Former Infiniti CEO Johan de Nysschen, who has taken over as Cadillac boss on August 1, said the US luxury brand has no plans to cut sticker prices on its automobiles.
Although Cadillac is seeing slumping sales in the United States, the executive said prices won’t go down and there will be no incentives either. Johan de Nysschen said in an interview with Automotive News that Cadillac must be willing to lose some traditional buyers as it now chases a higher-end clientele with its revamped lineup.
“We cannot deny the fact that we are leaving behind our traditional customer base. It will take several years before a sufficiently large part of the audience who until now have been concentrating on the German brands will find us in their consideration set,” the executive said.
Cadillac’s US sales fell 5 percent in the first eight months of this year, while the overall luxury car market rose 8 percent. That is a worrying trend for an automaker who relies heavily on the US market, which accounted for 73 percent of its sales in 2013.
Cadillac’s sedans aren’t moving fast enough off dealer lots, including the ATS compact with which GM is hoping to attract younger buyers. Some analysts and Cadillac dealers blame this on the brand’s pricing strategy, which is to go head-to-head with BMW, Mercedes-Benz and other luxury leaders.
However, De Nysschen defends the strategy, arguing that the ATS and CTS are “segment leading” in design, craftsmanship and driving dynamics. He also says that traditional buyers who are unwilling to pay the higher prices eventually will be replaced by import buyers as Cadillac launches new models and strengthens the brand appeal.
That won’t happen overnight though, with the executive estimating it will take 10 to 15 years for Cadillac to return to “its position as one of the pre-eminent global premium brands.”
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