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Cadillac CT4 Sales Place Mid-Segment During Q3 2021

Cadillac CT4 sales recorded their second, third-quarter deliveries in the United States and Canada during Q3 2021. Sales of the subcompact luxury sedan fell nearly 40 percent in the U.S. while increasing more than 48 percent in Canada.

Notably, the nameplate has yet to go on sale in other international markets, such as South Korea, Mexico, Russia or Europe.

Cadillac CT4 Sales - Q3 2021 - United States

In the United States, Cadillac CT4 deliveries totaled 927 units in Q3 2021, a decrease of about 40 percent compared to 1,536 units sold in Q3 2020.

In the first nine months of the year, CT4 sales increased about 170 percent to 5,857 units.
MODEL Q3 2021 / Q3 2020 Q3 2021 Q3 2020YTD 2021 / YTD 2020 YTD 2021 YTD 2020
CT4 -39.65% 927 1,536 +170.16% 5,857 2,168

Cadillac CT4 Sales - Q3 2021 - Canada

In Canada, Cadillac CT4 deliveries totaled 200 units in Q3 2021, an increase of about 48 percent compared to 135 units sold in Q3 2020.

In the first nine months of the year, CT4 sales increased about 299 percent to 639 units.
MODEL Q3 2021 / Q3 2020 Q3 2021 Q3 2020YTD 2021 / YTD 2020 YTD 2021 YTD 2020
CT4 +48.16% 200 135 +299.38% 639 160

Competitive Sales Comparison (USA)

Despite the decrease in Cadillac CT4 sales during the third quarter of 2021, the small luxury sedan managed to move up to fourth place in its segment by overall sales volume. The segment was led by the Acura ILX in first with 3,397 deliveries. The BMW 2 Series took second place with 3,211 units, Mercedes-Benz A-Class came in third with 969 units and the CT4 was in fourth with 927 deliveries. The Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class, a rebodied version of the A-Class with a more rapidly-sloping roof treatment, came in fifth place with 584 units and the Audi A3 family came in last, selling only 75 units as it undergoes a generational change-over.

Notably, every vehicle in the segment experienced a drop in sales volume.

Sales Numbers - Luxury C-Segment Cars - Q3 2021 - United States

MODEL Q3 21 / Q3 20 Q3 21 Q3 20 Q3 21 SHARE Q3 20 SHARE YTD 21 / YTD 20 YTD 21 YTD 20
ACURA ILX -13.74% 3,397 3,938 37% 21% +24.61% 11,630 9,333
BMW 2 SERIES -23.37% 3,211 4,190 35% 23% +28.52% 12,551 9,766
MERCEDES-BENZ A-CLASS -75.35% 969 3,931 11% 21% -41.34% 6,882 11,732
CADILLAC CT4 -39.65% 927 1,536 10% 8% +170.16% 5,857 2,168
MERCEDES-BENZ CLA-CLASS -74.04% 584 2,250 6% 12% -37.60% 5,280 8,461
AUDI A3 -97.06% 75 2,555 1% 14% -79.01% 1,405 6,694
TOTAL -50.20% 9,163 18,400 -9.45% 43,605 48,154

From a segment share standpoint, the ILX accounted for 37 percent while the 2 Series claimed 35 percent and the A-Class saw 11 percent. The CT4 claimed a 10 percent share while the CLA-Class accounted for 6 percent, and the A3 accounted for 1 percent.

Sales Numbers - MBZ Luxury C-Segment Cars - Q3 2021 - United States

MODEL Q3 21 / Q3 20 Q3 21 Q3 20 Q3 21 SHARE Q3 20 SHARE YTD 21 / YTD 20 YTD 21 YTD 20
MERCEDES-BENZ A-CLASS -75.35% 969 3,931 62% 64% -41.34% 6,882 11,732
MERCEDES-BENZ CLA-CLASS -74.04% 584 2,250 38% 36% -37.60% 5,280 8,461
TOTAL -74.87% 1,553 6,181 -39.77% 12,162 20,193

It’s worth noting that combining the two Mercedes-Benz entries in this segment gives the German automaker a combined 1,553 units for a 17 percent segment share – higher than the CT4.

The small luxury car segment (lux C-segment) contracted 50 percent to 9,163 units in Q3 2021 as the ongoing microchip shortage stymied production and inventory.

The GM Authority Take

The 927 Cadillac CT4 sales in the U.S. during the third quarter of 2021 is quite a bit less than the number of units sold in previous quarters, including the 2,303 deliveries reported in Q2 2021, 2,627 deliveries reported in Q1 2021, and 2,721 deliveries reported in the fourth quarter of 2020, which represented the best quarterly sales performance for the subcompact luxury sedan since its launch.

Notably, the sales volume during Q3 2021 was lower than it would have been due to almost non-existent inventory of the luxury sedan at the retail level as a result of idled production. CT4 production at the GM Lansing Grand River plant in Michigan was first idled in March as a result of the ongoing microchip shortage. Production was mostly offline during the following five months and didn’t restart until August 9th. Then, another delay halted production until August 30th  followed by yet another delay until September 20th. That chain of events resulted in production of the 2022 models getting pushed back to October 18th. Production of the range-topping, high-performance Blackwing model also suffered delays, with stoppages during the weeks of September 13th and September 20th. That said, the arrival of the CT4-V Blackwing didn’t stimulate sales as well as it might have if inventory were remotely close to being stable.

It’s also worth noting that the CT4 had a very rocky launch. The very first units of the luxury sedan began arriving at dealers during the second half of Q1 2020, but the launch was quickly followed by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, causing a two-month-long shutdown of GM production operations in North America, including at the GM Lansing Grand River plant that produces the CT4. As a result, initial shipments quickly sold out, resulting in sub-par inventory going into the second and third quarters of 2020. As production began to reach normal levels at the end of 2020, the microchip shortage arrived and resulted in further production stoppages and ensuing inventory shortages, resulting in limited sales volumes.

About The Numbers

GM Q3 2021 sales reports:

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Comments

  1. This is my favorite Cadillac design from the green house to front fascia. It’s beautiful, sharper than CT 5

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