Cadillac Hoping Russian Demand Becomes Strong Like Bear

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

If Cadillac’s top boss, Johan de Nysschen, had his way, The Hunt for Red October would feature a scene in which Capt. Vasili Borodin describes his dream of seeing the United States in an Escalade, not an recreational vehicle.

While General Motors’ luxury division counts on American and Chinese buyers to keep it flush with cash, there’s still room in the fold for other markets. Assuming, of course, those citizens have a willingness to cast off deep-seated consumer habits and, perhaps, prejudices.

After dropping pedestrian vehicles for an all-prestige lineup, GM’s conquest of the Russian luxury market hasn’t yet occurred, though it’s still early days. Sales are looking up. With a new partner in tow, Cadillac feels confident it can muscle out the Germans on the streets of Moscow and St. Petersburg.

In 2015, amid a steep Russian economic slump, GM pulled out its low-end models, leaving only the Cadillac brand and high-value Chevrolets like the Corvette, Camaro and Tahoe. At the time, de Nysschen saw a bright future in the country, with plans for reaching 10,000 sales per year.

According to Wards Auto, that plan remains afoot. The automaker recently sealed a deal with Avilon Group, Russia’s top auto retailer, to open a new Cadillac dealer in Moscow. Others should follow as de Nysschen pursues his goal of expanding the network from 12 dealers to 17, backed with a marketing push.

Dodgy economy notwithstanding, there’s another serious roadblock facing GM in Russia. When well-to-do Russians upgrade their ride, it’s the Big German Three’s sale to lose. Mercedes-Benz, Audi and BMW rule the premium Russian roost. According to Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade analysts, Cadillac just doesn’t project the same level of premium essence, meaning the division must win hearts and minds before rubles roll in.

As it stands now, Cadillac is on the rebound from the depths of the Russian slump. Its best sales year remains 2011, when it sold 2,226 vehicles. Still, the brand posted a 22-percent year-to-date sales increase over the first half of this year, with June sales rising 54 percent compared to the same month last year. Sounds great, but it only spells 726 sales over the course of six months. Compare that to Mercedes-Benz, which sold 17,726 vehicles in Russia over the same time period. BMW sold 14,571, while Audi unloaded 8,408.

Russian Roulette, or a smart, long-range game plan? That’s for the big minds in Detroit and Manhattan to decide.

[Image: General Motors]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • DeadWeight DeadWeight on Jul 17, 2017

    Finally took a drive in a CT6 3.6 liter (Chevy motor). What a total Piece of Sh!t, and that's judging it against less expensive German and Japanese competitors with far better fit/finish and road manners (Germans) and fit/finish, road manners and reliability (Japanese and Koreans). It's laughable at the 50k price point, let alone anything approaching the 70k or 80k price point. I can't wait until the first HONEST review of that pile of excrement comes out on TTAC. CAdillac is down to two vehicles now floating their entire enterprise, to break even (if they are managing to break even, which I doubt,, being the Chevillac Traverse (err XT5) and Escslade. The ATS, CTS, and CT6 are all epic disasters (by historic standards, truly), with the XTS (CadImpala) serving as the only "Cadillac" sedan that sells in appreciable quantity (mainly to dental fleets). What a total, unmitigated f*cking disaster that Johan, Use & Melody & The SoHo Crew have created for Mary Whimsical Barra back in Detroit. Cadillac, The Standard Of Brand/Cache/Goodwill Swirling At Light Speed Down The Toilet.

    • See 2 previous
    • Bd2 Bd2 on Jul 18, 2017

      @DeadWeight The CT6 doing alright (selling about 1k units/month) despite sharing the full-size market with the XTS (the XTS is selling a bit better, 7.4k YTD vs. 5.4k, but the CT6 has a good bit higher ATP). As for the ATS and CTS, their Achilles' heel is the Alpha platform - which doesn't allow for the amount of interior space that American buyers generally want. Having cramped interior space is usually not a recipe for success in the US market. Nevertheless, the CTS is outselling the GS.

  • Sector 5 Sector 5 on Jul 18, 2017

    Putin was a KGB supervisor in Honeckers honeyland. He witnessed the fall of the Berlin Wall and has wetted the bed ever since. I don't know if caddy can pull off 10K sales but with respect to American brand acceptance in Russia, Germans weren't popular in the recent past yet they do well.

  • Ajla If I was Ford I would just troll Stellantis at all times.
  • Ronin It's one thing to stay tried and true to loyal past customers; you'll ensure a stream of revenue from your installed base- maybe every several years or so.It's another to attract net-new customers, who are dazzled by so many other attractive offerings that have more cargo capacity than that high-floored 4-Runner bed, and are not so scrunched in scrunchy front seats.Like with the FJ Cruiser: don't bother to update it, thereby saving money while explaining customers like it that way, all the way into oblivion. Not recognizing some customers like to actually have right rear visibility in their SUVs.
  • MaintenanceCosts It's not a Benz or a Jag / it's a 5-0 with a rag /And I don't wanna brag / but I could never be stag
  • 3-On-The-Tree Son has a 2016 Mustang GT 5.0 and I have a 2009 C6 Corvette LS3 6spd. And on paper they are pretty close.
  • 3-On-The-Tree Same as the Land Cruiser, emissions. I have a 1985 FJ60 Land Cruiser and it’s a beast off-roading.
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