At yesterday’s New York unveiling of the all-new 2015 Cadillac Escalade, brand boss Bob Ferguson said GM may use the Escalade name for other luxury vehicles within the Cadillac lineup.
“There’s a lot of equity in Escalade and I’d like to explore the notion of other vehicles that would carry that brand name,” Ferguson said, according to a Bloomberg News report. Although he didn’t provide any details about when other Escalade models will launch, the executive acknowledged Cadillac is considering another Escalade that would use a car-like SUV frame.
“There are a number of individuals who just love this vehicle, but there are others who would say, ‘I would like something that would give me a different ride and a different experience,’” Ferguson said.
It’s safe to assume Cadillac would use the Escalade name for as a sub-brand for Cadillac SUVs. By 2015, Cadillac wants to roll out 10 new or redesigned models in the U.S., including the Escalade and the ATS compact sedan, which helped boost Cadillac’s U.S. sales by 29 percent in the first nine months of this year. The Escalade had its best sales year in 2004, when 62,250 units were sold. Last year, only 23,340 Escalades were sold in the U.S.
The Escalade faces strong competition from smaller, car-based SUVs that are more fuel-efficient, as well as from upcoming high-end SUVs like the Maserati Levante. This is why Cadillac may try to extend the fame of the Escalade name to smaller SUVs that could better compete with car-based competitors.
An example of SUVs from different segments using the same nameplate comes from Mitsubishi, which sells the Outlander and Outlander Sport in the U.S. The latter is a small SUV that is sold as the ASX in Europe.
By Dan Mihalascu
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