Cadillac: Product, Other Fixes Coming; Patience Required
Wards Auto
By David E. Zoia
Nov 25, 2014
LOS ANGELES – Patience is needed – particularly inside General Motors, Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen says, as he embarks on a mission to return the brand near the top of the luxury-car rankings.
The to-do list is a long one that includes a product-line expansion drive pointed toward 2020, as GM takes on the herculean task of convincing high-end luxury-vehicle buyers to put Cadillac high on their shopping lists.
“It has to come now,” he says of the CT6. “It is an important part of this journey of elevating the brand and building on credible product. If we want to really entrench Cadillac as a formidable player in the premium segment, it’s necessary to have flagship cars that can take on the very best the German brands have to offer.
On the drawing boards are a model below the ATS in size, a CUV positioned between the next-generation SRX and truck-based Escalade meant to challenge the Porsche Cayenne and BMW X5, and two smaller CUVs that would compete against the BMW X3 and Audi Q3 and even more diminutive models such as the BMW X1.
Some of the new entries will be in showrooms by 2017, with the product assault peaking in 2019-2020, de Nysschen says. Although the China market is clamoring for it, the smallest CUV won’t come until after 2020, however.
“We have one crossover and one SUV,” he adds. “It’s strange (to) look how many the Germans have. This is completely wrong. They are obvious gaps in our product lineup. We are working flat-out to develop market entries for Cadillac.”
In the meantime, the big play will be a model to come above the CT6 in size and price that will take on high-end S-Class and 7-Series models at the very upper reaches of the volume luxury market.
“That will be the ultimate flagship for Cadillac,” de Nysschen says. “That will be the real halo car for the brand. It will be the car that really embodies the sum total of the technical prowess, the engineering ability, the design and craftsmanship of General Motors. It’s a showcase for what we can do.”
“We will have more than one PHEV,” de Nysschen says. “It’s going to be a big part of our powertrain strategy. If you don’t do that, you don’t play in China. So this is part of the new paradigm.”
“This is the home market and where we generate most of our profits,” de Nysschen says of North America. “But ironically, China holds the key to success in the U.S. We must use China as a second volume hub for the brand, so that it can share the burden of generating the volume to support the business case of all these new products.”
*Full Article at Link
Wards Auto
By David E. Zoia
Nov 25, 2014
LOS ANGELES – Patience is needed – particularly inside General Motors, Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen says, as he embarks on a mission to return the brand near the top of the luxury-car rankings.
The to-do list is a long one that includes a product-line expansion drive pointed toward 2020, as GM takes on the herculean task of convincing high-end luxury-vehicle buyers to put Cadillac high on their shopping lists.
“It has to come now,” he says of the CT6. “It is an important part of this journey of elevating the brand and building on credible product. If we want to really entrench Cadillac as a formidable player in the premium segment, it’s necessary to have flagship cars that can take on the very best the German brands have to offer.
On the drawing boards are a model below the ATS in size, a CUV positioned between the next-generation SRX and truck-based Escalade meant to challenge the Porsche Cayenne and BMW X5, and two smaller CUVs that would compete against the BMW X3 and Audi Q3 and even more diminutive models such as the BMW X1.
Some of the new entries will be in showrooms by 2017, with the product assault peaking in 2019-2020, de Nysschen says. Although the China market is clamoring for it, the smallest CUV won’t come until after 2020, however.
“We have one crossover and one SUV,” he adds. “It’s strange (to) look how many the Germans have. This is completely wrong. They are obvious gaps in our product lineup. We are working flat-out to develop market entries for Cadillac.”
In the meantime, the big play will be a model to come above the CT6 in size and price that will take on high-end S-Class and 7-Series models at the very upper reaches of the volume luxury market.
“That will be the ultimate flagship for Cadillac,” de Nysschen says. “That will be the real halo car for the brand. It will be the car that really embodies the sum total of the technical prowess, the engineering ability, the design and craftsmanship of General Motors. It’s a showcase for what we can do.”
“We will have more than one PHEV,” de Nysschen says. “It’s going to be a big part of our powertrain strategy. If you don’t do that, you don’t play in China. So this is part of the new paradigm.”
“This is the home market and where we generate most of our profits,” de Nysschen says of North America. “But ironically, China holds the key to success in the U.S. We must use China as a second volume hub for the brand, so that it can share the burden of generating the volume to support the business case of all these new products.”
*Full Article at Link