Having regained the number one automaker slot from Toyota, General Motors now plans to target its Japanese rival’s luxury Lexus brand. It wants to more than double the number of Cadillac models to leap-frog Lexus and become a global player with the scale to compete with BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi.
GM insiders say that chief executive officer Dan Akerson wants Cadillac solidly in the fourth spot currently held by Lexus, behind the German brands.
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Analysts say that, to achieve this, Cadillac needs to appeal to younger customers. The average buyer last year was 63 years old. Last month Mark Reuss, president of GM North America, said several options for Cadillac were being looked at including a sedan larger than the XTS, an SUV smaller than the SRX and a new Escalade on the same architecture as the Buick Enclave.
Cadillac sold 199,000 cars and SUVs last year, 152,000 in the US. According to IHS Automotive, the GM high-end brand finished 2011 sixth or seventh in the world behind Volvo and possibly Land Rover.
Cadillac’s best year was 1978 when it sold 350,000 cars and, while the CTS sedan and SRX have helped improve sales and image in recent years, the brand still struggles outside the US. The smaller ATS will be launched this year to help broaden the line.
There are also plans to build a plug-in hybrid called the ELR using technology similar to the Chevrolet Volt. The company hasn’t said when it will go on sale.
Reuss has also said the company needs to make wise choices and doesn’t want to add too many models to the brand.
There is an internal debate, however, over whether Cadillac should make a smaller SUV to compete against BMW’s X3 which helped drive the brand’s 13% sales increase in the US to overtake Lexus as the nation’s top-selling luxury brand last year.
