them and move the money elsewhere?! Are these people on paid vacation or are they members of Mary Barra families!?
You wrote recently that struggling dealers in U.S. must invest in their dealerships. How about axing jobs of the following people that are paid for doing nothing and donating dealers in U.S. that need to be improved?
Conark Shah, Managing Director Cadillac Europe.
Rene Kreis – Head of Public Relations bei Cadillac und Chevrolet
Caspar Winkelmann Head of Marketing & Product Planning
Martin Siegenthaler Head of Customer Experience & e-Commerce
Laszlo Lovassy – head of sales operations
Sakib Zaman – chief financial officer
And please don’t mention the Cadillac electric assault – electrics also have to have a place where they can be test-driven, repaired, exhibited. Especially premium vehicles. Nobody will care about Cadillac electric vehicles since all local manufacturers + TESLA already have both cars and the dealer network.
GM lost billions in Europe at the same time made money in Asia and S.America, why go back and lose billions again doing the same thing?. I do agree as mentioned before Cadillac needs a better effort in Europe. IMO Buick/Cadillac for Europe and leave “cheap ” Chevrolet for big volume markets.
“Cheap. Chevrolet” !?!?
Guestt, you disappoint me. Do you know what models Cheveolet offers in Europe? Only one.
Corvette.
Nothing screams expensive than Onix, Spark, Tracker, Cavalier… As my point stands Buick should spearhead into Europe as a Vauxhall/Opel replacement for a mainstream GM brand, the Vette can still be a standalone.
That is what GM does, make poor business decisions resulting in squandered revenue. History repeats itself with GM and it is rounding the corner once again with its latest 27 billion dollar strategy.
»no customer care, no service«??
The article above speaks of 123 aftersales partners.
Read before writing, Rafael.
This is GM propaganda – most of those aftersales partners (as GM calls them) either don’t exist at all or are multibrand low-rent Suzuki/Opel/SsangYong dealers that used to have a short agreement with GM and never had a single Cadillac in offer. They also don’t do any kind of Cadillac service. Just ask real Cadillac EU customers on various local forums and FB groups from all around Europe. I used to be one of them and getting a spare part or anykind of professional service support has always been a nightmare no matter if Cadillac owner lives in Spain, England or Poland. In the latter there used to be a ‘Cadillac partner’ Autopol in Warsaw, Poland that had Cadillac only for 3 years after that their dealership was closed, parcel sold, buildings torn down. And guess what? They were listed as a ‘Cadillac service’ 4 years after that on official cadillaceurope.com web site! There was a hole in the ground for 4 years and Cadillac Europe employee didn’t even bother to update the web page! Now we have a ‘Cadillac official distributor’ as this low-rent Opel dealer calls himself. They don’t have a single Cadillac on the lot. They just put some corvette/cadillac logos on their web page and they can sell You a Cadillac from a German dealer with a huge mark-up nobody wants to pay.
It seems that Andrew looks only or primarily thru the Polish situation.
It happened to me to live in Germany, which has a larger population and probably also more rich people who can afford a Cadillac import.
But in 2018, the last full year where GM sold Cadillac in Europa, there were only 590 of new passenger car registrations of Cadillac branded cars, corresponding to 0.01717% of all new passenger car registrations in the country. Bestseller was the Escalade with 228 units or 38.6% of all Cadillac, followed by XT5 with 184 units, together a little more than two thirds. Followed by CTS with 95, CT6 with 49, ATS with 33 and 1 as “other.
I am confused because GM did not come back with their most successful model, the Escalade, which has all the characteristics expected by GErmans loving US cars, i.e. a huge box and a V8 engine, but instead by a smaller car.
Because the sales are so low, only a few dealers would dare to have a show car on their promises — there will always be some element which a prospective buyer did not want, like the color of the car, the seats etc etc.
As to the service: as everywhere the retail of automobiles is more and more in the hands of ever larger corporations which operated a large number of retail storefronts and service centers, either single brand or multi brand stores.
One example is the Brass Group here in the central area around Frankfurt. The have always had Opel stores, and therefore also other GM brands, and are listed as Cadillac service center. Several stores of Brass; but it may be that when you give your Cadillac to be serviced in Darmstadt, that they ship the car to a central place, say Frankfurt, where they have mechanics with more experience in Cadillac than the smaller store in neighboring Darmstadt.
I see an European perspective in his post with an example from Poland. I used to be an active member of international Cadillac forums and I read very similar stories there from all around Europe. Germany might be a small exception as even Opel dealers are at better level regarding customer care than let’s say Spanish or Hungarian. My friend from Slovakia went with his new Mustang to Norway and had an accident with a moose. The local Ford dealer was very helpful and he managed to drive back home safely. If he had a JEEP I am sure his experience would have been similar. But imagine it if he owned a Corvette or Cadillac… Or the other way – someone who bought a Cadillac at GeigerCars in Munich (one of few high-rent GM NA dealers in Europe that did more for Cadillac&Corvette reputation than whole GM for 30 years) and traveled to Poland and had problems with his car. He arrives to one of those ‘partners’ and either he sees a hole in the ground or he is told to get lost. Therefore I changed my mind and I am all for axing Cadillac in Europe completely just as Saturn or Olds in U.S. – without keeping unnecessary office employees in Switzerland and quasi-distribution network. Cadillac needs a RWD based SUV below Escalade for tommorrow – invest the money there GM or if You want Cadillac to be truly global sell it to a serious Chinese company.
To many better options over there. Euros spit on Cadillac.
GM better hurry up and make Chevrolet and Cadillac dealerships ASAP in Europe. The switch to EV’s will be their last chance to enter and stay in that Market.