Cadillac Sales Gains Set Stage for 2012

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2012 to be the next Cadillac Milestone year?

CTS and SRX continue to sell well.  Bring in the much anticipated XTS, and the full line is restored.  Add the new smaller-than-a-CTS Cadillac ATS in the 3rd quarter and Cadillac should bloom in 2012.    There are of course challenges in launching 2 new models.  They will be coming from 2 different factories, but still a lot of preparation, planning, smooth execution,  & sales force training.  This will be a very interesting year for Cadillac fans.

2012 Cadillac SRX

  • December was best retail sales month since March 2008
  • Retail sales up 10.5 percent for 2011; CTS up 24 percent; SRX up 13 percent
  • Maintains share despite phase out of two models

DETROIT – Cadillac completed 2011 with total U.S. sales up 4 percent from the year earlier and its best retail sales month in nearly four years, boosting momentum for the brand’s major expansion in 2012.

The year concluded with Cadillac registering its best month of retail sales since March of 2008. Strong demand drove a 10.5 percent increase in retail sales for 2011, as Cadillac continued its reduced emphasis on fleet sales.

The brand’s centerpiece CTS product line saw retail sales increase 24 percent over last year, buoyed in part by sales gains of the CTS Coupe, which is the segment’s best-selling midsize luxury coupe, outpacing European competitors.

Cadillac’s SRX luxury crossover model, featuring a new standard 3.6L V-6 engine for 2012 models, gained 13 percent in retail sales for the year. December was also the best month ever for the SRX, selling 7,324 units.

Escalade, which also had its best retail and total sales month since of 2011 and retains its top U.S. sales spot in the full-size luxury SUV category.

Despite phasing out two models in preparation for the upcoming 2013 XTS, Cadillac completed 2011 with 10.2 percent share of the market, practically unchanged from the previous year.

“Clearly the data shows luxury consumers were feeling more confident in December and we’re very pleased with our growth and market position, especially heading into 2012, when we will see new products in new segments,” said Kurt McNeil, Cadillac vice president of Sales and Service. “We expect growth to continue in the luxury market in 2012.”

The 2013 Cadillac XTS is a technology-packed luxury sedan that goes into production in late spring. The 2013 ATS, an all-new compact luxury sedan, will be unveiled on Sunday (Jan. 8th) before the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The two new Cadillacs will bookend the already popular mid-size CTS cars.

Also in 2011, Cadillac continued its Defining Moments program co-developed with the Ritz-Carlton Institute. The program targets excellence in Cadillac’s customer experience through a series of training programs and the redesign of many of the brand’s dealerships. The result has been steady increases in consumer and industry satisfaction surveys with Cadillac top among U.S. brands in customer satisfaction and more than doubling scores in dealer satisfaction surveys since 2009.

“We take the health and viability of our dealer network very seriously, and we’ve instituted a number of new initiatives to help our dealers build a more successful business, and to reinvent the customer experience” McNeil said.

Cadillac SRX leads Dec 2011 Sales

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Lots of happy holiday arrivals for Cadillac SRX owners with 7,324 finding new homes in December.  The current edition Cadillac SRX continues to sell well.

The Cadillac CTS sales followed well at 5,420 combined sales of the CTS Coupe, CTS Sedan, CTS Sport Wagon, and V-Series models.

Escalade sales were muted, with gas prices up.  Escalade continues to be a solid seller.

2011 December Cadillac Sales

Overall Cadillac improved sales by 3.7% for 2011, which should be viewed as a major transition year.  With the DTS and STS retiring ahead of the arrival of the XTS and ATS one could easily predict this would be a challenging year for total sales.  Sales growth in transition is something to be happy about.

 

The most economical Cadillac since 1984…

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After debating the fuel economy of the 3.6L Cadillac SRX versus her competitors, I wondered what the most economical recent Cadillac was.  The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) publishes comparative miles per gallon for a variety of models since 1984 at fueleconomy.gov.  Because the test model changes from time to time, the charts for all years are kept up to date to the current test specs.  The original window sticker values for each model using the test at the time are also available.

2012 Cadillac CTS

For the 2012 models, the Cadillac CTS 3.6L RWD Sedan or Coupe are the leaders, at 18 mpg city and 27 mpg highway.  The DTS that ended production in 2011 on the current test would do 15/23, so no improvement there.  The SRX is heavier with the same drivetrain, so worse mileage than the CTS.  The 2008 XLR got a similar 15/24 mpg.  The 2010 Cadillac CTS with 3L V6 and manual transmission was 16/26; close, but no cigar.

The Escalade Hybrid comes to mind, and it does very well for a fullsize SUV at 20/23 mpg for the RWD model.  Still worse mileage than the CTS.

If one goes all the way back to 2003, the CTS had a 3.2L V6 and could be had with a manual transmission, but hit 17/24 mpg.  The 3L Catera? 16/23 mpg.

Diesel Seville?  Nope, under the current system a 1985 Cadillac Seville Diesel would be rated today at 17/26 mpg.   It was rated 19/28 mpg at the time.

To beat the current 318 hp CTS 3.6L we have to go all the way back to the 1984 model, 2L, 4-cylinder manual transmission Cadillac Cimarron.  On today’s test it would be rated 21/31 mpg.  Now, the difference in performance between a 2L Cimarron and a 3.6L CTS is beyond remarkable.  But the little-loved Cimarron was certainly economical.

If we include export models, the Cadillac BLS with 1.9L diesel was rated in the UK at 49.6mpg for imperial fuel mileage, urban combined.  An imperial gallon is 4.546L and  a US gallon is 3.785L, so that would appear to be around 41 mpg after conversion, but is not done to the same test method. It stands to reason that if we had EPA figures, the Cadillac BLS would be the most economical recent Cadillac.

In the absence of a home market BLS or other 1.9L Turbo-Diesel however, the current Cadillac CTS is in fact the most economical Cadillac sold in the US since the Cimarron.  We’ll see how the upcoming Cadillac ATS fares with its 2.5L 4-cylinder standard engine — it should be our new MPG leader.