Nissan Benchmarking Cadillac Escalade: Photos
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Infiniti, the luxury vehicle division of Nissan, has recently been spotted testing a prototype of its next-generation 2025 Infiniti QX80 SUV, which will compete against the Cadillac Escalade, the current leader of the Full-Size Luxury SUV segment.
Now, just days after spying the QX80 prototype testing on the road, GM Authority has obtained exclusive photos of Nissan benchmarking the current-generation 2023 Cadillac Escalade.
Nissan benchmarking the Cadillac Escalade
Infiniti remains a small player in the Full-Size Luxury SUV segment, with sales of the QX80 accounting for only a nine percent share of the total in 2022. Only the Lexus LX sold less units. Sales volume of the Infiniti QX80 shrank more than 42 percent year-over-year from a 17 percent share in 2021.
Sales Numbers - Full-Size Luxury SUVs - 2022 - USA
| MODEL | YTD 22 / YTD 21 | YTD 22 | YTD 21 | YTD 22 SHARE | YTD 21 SHARE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CADILLAC ESCALADE | -40.03% | 24,290 | 40,505 | 32% | 54% |
| CADILLAC ESCALADE ESV | * | 15,957 | 0 | 21% | 0% |
| LINCOLN NAVIGATOR | -15.51% | 13,206 | 15,631 | 17% | 21% |
| JEEP GRAND WAGONEER | +338.73% | 11,736 | 2,675 | 15% | 4% |
| INFINITI QX80 | -42.68% | 7,206 | 12,572 | 9% | 17% |
| LEXUS LX | +2.22% | 3,642 | 3,563 | 5% | 5% |
| TOTAL | +1.46% | 76,037 | 74,946 |
Sales of the Cadillac Escalade remained stable year-over year, with the regular model selling 24,290 units during 2022 while the extended-length 2023 Cadillac Escalade ESV moving 15,957 units. Taken together, sales volume for the two Cadillac Escalade models fell less than one percent to 40,247 units during the complete calendar year. That enabled the duo to account for a dominant 53 percent of luxury SUVs sold in the U.S. during 2022.
Sales Numbers - Cadillac Escalade - 2022 - USA
| MODEL | YTD 22 / YTD 21 | YTD 22 | YTD 21 | YTD 22 SHARE | YTD 21 SHARE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CADILLAC ESCALADE | -40.03% | 24,290 | 40,505 | 60% | 100% |
| CADILLAC ESCALADE ESV | * | 15,957 | 0 | 40% | 0% |
| TOTAL | -0.64% | 40,247 | 40,505 |
Additionally, GM plans to refresh the Cadillac Escalade with the launch of the 2024 model year. Therefore, any information Nissan gains by benchmarking the 2023 Cadillac Escalade will likely be outdated by the time the next-gen QX80 launches for the 2025 model year.
The 2025 Infiniti QX80 will usher in the luxury SUV’s next generation with an overhauled design. The prototype reveals that the next-gen QX80 will feature a significantly reworked exterior, including revised lighting, new front and rear fascias, flush door handles, and slimmer D-pillars. Our sources tell us that Infiniti will provide a glimpse of the next-gen QX80 when it shows the model in show car form as the QX80 Monograph Concept this summer.
Spy shot of the 2025 Infiniti QX80
Meanwhile, GM plans to introduce the fifth generation Cadillac Escalade’s mid-cycle refresh with the 2024 model year. The 2024 Cadillac Escalade will sport a new front fascia, a revised roof fin antenna with a puck shape and available 24-inch alloy wheels that will be offered across GM’s whole refreshed 2024 SUV lineup. Turning to the interior, The General will likely bring a pillar-to-pillar infotainment screen as a major new feature of the SUV’s revised cabin.
For motivation, two of the three current powertrain choices will move forward to the 2024 Cadillac Escalade unchanged. These include the naturally aspirated 6.2L V8 L87 gasoline engine rated at 420 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque, and the supercharged 6.2L V8 LT4 producing 682 horsepower and 653 pound-feet of torque and used in the Escalade-V.
The optional 3.0L I6 LM2 turbodiesel Duramax, developing 277 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque, is expected to be replaced by the updated 3.0L I6 LZ0 Duramax engine, rated at 305 horsepower and 495 pound-feet of torque. All engine options are paired with the GM 10-speed automatic transmission.
Under the skin, the Escalade rides on the GM T1 platform that underpins all GM full-size SUVs. Start of regular production (SORP) for the 2024 Cadillac Escalade is scheduled for November 2023, as GM Authority exclusively discovered, and will take place at the GM Arlington plant in Texas.
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