Cadillac Feb 2010 Sales Up 31%; CTS Sales Stabilizing?

Cadillac sales in February 2010 once again consist largely of good SRX sales, with little else going well.  CTS sales increased slightly from last month‘s total of 2,565 in the same number of selling days, but are still down year over year.

DTS sales have slumped to near disappearance relative to their classic position in terms of a percentage of Cadillac sales as a whole.  There was a time that DTS sales matched CTS sales.

Escalade sales are slightly up, look good statistically, but are basically flat.

Thank goodness Cadillac has the run-away successful SRX or things would look even more dire.




February (Calendar Year-to-Date)
January – February

2010 2009 % Chg Volume %Chg per S/D 2010 2009 %Chg Volume
Selling Days (S/D) 24 24





CTS 2,690 3,259 -17.5 -17.5 5,255 6,677 -21.3
DTS 611 982 -37.8 -37.8 1,229 2,344 -47.6
Escalade 1,418 1,238 14.5 14.5 2,655 2,591 2.5
Escalade ESV 552 416 32.7 32.7 948 1,088 -12.9
Escalade EXT 102 166 -38.6 -38.6 223 501 -55.5
SRX 3,542 552 541.7 541.7 6,776 1,440 370.6
STS 332 357 -7.0 -7.0 565 770 -26.6
XLR 26 68 -61.8 -61.8 62 126 -50.8
Cadillac Total 9,273 7,038 31.8 31.8 17,713 15,537 14.0

Where should Cadillac be in terms of Sales?

  • CTS sales need to be back around 4,000 per month.
  • SRX sales need to average 4,000 per month.  Remember SRX sales were almost 5K in Dec 09, and now SRX has to ‘cover’ for the DTS fade and gap until the XTS arrives
  • DTS or Replacement sales are missing at 4,000 per month.
  • Escalade family sales at 2,500 per month sustained seems more than reasonable
  • Short-run models at 500 per month

So total Cadillac sales would then be around 15,000 per month, or 180K per year.

Add the ATS sales, which have to hit 50K-100K per year to be successful vs the BMW 3-Series, and you have a good year for Cadillac between 230K and 280K sales.

How can Cadillac move more Sedans?

It is possible to move a model ‘upmarket’ by adding valuable features that Customers are willing to pay more for.  Cadillac has steadily moved the CTS upmarket instead by raising the price of the vehicle without adding a great deal of value.

Make the 304hp 3.6L the base engine in the CTS, and put the sticker price back in the low US$30s. Make the LS3 engine or a Supercharged 3.6L with 425hp the Premium/Performance upline CTS and price it in the low US$40s.  Keep the CTS-V in the very low $60s with the Supercar brake, power, and suspension packages, or move it to US$55K and spark even MORE interest in this very desirable vehicle.

Yes, the ATS is coming and Cadillac needs the room.  But today we have the CTS and the fading DTS in showrooms.  Price the refresh on the CTS up later after the ATS arrives — if enough value is added to the CTS Refresh to justify a cost increase.  But get the CTS that is in Showrooms today priced the right way for its current content.

Yes, I appreciate the impact on resale value and current Customer satisfaction if you start pushing pricing around.  But moving cars helps pay for the changes and improvements we need in the model lines.  It is better to correct the pricing and get on with the business of selling cars than to live with the current sales figures.

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