The Cadillac Escalade continued the trend of high sales with double-digit improvement over last year.  The ELR made a rare 127 deliveries, with an over 115% improvement from February of last year.

Everything else continued to be stuck in low gear — even the SRX, due for an upgrade soon.  BMW meanwhile was up 14+%, setting a February sales record led by 8.7K 3/4 Series — where ATS sales should be — and 3.5K 5-series sales — where CTS should be.  Mercedes similarly posted their highest February sales ever, at 23.6K vehicles sold led by 7K C-class sales.

How can Cadillac improve ATS sales to 3-Series and C-Class levels?  Advertising alone won’t do it, and the CT6 won’t do it.  The ATS is a great car, but needs help fast.

From the press release:

Cadillac:

• Demand for the new Escalade continues to grow. Sales were up 86 percent for the vehicle’s best February since 2008.

DETROIT – Cadillac sold 18,812 vehicles worldwide in February, with sales up 36 percent in China. Overall, February results were down 1.2 percent from the year prior.

Cadillac’s business in its home market featured growth of 86 percent for the new Escalade. In the U.S. Cadillac’s average transaction price – an important measure of luxury brand strength — increased $8,900 over the same period a year ago to an average of roughly $52,000.

Chinese market sales were driven by the introduction of the award-winning third-generation CTS sedan and the expanded ATS product line.

Cadillac sales in key regions:

Cadillac has been a leading luxury auto brand since 1902. Today, Cadillac is growing globally, driven by an expanding product portfolio featuring dramatic design and technology. More information on Cadillac appears at www.cadillac.com. Cadillac’s media website with information, images and video can be found at media.cadillac.com.

Escalade continues to capitalize on low oil prices and resulting gas prices.

On the other hand, the ATS, CTS, and SRX fell from already poor sales in 2014.  Keeping in mind the ATS should be at 5K+, there is the volume problem.  The XTS and CTS should be around 2500 each, but proportionally are soldiering along better than the ATS sales deficit.

ELR, the electric El Dorado, continues to trickle out a few examples to lucky buyers.

From the press release:

Cadillac:

• Deliveries of the XTS were up 14 percent.
• Demand for the new Escalade continues to exceed expectations, with deliveries up 149 percent.

Escalade carried the only good news story for Cadillac sales in December, well up from 2013. ATS sales continued to drag, even eclipsed by more expensive CTS sales and barely edging out the XTS.  The perennial sales leader SRX was strong but well below last year.

ELR did edge up over 100 units for the month, so that’s something, and averaged over 100 units a month for the year.

Sales Release:

Cadillac:

• Escalade deliveries increased 62 percent.
• Sales of the CTS sedan increased 4 percent in December.
• DETROIT – Cadillac’s global expansion continued in 2014 with the brand recording a 5 percent sales increase over the prior year. Cadillac sold 263,697 vehicles worldwide in the 2014 calendar year.

  Cadillac sales in China grew 47 percent, driven by growth in the ATS and XTS sedans. Beginning production in late 2013, the ATS-L sold 13,276 units. The larger XTS sedan was up 59 percent year over year to 32,559 units. Cadillac sold more than 73,000 vehicles in China in 2014.

  Cadillac sales in Canada grew 10 percent, driven by increases for the SRX crossover and ATS sport sedan.  Other countries featuring sharp growth rates included Mexico (up 17 percent), South Korea (up 118 percent) and Israel (up 73 percent).

  “Cadillac is both expanding and elevating globally,” said President Johan de Nysschen. “In 2015, we will take many further steps, such as this year’s introduction of all-new high performance V-Series models and the top-of-the-range CT6 to advance further globally.”

  In the U.S., Cadillac’s average transaction price climbed to more than $47,000, higher than BMW and Lexus. Also, 74 percent of ATS buyers in 2014 were new to the brand, not trading in a Cadillac vehicle.

  Market	CY 2014	CY 2013	YOY % Change
  US	170,750	182,549	(6.5)
  China	73,500	50,005	47.0
  Canada	10,538	9,608	9.7
  Middle East	4,265	4,191	1.8
  Europe/Russia	1,674	1,943	(13.8)
  Rest of World	2,970	2,443	21.6
  TOTAL	263,697	250,739	5.2