Making The Business Case For The New Cadillac CT6 In America
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Initially hitting the scene for the 2016 model year, GM discontinued the full-size Cadillac CT6 luxury sedan in North America following the end of the 2020 model year. Despite its departure from America, GM continued to sell the Cadillac CT6 in China, even launching a second generation for the 2024 model year. In our opinion, the new Cadillac CT6 should be sold stateside as well.
First things first – GM should continue to build the second-gen Cadillac CT6 in China and import it for sale in the U.S. General Motors is already doing exactly that with the new Buick Envision crossover, which is a higher-volume vehicle with lower profit margins. By contrast, the Cadillac CT6 would lend itself more naturally to importation, as it’s a low-volume, but high-margin vehicle.
At present, the second-generation Cadillac CT6 is available with a singular engine choice, specifically the turbocharged 2.0L I4 LSY gasoline engine, rated at 233 horsepower and mated to the GM 10-speed automatic transmission. Some might criticize 2.0L I4 LSY as being underpowered for the application, but those critics would be forgetting that the CT6’s main rivals (BMW 5 Series, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Audi A6) all offer a turbocharged 2.0L four-cylinder, which indicates that buyers would likely not share the same concerns.
Of course, GM could also fit this hypothetical U.S.-spec second-gen Cadillac CT6 with the twin-turbocharged 3.0L V6 LGY gasoline engine, the same powerplant that motivates the Cadillac CT5-V, which produces 360 horsepower and 405 pound-feet of torque. Either way, both engines would require GM to certify the next-gen Cadillac CT6 for emissions compliance.
Then there’s the issue of price. At present, GM offers four trim levels for the Cadillac CT6 in China, with pricing ranging between 359,700 yuan and 469,700 yuan, or roughly $50,000 to $65,000 at current exchange rates. Sounds about right, no?
But what about interest? Well, according to a recent GM Authority poll, a whopping 94 percent of GM Authority poll-takers think GM should sell the all-new Cadillac CT6 in America (roughly 1,300 votes total). Back in 2018, in another GM Authority poll, 43 percent of poll-takers expressed interest in buying a new Cadillac CT6 imported from China.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments, and remember to subscribe to GM Authority for more Cadillac CT6 news, Cadillac news, GM business news, and around-the-clock GM news coverage.
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If Cadillac plans to build two new electric sedans, then one must be sized to the CT6 and become a less expensive sibling to the Celestiq.
GM Owner:
I believe it’s been reported that this is exactly what is being planned.
Build it here and sell it here.
Built in China . Sell it in China.
Build an Eldorado for USA with Fins ,not Wings
We want the 4cyl 2024 Cadillac CT6 in America
Steve Morano:
Who’s ” We”?
A 4 cylinder was the base in the first few years of the original CT6 and no one bought them.
With niche World Cars, only one assembly line is required. With Regal & Commodore, it was easy for GM to build in Opel EU plants. Now, with GM a US/China venture, it only makes sense for GM to import vehicles like CT6, Envision and maybe the next Regal and Malibu.
Envision sells great so, clearly, people don’t seem to care about where a car us built anymore
Then we can start making the Silverado in Mexico and just close all the US plants…..the stock goes up .005% and everyone in the C suite gets richer on effing over the workers…..
Lets just import everything from China and change GM’s name to what it really is SAIC’s US Sales Division.
Silverados were built in Mexico for years before being brought back to the U.S.A. to be assembled.
It still is made in Mexico too I believe, to clarify, I mean’t moving 100% of truck production to Mexico….
But sadly it does not work that way. The US, Mexico and Canada build cars using MVSS – the rest of the world including China and Europe use UNECE standars which are standards designed by the EU with contributions from the United Nations standards committee. UNECE standars are superior to ours. So the CT6 is built with those standards and there are hundreds of differences between the two. It basically means that Cadillac China would have to have two assembly lines or they do a run for China and they stop and then do a run for North America. If GM is only going to sell 1-2k a year it is not worth the bother. Like the metric system, the US should simply adopt the global standard – it is superior anyway.
Perfect Base for Professional Car Chassis/ Plattform. Coach
and Limousine alike. And keep as a long term model even in low production amounts. Upgrade drivetrain for North American market.
10 Speed Transmission production is maxed out.
No room for a Caddie variant that would take away any Truck Sale$$$$!
The XT5 and XT6 are the professional cars in the Cadillac line up now.
Consider making a Sub Brand just for Professional Platform- LA SALLE and be a hybrid to avoid the Cadillac requirements of having to be an Electric Only.
And preferably be built in North America – Avoid Import / Export Problem. And if Tensions grow between China and North America.
Americans don’t buy sedans anymore – because of the cheap price of gasoline we prefer to drive around in hulking monsters that kill cyclists and pedestrians at much higher rates than in Europe. We used to be leaders in automotive safety but we lost that crown 30 years ago and our road deaths have been climbing while Europe has been dropping such that Western Europe is now 3x safer than the US! Who would have thought. But to specifically answer your question GM does volume and there aint no volume in a run of 1-2k cars. I personally only buy sedans and Corvettes – so you are talking to someone who does not need convincing but most people buy what their social peers buy and with gasoline so cheap they buy big ungainly SUVs and pickup trucks.
Gasoline in the USA is extremely cheap because we tax it very lightly. The price of gasoline depends directly on the price of crude oil. If the global price of crude oil goes up then so does the price of gasoline in the US. If it goes down then so does the price of gasoline. US Presidents have very little, and I mean very little, impact on the price of gasoline. For you to say that gasoline was cheaper under Trump than under Biden may be accurate but it had nothing to do with Trump. I can promise you that gasoline was even cheaper under President Carter. In Europe I pay $6/$10/gallon depending on the country because of high taxes.
Nice try, but none of this qualifies as a “Business Case”. Especially citing polls on your own website (one of them 5 years old).
Did the “whopping 94%” realize selling the car here meant it being imported from China? Whenever China is mentioned here I read nothing but vitriol in the comments. It seems hypocritical that so many would abandon their hatred of China and GMs involvment there in exchange for one low volume sedan.
GM will never do it. Even importing an existing vehicle costs a lot of money. Getting tested and Certified by the Government. Setting up parts distribution and training of personnel at GM and tbe Dealers. All this for sales that would be at least as weak as they were for the original car.
It is sad because I own a CT6-V and I love it. I also brought it to Europe so have maxed it out – luckily mine was a 2020 and not a 2019 because the 2019 was speed limited to 241 km/h but luckily mine is speed limited to 282 km/h and although it should have broken the 300 km/h mark that seperates the men from the boys in the super sedan market (that metric standard again) outside of Germany 280 clics is sufficient. In Germany sadly no, especially when battling a W12 Bentley or Porsche 911.
Sad to see the Cadillac XT5 production ending in the the USA after the 2024 model year and to see the demise of direct injection 3.6 liter V6 in many GM vehicles. I will never buy a battery powered vehicle, a 4 cylinder engine vehicle nor anything made in China. I have been a GM customer all of my life and may not be buying anymore GM vehicles if this trend continues. I prefer V8s but have settled for the 310 hp direct injection 3.6 liter V6s. So heads-up to General Motors executive management…!!! I have heard this same concern from many people! Don’t let Feds force you out of business as your overall vehicle sales continue to decline as they have by 50% over last decade. Hang in there!!!
We are better off waiting for the Prime BEV models to debut in a few years.
Build it here and also the Impala on the same assembly line. Do it with a choice of gasoline engines and an option for an electric motor on the rear axle.
There is a chance the CT6 will be built in America if Mary Buick Envision Made in China-Barra is fired.
Cigna:
No chance whatsoever. A new CEO wouldn’t make setting up production, certifying, and selling the CT6 in the US in return for a handful of sales a good idea.
sold a CT six in the USA. I know I and my brother will buy one as soon as available.
Sadly, my first Cadillac will be my last. Unless they bring a full size sedan like the CT6 back into the mix, I am being forced to change brands when I sell my CT6. This car is one of the best vehicles I have ever owned and GM totally screwed up by getting rid of it.
Would I buy a car made in China? I’m pretty skeptical… A 2.0L turbo sounds less than “meh” for a car of this size. Don’t make it electric as I need the range. My current CT6 gets over 600 miles to the tankful on highway.
Fine Wuhan Pangolin seating surfaces, what a joke, who would really want this from China?
A full size high end luxury sedan with a 4cyl engine…..no thanks.
I wouldn’t buy it if I didn’t make it proudly in America. GM is trying to protect Cadillac’s identity as a U.S. brand by not selling any Chinese-produced Cadillacs to markets other than China.
Yes, they need to sell the CT6 in the US again. But I feel it’s super important to assemble it here too. Easy fix for the costs of that: give Buick a version as well. I do think they would need to offer a second form of motivation other than just the 2.0 turbo. That’s just my opinion because a luxury car/brand like this should have more than one engine to offer.
Many of you know I work at a Volvo store in the fleet department. I handle the livery vehicles that go out and we have been delivering a lot of Volvo S90’s to the livery drivers. They just don’t have options and most tell me that they are not happy that Cadillac has left this huge opening with just the Escalade to fill. I’ve been told several times that there is a huge need for large sedans as many drivers don’t want to pilot an Escalade and many riders don’t want the SUV and instead prefer a luxury CAR. Keep in mind that Volvo offers no optional engines besides the 2.0 Turbo and the S90 is a very large car. In fact, I’m also being told that the livery companies prefer the 4 cyl for the better MPG.
Finally and on that same livery topic. Many of these companies would definitely buy a CT6 and I’m sure they would jump on a less expensive Buick large luxury model.
So why are they choosing the S90 over something like the S Class, 7 Series, G90, LS 500 & G90? Does that have something to do with entry cost of the S90 being less expensive to the livery service? I think the G80 is a somewhat large car as well and have motorized rear seats like the first gen. CT6 did.
Johnls_39: Honestly I don’t know the answer to that. Sorry. So this is speculation only.
I think they are going with the S90’s because: 1. Volvo has been more aggressive in getting those sales. 2. I think the S90 is more affordable than the rest you listed and probably lower upkeep costs?? 3. The S90 is luxury enough but not over the top. It’s more efficient and most likely more cost effective which is a huge thing for the livery business.
I can tell you that many of them tell me that the preference is a Cadillac or Lincoln for the mainstream livery services or the S-class for the higher end. If GM offered them a large Buick sedan for a better price and the CT6 for the higher end, they would gobble them up.
S90 sales make CT6 sales look like 1964 Mustang sales so I guess Volvo needs to unload them on someone.
Dan B:
😂😂😂😂😂
A Buick version is the answer ????
Why, oh why, would spending hundreds of millions MORE designing, testing, certifying, and offering a Buick version (which remember would have a lower sticker price) make a profit???
GM would lose truck loads of money. I’d sell my shares if they announced such a thing.
Let’s see Megeebee: Maybe becuase GM is a company that supposedly offers customers choices. So it’s ok for GM to spend those same millions or MORE for another SUV/CUV, but it’s not ok for a sedan?
If you think that GM is best to not give customers a choice, then have at it. You obviously haven’t taken into account the many lost sales that GM is losing from not offering these types of cars. Then there’s the repeat, referral and family pass down that GM is losing. Have you factored that all in? I’m sure not.
Need to both build and sell this in the US AND put a decent engine in it too! Does anyone else remember with Cadillac was the “Cadillac of cars”? They didn’t put the same overworked engine into a Cadillac just because their competition did it! They went better! When everyone else went to smaller 5.0’s, they still offered 350s, when everything else went to V-6s they had a V-8! It was what made you want to pay more for a Cadillac! Now GM has the mindset of “let’s give them the same crappy car everyone else does with the same overworked short life 4 bagger, only make it in China so our profit margin is higher and then slap a Cadillac badge on it so we can charge them more. I have the 2.0 turbo in my wife’s (tiny) CT-4. It’s good for that small car, so much so that the I hardly need the turbo to kick in (at least when my wife is in the car with me) But a bigger car needs a big engine! Start with a 3.0 turbo V6 with cylinder deactivation which makes it a 2.0 at highway cursing speed (it will get better gas millage than the 4) for your enviro-friendly customers (you know, the suckers) and offer a 4.0 V-8 for customers who want it.
Bring back the Blackwing V8! Canceling it was a huge waste of money.
Yes but it must be made in NA. It should get two tunes of the 3.0 V6 twin turbo, it would be great if the Blackwing V8 twin turbo was available but alas. There is still a need for a up to date traditional American luxury sedan as a everyday driver and variants for livery and other commercial applications. Make it so GM.
I have a 2017 CT6, which is a perfect car for me in terms of size, comfort, and style (except for the defective 8 speed transmission). I always looked at it as an affordable competitor to Mercedes S Class, BMW 7 series, or Audi A8. These cars are money makers so GM should continue offering it in US/Canada even if it is imported.
I had a ’17 CT-6 with the 4 as a loaner for a couple of weeks, and overall, I was very impressed. Of course, it had the previous generation 2.0 turbo, that had 270 bhp and 295 lb/ft of torque, and it seemed to be capable of 0-60 in about 7 seconds, as well as highway mpg close to 40! At low RPMs, there was very little vibration, and none of my passengers guessed that it had a 4 cylinder engine. Most people don’t realize that Cadillac kept the weight down to 3600-3700 lbs, so that engine is entirely adequate for most people. I’m not impressed by the current 2.0, which is definitely weaker without being notably smoother or more frugal, but part of the deficit will be made up by the10-speed transmission.
In any event, there are certainly enough people looking for CARS that the import would be worthwhile. If sales picked up , then they could build them here. The biggest downfall with the last CT-6 was the interior styling and quality. If upgraded to the standard of the Escalade, or even the Lyric, they could have a winner. I do agree that a choice of engines is important in this class, no matter how adequate the 4 might perform, if just for the perception of luxury
CARS! Not trucks. Imported from China?
I love the body but not the engine.
I’m not buying ANY car made in China – however if GM made that car here and put the LT4 in it, I’d be in love.
I wanted one when I ended up with a ATS for financial reasons. I’m more financially capable now, but by the time my ATS lease was done, so was the CT6. I still think it makes sense in the NA lineup.