The Cadillac XT5 replaces the old SRX.
Forget Chevrolet, which sports the ad tagline, “Find New Roads.” It’s sibling brand Cadillac that is looking for new routes to reach out to the global luxury car market.
The process began with the move of its corporate headquarters from Detroit to New York last year. Now, Caddy has decided to reveal its all-new 2017 XT5 crossover at the Dubai Motor Show in November before rolling it out at the Los Angeles Motor Show later in the month.
And the Mideast preview will be staged as part of a new partnership between Cadillac and the well-reviewed fashion house, Public School. The design house will stage its own debut, a showing of its Pre-Fall collection in Dubai.
“This is a new way for two American brands to join forces, share a passion for design and grow globally,” said Andrew Smith, Cadillac executive director of Global Design, in a statement. “For Cadillac, it gives new meaning to being a patron of the arts.”
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After its Dubai debut, Cadillac will show the XT5 off at the 2015 LA Auto Show.
The XT5 is a critical product for Cadillac, its launch coming at a time when luxury buyers are increasingly eschewing traditional sedans and coupes in favor of high-line SUVs and crossovers. It will be a more sophisticated and technologically advanced replacement for the aging SRX, Caddy officials note.
The new Cadillac XT5 will go up against such well-entrenched competitors as the BMW X5 and the Mercedes-Benz GLE – the latter also getting a new name with the replacement for the old M-Class model.
Even though it is nearing the end of its lifecycle, the current Cadillac SRX is the brand’s best-seller worldwide, generating sales of 43,863 units for the first eight months of this year. That was up 15.4% year-over-year.
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Cadillac is at the start of a major product offensive that will also see it go into production with the new CT6 flagship sedan in the months ahead. An even more high-priced four-door is under development, according to brand President Johan de Nysschen, who joined Caddy last year after a stint as the global head of Infiniti.
Expect to see several other new Caddy utility vehicles follow close behind the new XT5.
De Nysschen has told TheDetroitBureau.com that he wants to add several more crossover-utility vehicles to the Cadillac line-up. One would slot into the fast-growing compact crossover segment, targeting such models as the Mercedes GLC and the new Lincoln MKC – the latter one of the most successful products that Detroit competitor has had in years.
That model, expected to be dubbed the XT3, will likely be followed by a larger, more up-market CUV that likely will be called the XT7. Cadillac is also developing a new version of its truck-side flagship, the in-your-face Escalade. It is expected to retain that more traditional name for the classic, body-on-frame model because of Escalade’s high market awareness level.
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Apparently the marketing dept. at Cadillac ran out of actual names for their models so they chose to use letters and numbers. Why not call this model: “Desperation #37” or something similar? At least buyers might remember a creative name.
Who is the first automaker that’s going to say “We’re not going to put out any more boxes that look like every other box already out there”? What a waste of resources and tooling dollars.
Caddy’s boxes are pretty unique IMO. You either like them or hate them with the edge styling, backed into a wall trunk design and strange front end designs. I don’t think anyone would mistake a Caddy for any other brand of car. Obviously consumers aren’t overly impressed as sales are sluggish.
Not sure if it’s a case of unimpressed, Jorge, at least with the design, or simply reluctant to consider a brand that had dropped off most radar screens two decades ago. Sad, actually. The Caddy ATS, for example, is about the only car that really should make a BMW 3-Series buyer think again.
Paul E.
I doubt that many BMW 3 owners would be looking at Cadillac models. There is such a cultural design difference between U.S., Asian and German cars that is obvious from the styling to the controls to the handling, etc. that it would take a huge leap of faith to switch brands after owning one or the other. If a person buys on styling alone then the other vehicle attributes may be insignificant.
Drive the ATS, or ATS-V, and you will likely revise your thinking, GT. So have many of us in the auto media who were extremely skeptical. I recently challenged Circuit of the Americas with the ATS-V and was simply blown away.
Paul E.
Paul,
There is nothing “to revise”. What part of a ATS or ATS-V looks like a BMW, Porsche, Mercedes? What model of Honda, Toyota, Acura, Nissan or Lexus body styling looks like any GM, Ford, Chrysler or Caddy model?
Pick any (25) BMW owners and have them look at photos of any Caddy model with the name plates removed and ask them to pick out the BMW. Do you think they will find any BMW models amongst the Caddy pictures?
You can argue about handling up to a point, but not about styling, switch controls, interior styling and materials. Few if any BMW owners would confuse a Chevy, Ford, Chrysler or Caddy for a Honda, Toyota, Nissan, BMW, Porsche, Mercedes or VW. Most people would not confuse a Honda, Toyota or Nissan for a Porsche, BMW or Mercedes. These models all have distinct cultural styling, feel, controls and handling IME.