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Cadillac plans full-scale European assault

27K views 163 replies 51 participants last post by  mgescuro 
#1 ·
Cadillac is set to offer a full model line-up in Europe, according to GM president Dan Ammann, including “diesel and right-hand drive”. Ammann said Cadillac is mulling over a new approach to its European business that will attempt to take advantage of the fact that it is a niche brand by offering “exceptional service”.

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/n...-scale-european-assault?page=1#comment-172595

Which is a bit peculiar, since Autocar reported, just a few months ago, that Cadillac will not relaunch in Europe until at least 2020, as it focuses on building its brand and volumes in the US and Asia, according to boss Johann de Nysschen.

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/motor-shows/cadillac-no-plans-europe-until-least-2020
 
#2 ·
Doesn't mean they plan to launch before 2020. A launch in 2020 also doesn't mean they're going to totally vacate and give up until then.

I think this is more like a little inkling as to what they plan to do.

I'm really hoping the next gen cars and upcoming ones after XT5 (and XT5 itself, to an extent) are blowouts. I hope they loosen up their grip on the purse and spend a bit more on the car.
 
#11 · (Edited)


"Once more unto the Breach dear friends, once more ! Consign their parts most private, to a Rutland tree!"

Seriously though:

Cadillac will not relaunch in Europe until at least 2020, as it focuses on building its brand and volumes in the US and Asia, according to boss Johann de Nysschen.
Good plan.
 
#24 · (Edited)
And stupidity is having :confused:????:confused: in a cartoon bubble over their heads, as they scratch their collective asses wondering what could possibly go wrong, and why didn't that work out so very well.

Caddy should start out with Euro-bicycles. Seriously. Produce KWALITY road and trail bikes with the Cadillac name and get a few million of those on the streets of you-rope.

THEN if they ever open a dealership, some folks will know WTF they are talking about. "Cadillac! Yes, they make terrific bicycles!"
 
#19 · (Edited)
Did you read the article?

caddy has ONLY offered a EURO GRADE product for the last few years
Well, they did make a concerted effort with the 1998 Generation Seville/ STS.

"Flaps-Naught" as the British say.
 
#28 ·
Cadillac is set to offer a full model line-up in Europe, according to GM president Dan Ammann, including “diesel and right-hand drive”. Ammann said Cadillac is mulling over a new approach to its European business that will attempt to take advantage of the fact that it is a niche brand by offering “exceptional service”.
I think this is fantastic! It only makes sense to take advantage of the fact that Audi, BMW and Mercedes are terrible at customer service and have no idea what they are doing in terms of interfacing with the customer. I bet Europeans can't wait to experience GM customer service, and compare it to the incompetents at the Cherman dealerships.

 
#29 ·
:lmao::lmao: Help me out here, Sox, am I detecting just a whiff of the beloved sarcasm?:rolleyes:

Well done, sir. :clap: Even if you are NOT showing proper respect for a senile I mean senior division of Genial Motors.
 
#34 ·
The market in Europe has developed over many years and vehicles , produced and sold there have features that aid in driving in typically normal congested cities and towns . The exteriors are minimized and the interiors maximized for ease of driving and parking in these conditions . Sales to North America of the many models produced in Europe really just revolve around VW and the high end BMWs , Audi , Mercedes , etc , just saying . So why the urgency to sell high end products to Europe when there is a real lack of valued dealerships that have been a part of their communities over the years ? GM , in my opinion , should just stick with developing countries like China , Russia , South America , etc , where new found wealth has created a demand for luxury , where previously very little in the way of these vehicles and dealerships have existed before .
The cost to GM to develop a name and valued dealerships in Europe has and will drain a lot more dollars from this company , indeed , it will , I think never allow GM to gain any profit from a European division . It will just tie up capital and manpower.....unless the plan is to set up manufacturing facilities in Europe , at say one of Opel's defunct or slow and convertible plants ?? So what would you produce there ,to attract maximum sales and presence in the marketplace ? A value priced very competitive Chevy peoples' car/Cuv , or a Cadillac ? Not easy questions or answers here , me thinks !
 
#38 · (Edited)
Which is a bit peculiar, since Autocar reported, just a few months ago, that Cadillac will not relaunch in Europe until at least 2020, as it focuses on building its brand and volumes in the US and Asia, according to boss Johann de Nysschen.
Exactly! Intentions might be right, but the point in time is off. Indeed Cadillac needs a small car, estates and smooth diesel engines to come back for a retry.


“exceptional service”.
And this might be taking example from Infiniti, but it is exactly what they need to make a difference.
 
#41 ·
Exactly! Intentions might be right, but the point in time is off. Indeed Cadillac needs a small car, estates and smooth diesel engines to come back for a retry.
diesels - yes. But You really think Eldo someone in Europe will consider a small car from Cadillac? People expect from American manufacturers something 'special' regarding sedans (something like succesful 300C) and a competetive SUV like Grand Cherokee (XT5 is not enough I am afraid and Escalade is too big).
 
#45 ·
I think it's premature to be thinking about Europe when there is so much more meat on the table in Asia/Middle East. Also, even if these diesels are paid for and designed by Opel, are they really going to match up to German 3? The LTG is the best "American" four cylinder, but even that does not compare well to the N20.
 
#46 · (Edited)
Will GM with it's short patience and attention span of an ant actually wait that long? ATS was designed and intended to conquer Europe. Waiting to effectively launch it means minimal US sales. It's not even selling to projections of about 30K a year. CTS - that's even sadder. It's a newer product and isn't even selling to CTS Sigma levels. What has GM got in these two cars - a $billion apiece? They are nowhere near amortising the cost of developing them, and trending down.

The problem with saying 'fix America first' is competitors are selling well everywhere - which gives them money to reinvest. Jaguar is expecting to sell 200K XEs a year - currently, roughly ten times the ATS in the States. That's why they can launch in Australia with three gasoline motors (all forced induction), two diesels and three trim levels - no waiting three years for the 'hot' one, the supercharged XE-S is arriving on launch. Yes, a tiny RHD country where they will sell dozens in total a month, if lucky.

And emerging markets like South America, sure, you need to round out your numbers with them, but China is used to cheap - really expensive high value goods sell a fraction of a market like England, where there are scores of millionaires at least on paper due to assets. And, they tend to be low-margin smaller engined devices due to fuel prices, congestion and yes, China has CO2 taxes. The English buy more 3-series than Mondeos. That is the market you need to crack - they are not especially sold on their own products, it's GM's biggest market in Europe (they sell more Opels as Vauxhalls, than Opels in Germany).

I cannot understand how GM could possibly think landing a competent car (wrongfooted into benchmarking a competitor whose size grew) is enough. You need more - at least equivalent sales/service experience to Lexus.

And the chassis is great - the engines driving it are not more than competent and the 2.5 Chevrolet n/a four is a Chevrolet-grade motor that does not belong in that car.

You can quibble about styling, but NVH and ergonomics and design - nope. If users as typified by car reviewers find Cue slow, confusing or hinky it needs revising.

I don't think size is the issue with ATS - except it's too small for America, really; but adding six inches to the back seat won't fix that.

It's problem is - in America, it's 80% of what it needs to be, but fixing the 20% won't give a major fillip to sales, although it'd help. In Europe, it's 60% of what it needs to be. Fixing that 40% will be harder, but the potential return is greater.
 
#58 · (Edited)
ATS was designed and intended to conquer Europe.
Not true! The CTS was redesigned to match closer to the 5-series. Initially the Gen 1 CTS was supposed to be a new Catera competing with the 3-series ast the STS was supposed to compete with the 5-series. But since it was marginally larger it was compared to 5-series and E-class by the media to kill it. The BLS, which was supposed to be the entry for Europe didn't even have a chance.

Since Cadillac was losing ground against European import in the US they HAD TO change the platform strategy. And even in the US the smaller cars are getting more important. This has nothing to do with Europe on itself. If the intentions were to conquer, then why only with one single engine, no estates and no diesels? I think the only intention with the gen 1 ATS n Europe is to keep some appearance...
 
#47 ·
Cadillac and therefore GM, just take a long term view in terms of Cadillac's European strategy.
Cadillac MUST make the necessary investments in order to generate volume and generate brand equity in the mindsets of European luxury buyers.

Cadillac also needs to realize that the luxury and technology that is available in the best of the Germans still isn't available in Cadillacs up and down the lineup. There's still a very wide gap to traverse.

This is a MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR investment over 10-20 years!!
Cadillac and GM has never had the patience to actually execute properly. THAT has been the problem.
 
#49 ·
I don't think Cadillac needs to match the German cars in every particular - and the Germans themselves don't walk precisely in each other's tracks. BMW has an emphasis on sport compared to Merc's emphasis on luxury and while a pareto chart would show a lot of convergence there are subtle differences in approach, which is good as they each have a defined character.Audi is selling on the basis of 'we're not BMW or Mercedes' and 'we're less $$ for more technology'.

Again, Jaguar is a model for Cadillac - it doesn't try to match the Germans technology for technology just like the Spitfire and Mustang didn't technically match the Me 109 at the start of WWII. What they did do well (aerobatically), they did better. I've read lots of comparos between Jags and BMWs which give the tecnological, fuel economy, NVH, ergonomic nod to the BMW; but the overall win to the Jag. Because, it feels better, makes you feel better to drive and is not just another Teutonic clone. There's no excuse for poor refinement, but there is excuse for character, which is a different thing.

Trying to defeat the Germans at their own game is a bit facile because a Cadillac will never be a BMW and it will confuse your customers. But it doesn't have to.

In Europe, the CT6 with the right mix of diesel/hybrid powertrain could be a real winner - like the Discovery and XJ Jags are. Surprising for such large vehicles how many you see.
 
#48 ·
The product does not matter as much as many think, true RHD and Diesels will help, but nothing can hide the fact "y'all ain't from around here" which means something in Europe and they still look at Americans as a bunch of spoiled teenagers.

It is very risky to try and break into the European market today and harder still to gain market share if you are an "outsider", just ask Boeing how much harder it is to add sales today and they have been established in Europe for decades. Europeans favor the "home teams
and will support them far more than Americans do our own - sad fact but a true one.

GM needs to properly align Buick/GMC/Holden/Opel/Vauxhall to maximize sales revenue per development dollar since it will generate far more sales revenue and ultimately profits than a low volume brand that will require high amounts of investment to gain sales dollars and will face brutal pricing wars that will sap margins significantly and stop any sales momentum. European Luxury brands can "tag team" nasty price cuts that rotate among them and do not have to "collude" to do it. These are some of the real world "market forces" that Cadillac will forever face in Europe and why GM has more important (and profitable) areas they must focus on.
 
#61 ·
Wow, big footprints to fill for Cadillac. ;)

For those who don't know what I mean: Opel produced bicycles from 1886 - 1940 and was in 1920 the worlds biggest manufacturer. Even today, bicycles aren't forgotten at Opel. You can order a integrated bicycle carrier for mostly any car and from time to time, Opel also shows up with a new bicycle, like the 2012 e-bike RADe.



 
#62 ·
HA! That is the cat's meow. Very German.

I wonder, if you took a concept like that into a Caddy Brain Trust meeting, what the response would be?

1. How Idiotic! No power hatch!
2. Why would anyone want to do all that work?
3. Why not just put a rack on your car?
4. Oiii those Krauts! We will never catch them!
5. All heads in the room explode.

But really, Toto, that is way beyond what I was thinking, advanced ten steps from just a bike on a store floor.

Clever, clever, clever.
 
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