Johan de Nysschen, Cadillac's new boss, will be making some tought product and personnel decisions in the months ahead.

As part of an ambitious campaign to grow the brand and expand its line-up, Cadillac is giving serious thought to moving some of its key team members out of Detroit, with a new base in New York one of the possibilities, several well-placed sources have confirmed for TheDetroitBureau.com.

Such a move would be designed to give what one source called “breathing room” between the luxury brand’s sales, marketing and research staff and the rest of GM. But the move has “not been finalized,” another insider cautioned, a spokesman saying there are currently “no changes” to announce.

Cadillac would be the latest location brand to relocate in a bid to enhance its autonomy from its parent. The most recent was Infiniti, the luxury arm of Nissan Motor Co., which several years ago moved its headquarters to Hong Kong as part of an effort to transform itself from a niche, second-tier luxury brand largely focused on the U.S. market to a truly global player.

Cadillac’s interest in relocating its sales, marketing, market intelligence and other operational units is perhaps, then, no surprise coming days after the luxury brand’s new boss, Johan de Nysschen, reported for work. The South African-born executive previously headed Infiniti, joining that brand as it moved from Japan to Hong Kong. Previously, de Nysschen was CEO of Audi of America as it moved from suburban Detroit to a new complex run by parent Volkswagen AG in suburban Washington, DC.

De Nysschen was personally recruited by GM President Dan Ammann, and was reportedly assured of both increased autonomy from the rest of the company, and the sort of resources for product development that many analysts have said Cadillac needs if it hopes to become a truly global competitor.

Currently, Caddy offers just a handful of models while its key German rivals, including Audi, Mercedes-Benz and BMW, are flooding the market with a wide range of new products. Mercedes alone has said it plans to unleash 30 new or significantly refreshed vehicles by decade’s end, about one per quarter.

Cadillac is prepping a major product campaign of its own, though nothing on that scale. Earlier this week, GM’s global product development czar Mark Reuss confirmed a new flagship sedan will debut next year, and hinted at a new entry-lux model – positioned under Caddy’s current ATS offering – that would try to tackle the successful new Mercedes CLA. A compact crossover and a convertible are also under development, insiders have told TheDetroitBureau.com.

(For the latest on Cadillac’s product plans, Click Here.)

“New product is the lifeblood of any brand,” said Jim Vurpillat, Caddy’s marketing chief, told TheDetroitBureau.com earlier this month.  But it needs to keep the blood pumping, and the maker appears to be having trouble getting the word out to potential buyers, Cadillac one of the few brands to suffer a sales decline during a strong year for the U.S. auto industry overall.

That appears to be a key reason why Caddy is considering whether it needs to put physical distance between its sales, marketing and intelligence offices and the rest of GM. One possibility would be to expand the maker’s small office now in New York, shifting work away from the Renaissance Center towers along the Detroit riverfront. But other locations are also being considered.

While such a move might appear to offer Cadillac a fresh view of the market, one of the brand’s insiders cautioned that simply relocating team members doesn’t guarantee a real change of approach.

Over the years, a number of manufacturers have tried to use a geographic shift to change the corporate mindset. The most notable example was Ford Motor Co. which, around the turn of the Millennium, uprooted the various marques that were, at the time, organized under the Premier Automotive Group banner. Including Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover and Lincoln, they set up shop in Irvine, California – Ford even giving each brand a customized corporate jet for executives to use to fly back to its Dearborn, Michigan headquarters.

The move yielded little benefits and had a number of downsides, those involved with the effort recalled. For one thing, it added nearly 2,000 more miles and three additional time zones between the European brands and their home offices overseas.

(Lincoln adds sizzle with new pitchman Matthew McConaughey. Click Herefor the story.)

Ford eventually brought all the brands back to Detroit. It eventually sold off Aston, Jaguar, Land Rover and later acquisition Volvo to shift focus back to its core brands.

There’s no word as to how soon Cadillac might shift its offices – if such a move is eventually approved.