These days, the Cadillac Escalade sits at the top of the full-size luxury SUV segment in terms of sales volume. However, that may not remain the case for long, as competing models like the Mercedes GLS and BMW X7 continue to eat into Cadillac Escalade sales. In fact, we think Cadillac should be looking closely in its rearview mirror.
Here’s what we’re getting at – there was a time when Cadillac and Lincoln basically owned the full-size luxury SUV segment. However, over the past decade, the Germans have entered the fray with competing models, including Mercedes with the GL-Class, later renamed as the GLS-Class, and BMW with the X7. This is a critical development, as the Germans typically lead in sales volume in other segments where Cadillac competes.
Fast forward to today, and both Mercedes-Benz and BMW are showing decent sales performance in the segment. To note, Navigator sales listed below include both the standard Navigator and the Navigator L:
Sales Numbers - Full-Size Luxury Utility Vehicles - Q3 2023 - USA
MODEL | Q3 23 / Q3 22 | Q3 23 | Q3 22 | Q3 23 SHARE | Q3 22 SHARE | YTD 23 / YTD 22 | YTD 23 | YTD 22 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CADILLAC ESCALADE | +11.62% | 6,821 | 6,111 | 22% | 23% | +9.32% | 19,609 | 17,938 |
BMW X7 | +3.43% | 6,002 | 5,803 | 19% | 22% | -0.13% | 19,946 | 19,971 |
MERCEDES-BENZ GLS-CLASS | +2.18% | 5,300 | 5,187 | 17% | 19% | -6.13% | 16,504 | 17,581 |
LINCOLN NAVIGATOR | +46.03% | 4,527 | 3,100 | 14% | 12% | +46.28% | 13,385 | 9,150 |
CADILLAC ESCALADE ESV | +0.96% | 3,879 | 3,842 | 12% | 14% | +1.13% | 11,874 | 11,741 |
INFINITI QX80 | +73.29% | 3,095 | 1,786 | 10% | 7% | +98.26% | 9,225 | 4,653 |
LEXUS LX | +100.44% | 1,828 | 912 | 6% | 3% | +94.68% | 5,274 | 2,709 |
TOTAL | +17.62% | 31,452 | 26,741 | +14.42% | 95,817 | 83,743 |
As we can see, Mercedes-Benz and BMW both outsold Lincoln during the third quarter of the 2023 calendar year, with Cadillac still managing to take the top slot. Granted, combining sales for the standard-length Cadillac Escalade and extended-length Cadillac Escalade ESV yields a more comfortable lead for the Caddy:
Sales Numbers - Cadillac Escalade - Q3 2023 - USA
MODEL | Q3 23 / Q3 22 | Q3 23 | Q3 22 | Q3 23 SHARE | Q3 22 SHARE | YTD 23 / YTD 22 | YTD 23 | YTD 22 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CADILLAC ESCALADE | +11.62% | 6,821 | 6,111 | 64% | 61% | +9.32% | 19,609 | 17,938 |
CADILLAC ESCALADE ESV | +0.96% | 3,879 | 3,842 | 36% | 39% | +1.13% | 11,874 | 11,741 |
TOTAL | +7.51% | 10,700 | 9,953 | +6.08% | 31,483 | 29,679 |
We should also state that the Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class and BMW X7 are both a bit shorter than the standard-length Cadillac Escalade, and significantly shorter than the extended-length Escalade ESV. However, that doesn’t seem to matter all that much to the buying public, which is purchasing more units of the GLS and X7 than the Navigator and Navigator L, and inching closer to the standard-length Cadillac Escalade.
Indeed, taking out sales for the extended-length ESV, we find the Mercedes-Benz GLS sold 77 percent of the Escalade’s sales for the quarter (5,300 units versus 6,821 units), while the BMW X7 sold 88 percent of the Escalade’s sales for the quarter (6,002 units versus 6,821 units). It also bears mentioning that the Cadillac Escalade is currently in its fifth generation, as compared to the first-gen BMW X7 and third-generation Mercedes-Benz GLS (when counting the previous GL as the “first-gen” GLS).
Mercedes-Benz and BMW already outsell Cadillac in every other segment, and there’s no reason to believe the same won’t be true for the full-size SUV segment and Escalade in the future. And while there may a refresh on the way for the Cadillac Escalade in conjunction with the 2025 model year, time, it would seem, is not a luxury that Cadillac can afford.
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Comments
I’ve been seeing more and more Vs with new plates. Folks love there Slades and the refresh should help regain lost market share.
At my dealer, if one comes in, it goes right back out. And that is with a 20K market adjustment. I think it comes out to around 180 total. What gm should really worry about is if the slade is not longer the “it” SUV for high profile people. I’ll usually see a slade in the background of a PR shot of famous people.
the V is special order so ofc it comes out. they arent ordered to sit on the lots. the regular escalades are sitting here tho. nearest dealer had 10 on the lot last i looked, 4 under 99k msrp
Not sure if they are V’s that are ordered and then cancelled by the customer, but my dealer definitely gets V-slades for regular sale. They are a highly rated dealer by gm, so they may get some turn to earn ones. My dealer has regular slades on the lot as well, and quite a few, but they turn them quickly. Like 1+/day I think based on the times I’ve looked at their inventory.
must be a very regional thing. escalade sales have just about stopped here atm. lower key yukons have always been more popular tho, even if said crowd can easily go for the cadillac version. have never seen a V with local state tags. decent number of V sedans tho.
which is very weird since we are pretending to be california v2 now…
my metro area of 6.2mil has 4 (FOUR yes 4) cadillac dealers total. 13 in the entire state and half of those make no sense so im not even sure what they are even selling in the middle of trailer park land. they are newer and ive never been there.
Vehicles are very regional. Very. When I’ve driven cross country sometimes I am amazed at the difference. I drove thru TN a few years back and saw Maxima’s all over the place while near zero in my area as an example. I think some is support the local makers. And to give you some idea of flow thru in this area, my local dealer happened to have 2 V’s in stock. My sales guy got a cold call and sold both to the same guy. Both with 20K adjustment. Made his month to say the least.
Would NEVER be “my dealer” if they were adding a “market adjustment.”
I have had 8 Escalades and went to
Look at a new one two weeks ago. They wanted 10000.00 over Msrp with all other add on’s and even though I could pay cash I left. Bad business to do the consumer that way.
That’s because they’re the “it” limo car in LA. The commercial backlog at Penske Cadillac in Torrance is 340 units. Of course some high profile celebs like Arnold ride around in white Suburban, or other non descript suvs so they don’t attract attention. But driving around LA, you’ll be at a stoplight with half a dozen Teslas, and at least one Escalade…
When the top of the line US luxury vehicle is nothing more than a rebadged Chevy, what would You expect.
I think Lincoln (what’s left of the brand) has to worry more than Cadillac.
I personally don’t see them as competitors. the xt6 would be a better comparison.
Agreed. I at 5’8” can sit in the 3rd row of the Escalade almost minivan level of comfort. I can’t say the same for a GLS or X7. I doubt these three vehicles can really be compared. Also, if the GLS which has been around much longer than the X7 hasn’t dented much of the share on the Escalade I doubt it will further down the road. I also don’t know if I would trust heavy towing with these two German vehicles considering they have complicate mild hybrid powertrains while the Escalade retains a tried and true V8. What Cadillac will need is to add more content in the Escalade. I was quite surprised to find out you can’t get cooled and massaging 2nd row seats. These two germans you can even get heated 3rd row seats and separate climate zones for the third and second row. The Escalade will definitely need more content to stay ontop of the game.
If anything, I always saw the Range Rover as the vehicle the Escalade needed to watch out for.
IMO, the 4th quarter results should be more telling if the Escalade is losing market share than the 3rd quarter listed above and the story should be revisited when all numbers from Mercedes and BMW results are completed. The Escalade sales volume seems to increase annually and last years volume was 41K units. So as long sales volume increase gradually then Cadillac have nothing to worry about as long they keep them fresh but can get away without a refresh like they did with the 4th generation model yet the prior model sales volume was consistent averaging 37K-38K units annually.
Also, there is no need to separate the standard and ESV models since they are the same vehicle. I don’t think Mercedes separate the regular S Class and Maybach S Class separately and lump them all together as an example.
It doesn’t help that Cadillac is losing dealers who can’t/won’t perform the required upgrades to service electric vehicles. My local Cadillac dealership went away because they didn’t sell enough EV’s to justify the expense. Mercedes and BMW are still here.
Dealers will NEVER see a return on their EV investment.
There are more Cadillac dealers (587) than Mercedes dealers (385) in the US.
Stop gouging at 10k – 25k over msrp, you greedy dealers, before there are no customers left for you to gouge !
Doesn’t the XT6 categorically compete with X7 and GLS? The Escalade is a full size truck-based architecture and the X7/GLS are not. The XT6 is not competitive in comparison to those models but the upcoming VISTIQ does look promising for that class of vehicle.
If the Grand Wagoneer becomes available with the upcoming hybrid powertrain (from the new Ram pickup) it will eat into Escalade (and other large SUVs) with its “EV-level” performance and no range anxiety. GM needs to start development of hybrids in this segment.
I’ve seen a few of the new wagoneer’s and I think attractive. BUT, I rarely see them. For whatever reason, they are not moving many in my area. The slade is still the “it” big SUV. I do see some RR’s (in fact more than the wagoneer), and I’ve even seen what I think is the Bentley SUV around the area. Not a fan of that though. But hey, it screams I’m rich.
The Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer is having its own struggles to sell at numbers comparable to the Expedition and Tahoe. Maybe it needs more time but Stellantis was betting on a historic name amd its not working very well for them.
100K plus for the “look at me” family of 2.5 people who may haul one or two boxes a year when they could just have that same item delivered for so little.
Oh, the vanity in this country. The day is coming when everything will burst and we will be back to the same as in 2007/2008 where these same people will be trying to figure out how to save their home from the evil banks. And of course, it won’t be their fault. It will be everyone else’s fault but their own bad decision making.
People who want body on frame SUVs are a specific customer. The Escalade will still have its fanbase just like the two other L-gm BOF SUV twins. What Cadillac needs is a slick RWD unibody SUV that is ICE and not pagan. In fact all other ICE SUVs from Cadillac should be RWD with better platforms to really compete with the big German three.
Maybe the people who can afford this luxury vehicle realize that Cadillac is going all electric and that there will be little innovation and improvements to the ICE Escalade. So they go to the competition who have not yet proclaimed all electric moving forward for their brands. I know that all electric is not my intent moving forward…hybrid perhaps but Caddy is not going that route so no more Cadillacs for me when it’s time to purchase.
The problem with this and really all Cads is that they are no longer the standard of the world. Take a look at reliability. Cads are now 2nd rate. Why spend so much for a rebadged Chevy? People all over the world buy Toys because they know they will last. Come on GM you are making lots of $$$ build a car that lasts.
I have Cadillac Escalade 2022 which l bought almost last year. I wanted to sell now if someone is interested Please welcome to talk price will be negotiable