Cadillac’s ATS and CTS aren’t too good at convincing people to choose them over German premium sedans. Dealers throughout the United States are offering significant discounts on the two sedans. In some cases, the 2014 Cadillac ATS is offered with up to $12,000 off a sticker price that starts at about $33,215.
The situation is similar with the 2014 CTS, which is offered with a discount of up to $17,500 from the starting price of $45,345. According to a report from Reuters, dealers have been asking for Cadillac incentives for a long time.
What this says is Cadillac’s strategy to rival BMW and Mercedes-Benz in the luxury sedan market doesn’t appear to be working. Drivers of German luxury sedans aren’t willing to switch to Cadillac.
A part of the problem is that the ATS and CTS are overpriced and overproduced, according to analysts. Cadillac has been trying for more than a year to reduce inventories of unsold ATS and CTS sedans, even stopping production at the Lansing, Michigan, plant in mid-December for six weeks.
When it reopened on January 26, the facility that builds the ATS and CTS was reduced to a single shift and a significantly diminished production schedule. Despite all these measures, Cadillac and its dealers still had about four months’ worth of unsold CTS sedans and six months’ worth of unsold ATS sedan at the end of January.
In January, ATS sales dropped 8 percent from a year ago, while CTS sales plummeted by 24 percent. Cadillac doesn’t have the same problem with its SUVs, especially with the Escalade. January sales of the big luxury SUV were up 149 percent, with GM’s truck factory outside Dallas, which builds the Escalade and long-wheelbase Escalade ESV, running on three shifts and working weekend overtime for months to try to keep up with demand.
Note: 2014 Cadillac ATS and 2014 Cadillac CTS pictured
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