Chart Of The Day: Cadillac CTS Sales Are Down 41% In 2015

In each of the last five months, General Motors has failed to sell more than 1,800 copies of the CTS. Sub-2K CTS sales months are unheard-of. Even in 2012, when CTS volume slid 15%, Cadillac averaged 3,914 CTS sales per month in the United States and never fell below 2,300.

CTS volume dropped 31% in 2013 and another 4% in 2014. However, over the course of the last two calendar years, Cadillac averaged 2,644 CTS sales per month and never slid below the 2,000-unit mark.

In 2015, the CTS has been hit even harder.

Let’s remember, the CTS is not positioned in the market the way it was in prior generations. It’s no longer an upsized 3-Series rival. No, it’s the ATS’s role to now be an undersized 3-Series rival. Instead, the CTS attempts to line up directly against the BMW 5-Series, a car which is averaging more than 4,100 monthly sales in 2015.

But it’s not working. U.S. CTS sales slid 24% to just 1,698 units in January, the fourth consecutive January in which CTS sales declined. February volume likewise declined for the fourth consecutive year. March sales were down 49%. CTS sales in April plunged 47%. Most recently, May volume fell 38% to 1,792 units, and that was the best month of the year thus far. Year-to-date, the CTS is America’s 76th-best-selling car. It ranked 59th at this time a year ago.

Total Cadillac car volume is down 20% to 29,124 units in 2015, just 43% of the brand’s total. However, Cadillac sales are down just 1% overall because the brand’s Escalades and SRX are collectively up 21%.

Timothy Cain is the founder of GoodCarBadCar.net, which obsesses over the free and frequent publication of U.S. and Canadian auto sales figures. Follow on Twitter @goodcarbadcar and on Facebook.