Cadillac Boss Unveils Portfolio Revitalization Plan For 2020
First, there was the move. Then, there was the CT6. Now? Cadillac boss Johan de Nysschen unveils a blitzkrieg bop of a product roadmap, all set to be fulfilled by 2020.
In an exclusive with Reuters, de Nysschen’s overall plan to revive Cadillac is anchored by a roadmap that will expand the portfolio from five models at present, to 10 models by 2020.
Aside from the upcoming CT6 — which will come with a PHEV variant when the flagship debuts in showrooms late next year — he says he just received the green light to bring a range-topping vehicle into the fold, likely to be called either the CT8 or CT9. The vehicle would do battle with long-wheelbase variants of the Mercedes S-Class and BMW 7 Series when it enters showrooms at the end of this decade.
On the greener side of the fence, de Nysschen has designs for an EV, and a potential successor to the ELR that may or may not have two extra doors.
Further down the alpha-numeric trail, two new crossovers — which will wear the XT moniker — will sandwich the SRX, including a seven-passenger model set to arrive by 2018 at the latest; the SRX will be redesigned and renamed in 2016.
Meanwhile, a smaller vehicle positioned under the current ATS, along with the smaller crossover, will share its platform with the next-generation Chevrolet Cruze, and go up against the BMW 1 Series and Mercedes CLA-Class. Both will be in showrooms between 2017 and 2018.
Other parts of the plan include building the CT6 and the successor to the SRX in China, where Cadillac is aiming to move 75,000 units by the end of the year, while Europe will remain in the distance until after 2020.
Seattle-based writer, blogger, and photographer for many a publication. Born in Louisville. Raised in Kansas. Where I lay my head is home.
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@lie3me All that you say is Gospel in your post below (derp). In the Spring of '67 I got to tag along with an older brother to visit the very wealthy family of his college buddy from upstate NY. The old man made his first fortune in railroad reclamation and then even more money manufacturing glass insulators for power lines. The place was a huge farm worked by tenant employees while the family mostly cavorted with their Caddys and Harleys, the kids busy in helping form the trustafarian class. I was carted about the area in a a couple of new Caddys (no Eldorado), my favorite being the black vinyl-topped (!), white-bodied Coupe de Ville. If I've earned any credit at all here for a triple-digit IQ, then believe me when I say that at that point in time there was no higher status vehicle in the world than a Cadillac. As an adolescent male I was supremely aware of male hierarchy badges and the sub-textual respect and resentment from the people we visited and were introduced to was as glaringly plain as a pair of boobs. I felt like royalty for the better part of two weeks. And then I got over it. I suppose today I'd have been squired around in a Merc or big BMW...whatever. But back then, Cadillac was it. No question. No wonder old folks are grieving Cadillac's demise.
So there's been a lot of talk about Tesla's new Model S P85D. 691hp, AWD, 11.8 second quarter mile, 275 mile range, striking, distinctive styling. Hot stuff. The self-adjusting cruise control actually reads speed limit signs and adjusts speed accordingly. That's the kind of stuff Cadillac should be offering. Techno-wunderkind stuff that's bleeding edge, well-advanced past the competition and available only for those worthy enough for Cadillac to accept their money. Instead, it's taking a page from FoMoCo's "Mercury Replacement Plan" for Lincoln while at the same time conducting a fruitless chase after MB/BMW/Audi. By the time they catch up, the three Übermenschen will already be at the next checkpoint miles ahead. MB/BMW/Audi can get away with dangling low-level premium-economy fruit to people wanting to buy into the brand at any cost. Cadillac doesn't have the brand cachet for that. And speaking of brand cachet, does anyone get the feeling that Buick, in spite of Chinese affection for it, will soon go the way of Mercury so GM will (finally) be left with Chevrolet (mainstream), Cadillac ("affordable premium" just like Lincoln) and GMC (it's all about the trucks. And the easy profits)? I can see that happening. Which makes Johan's efforts seem all for naught, it seems. Tesla is where Cadillac should be right now. Not eating all the breadcrumbs left behind after the great MB/BMW/Audi feast.
'Filling every niche doesn’t solve the problem, either–having 12 cars people don’t want is no better than having 6 cars people people don’t want. ' - it's true , don't fill the segment, just produce 'oryginal , cool automobiles .. Cadiilac would work well as 'extravagant', elegant, 'american(in charcter) nishe vehicle producer.. why the need to have 'fighters'(especially for 'german counterpart') in every segment ?!? This uniformisation, unification (fu..'n global-product taste) is really disturbing trend...
De Nysschen flubbed his tenure at Infiniti, imo, but this plan seems respectable. Dictatorial delusions of grandeur and misplaced swagger (but not nationalistic swagger) work in the luxury space. Perhaps Infiniti was forcing de Nysschen to make too many compromises. If I were him, I'd probably try to expand the art-and-science design language to more models as well. I hope the model names correspond to the cylinder count. CT3 - sub-ATS with new 1.5L 3-cylinder Ecotec turbo CT4 - ATS with 2.0L 4-cylinder turbo CT6 - CTS with 3.0L 6-cylinder turbo CT8 - XTS successor with 4.0L V8 turbo CT12 - do it or don't call yourselves Cadillac Elegant and simple. Just play with the boost knobs to get the V-Sport and V-Spec versions, maybe cram the new 3.0L V6 turbo into the ATS successor to win a few BMW converts. Other than that, K.I.S.S.