General Motors could develop a small Cadillac for sale outside of North America, according to Automotive News Europe. Two variants of the Saab 9-3 are being considered for Cadillac, GM sources say.
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An entry-level model could provide much-needed volume for the GM luxury brand’s new Netherlands-based independent distributor in Europe. If approved for production, a Saab-based Cadillac sedan would be assembled at Saab’s plant in Trollhattan, Sweden while a convertible version would be produced by Magna-Steyr in Austria. The Cadillac models would have front and rear-end styling that draws on design themes from the current Cadillac CTS and SRX and sales could begin around 2007.
A GM source said the Saab 9-3 is being considered for Cadillac because the Trollhattan plant is underutilised. Magna-Steyr currently builds the Saab 9-3 convertible in Graz, Austria.
Sources say that the small Cadillac will be based on GM’s Ypsilon platform architecture. Ypsilon is also used by Saab for the 9-3 model, and for Opel’s Vectra, both recently fully redesigned.
“Such a small Cadillac will share Saab 9-3 main body architecture, with unique Cadillac design expression,” one source said.
GM sources say styling prototypes for the small Cadillac are in Sweden.
Representatives of Kroymans Corp., the Dutch company that is importing Cadillacs to Europe, have seen a picture of the proposed model.
“We have excellent potential in Europe, especially if we have a small model,” said Kroymans Corp. CEO Ton Van Soest.
Last year, Cadillac sold approximately 800 cars in Europe.
“By the end of the decade that could be 10,000,” said Cadillac general manager Mark LaNeve at the Detroit motor show. “But with a smaller Cadillac, it could be more.”
Cadillac’s new European distributor will invest $US50 million in a network of 25 large stand-alone dealerships. Kroymans, of Hilversum, in the Netherlands, took over as Cadillac’s distributor on October 1 last year.
Cadillac is selling its CTS mid-sized sedan, STS full-sized sedan, XLR roadster, SRX sport wagon and the Escalade SUV in Europe, Automotive News Europe said.
