While the Chevrolet vs. Ford rivalry covers the mainstream space, the battle for the luxury segment is between Cadillac and Lincoln. We previously compared U.S. sales of The Bow Tie brand to those of The Blue Oval for the first quarter of 2021, and now we’re doing the same for their luxury counter parts.
During the first three months of 2021, total Cadillac sales in the U.S. market totaled 37,277 units. Meanwhile, Lincoln sales totaled 25,410 units.
Sales Results - Q1 2021 - USA - Cadillac
| MODEL | Q1 2021 / Q1 2020 | Q1 2021 | Q1 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| CT4 | +6,305.78% | 2,627 | 41 |
| CT5 | +45.80% | 4,374 | 3,000 |
| ESCALADE | +75.13% | 9,842 | 5,620 |
| XT4 | +5.66% | 5,454 | 5,162 |
| XT5 | -2.77% | 8,773 | 9,023 |
| XT6 | +18.05% | 5,990 | 5,074 |
| CADILLAC TOTAL | +22.93% | 37,277 | 30,325 |
The Cadillac Escalade was the highest-selling model for GM’s luxury brand, netting 9,842 deliveries. Comparatively, the most popular Lincoln model was the Corsair with 7,114 sales during the quarter.
Sales Results - Q1 2021 - USA - Lincoln
| MODEL | Q1 2021 / Q1 2020 | Q1 2021 | Q1 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| AVIATOR | +7.41% | 6,086 | 5,666 |
| CONTINENTAL | -50.86% | 768 | 1,563 |
| CORSAIR | +25.47% | 7,114 | 5,670 |
| MKZ | -64.45% | 1,238 | 3,482 |
| NAUTILUS | +2.42% | 5,372 | 5,245 |
| NAVIGATOR | +26.29% | 4,832 | 3,826 |
| LINCOLN TOTAL | -0.59% | 25,410 | 25,561 |
Meanwhile, the Cadillac to experience the highest growth rate was the CT4, moving from 41 units sold in Q1 2020 to 2,627 units in Q1 2021. That substantial jump in sales volume is the result of the CT4 just beginning to launch during the first quarter of 2020. For Lincoln, the Navigator experienced the largest gain, growing 26.3 percent to 4,832 units.
Car Sales
Cadillac outsold Lincoln in the passenger car department more than three-fold during Q1 2021.
Cadillac car sales in the U.S. market grew 130 percent to 7,001 units, while Lincoln car sales fell 60 percent to 2,006 units. While Cadillac sold more than thrice as many cars as Lincoln, it’s worth noting that Cadillac’s current offerings just entered the market a year ago while Lincoln’s sedans have been discontinued.
Sales Numbers - Cadillac Cars - Q1 2021 - United States
| MODEL | Q1 21 / Q1 20 | Q1 21 | Q1 20 | Q1 21 SHARE | Q1 20 SHARE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CADILLAC CT4 | +6,305.78% | 2,627 | 41 | 38% | 1% |
| CADILLAC CT5 | +45.80% | 4,374 | 3,000 | 62% | 99% |
| TOTAL | +130.22% | 7,001 | 3,041 |
As stated, the CT4’s astronomical growth of over 6,300 percent is the result of very limited availability during Q1 2020, which was the launch timeframe of the new sedan. Meanwhile, sales of the CT5 grew a healthy 46 percent to 4,374 units.
Sales Numbers - Lincoln Cars - Q1 2021 - United States
| MODEL | Q1 21 / Q1 20 | Q1 21 | Q1 20 | Q1 21 SHARE | Q1 20 SHARE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LINCOLN MKZ | -64.45% | 1,238 | 3,482 | 62% | 69% |
| LINCOLN CONTINENTAL | -50.86% | 768 | 1,563 | 38% | 31% |
| TOTAL | -60.24% | 2,006 | 5,045 |
Comparatively, the Lincoln MKZ and Continental, both discontinued, saw sales decline nearly 65 and 51 percent, respectively, as dealers sell out of the remaining units.
Utility Sales
Cadillac also outperformed Lincoln when it comes to sales of utilities (crossovers and SUVs), totaling 30,059 units for a gain of nearly 21 percent compared to the 23,404 units sold by its cross-town rival, which resulted in an increase of nearly 15 percent.
Sales Numbers - Cadillac Utilities - Q1 2021 - United States
| MODEL | Q1 21 / Q1 20 | Q1 21 | Q1 20 | Q1 21 SHARE | Q1 20 SHARE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CADILLAC XT4 | +5.66% | 5,454 | 5,162 | 18% | 21% |
| CADILLAC XT5 | -2.77% | 8,773 | 9,023 | 29% | 36% |
| CADILLAC XT6 | +18.05% | 5,990 | 5,074 | 20% | 20% |
| CADILLAC ESCALADE | +75.13% | 9,842 | 5,620 | 33% | 23% |
| TOTAL | +20.82% | 30,059 | 24,879 |
As mentioned, the Escalade was the best-selling Cadillac at 9,842 units, an increase of over 75 percent. The XT5 was the second-best-selling Cadillac model, however, it was also the only utility model from either brand to post a decrease in sales voluime.
Comparatively, the Lincoln Corsair saw the most units sold at 7,114 for a growth of over 25 percent, while the Aviator followed as the second-best-selling Lincoln utility with 6,086 units sold for a growth of over 7 percent.
Sales Numbers - Lincoln Utilities Sales - Q1 2021 - United States
| MODEL | Q1 21 / Q1 20 | Q1 21 | Q1 20 | Q1 21 SHARE | Q1 20 SHARE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LINCOLN CORSAIR | +25.47% | 7,114 | 5,670 | 30% | 28% |
| LINCOLN AVIATOR | +7.41% | 6,086 | 5,666 | 26% | 28% |
| LINCOLN NAUTILUS | +2.42% | 5,372 | 5,245 | 23% | 26% |
| LINCOLN NAVIGATOR | +26.29% | 4,832 | 3,826 | 21% | 19% |
| TOTAL | +14.69% | 23,404 | 20,407 |
Overall, the Cadillac brand sold 11,867 more units than Lincoln during the first quarter of 2021 on higher car and utility sales. It’s also worth noting that General Motors (Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC) sold more vehicles altogether than the Ford Motor Company (the Ford brand plus Lincoln) during the same timeframe. To wit – GM posted 642,250 deliveries to Ford’s 521,334 units.
About The Numbers
- All percent change figures compared to GM sales for Q1 2020 and Ford sales for Q1 2020, unless noted otherwise
- In the United States, there were 74 selling days in Q1 2021 and 76 selling days in Q1 2020
- GM Q1 2021 sales USA
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Comments
Wait. I thought the Ford guys said that Lincoln was finally in position to slay Cadillac once and for all?
Hehe!
Nothing like the old days when GM whipped FoMoCo across the board.
There was an article on U.S luxury vehicle sales maybe 2 or 3 years ago on how Cadillac had fallen out of the top 3 in terms of sales. It went on to say that despite lower Cadillac sales and market share, average transaction prices had surged and at that time, Cadillac had the highest ATP among luxury marques. I’m wondering if that’s still the case today. Lincoln was shown in last in terms of ATP’s.
Seems people don’t care if the XT6 is based on a a fwd drive layout. They just want AWD. So it doesn’t matter what may have been the donor vehicle it matters how much they like it. Seems the XT6 is probably making all the reviewers scratch their heads. To me it looks much better in person and has a nice presence on the road. The lincoln’s just look bloated and too big for most.
what about the other competitors? the luxury market competition is a lot bigger than just lincoln.
All of this is false, their hasn’t been a new ct4or5 on lots this year…
where are all the clowns that said Cadillac lost its way to Lincoln???
Nice to see even without sedan sales Cadillac outsold the domestic rival.
Sales of 7000 for the CT4/5 represents, I’m guessing, more or less break-even. If they manage about 30k combined per year they will likely be around a while.
The SUVs must be PRINTING MONEY for the company.