The ATS will join an expanding line-up of Cadillac models, including the new CTS Coupe.
General Motors has confirmed a report published by TheDetroitBureau.com, yesterday, announcing plans to produce a new, smaller Cadillac model at the maker’s luxury car assembly plant in Lansing, Michigan.
The move will require the investment of $190 million and will result in the addition of a second shift at the Lansing Grand River factory – and the creation of 600 new jobs.
“America’s fastest-growing luxury brand this year is about to get even more competitive with the addition of an all-new small luxury car,” GM Chief Executive Officer Dan Akerson said during an announcement at plant, which he attended along with Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm. “This investment demonstrates GM’s commitment to Cadillac and to a strong U.S. manufacturing base.”
The automaker noted it has added about 7,000 new jobs since emerging from bankruptcy protection in July 2010.
Officials declined to provide specific details about the new Cadillac, which will be smaller than the current Caddy CTS and designed to compete with foreign luxury models such as the BMW 3-Series and Audi A4. Internally, the new offering has been going by the codename ATS, but a senior Cadillac source stressed, during a background conversation with TheDetroitBureau.com, that the final choice of a name has yet to be made.
The model will likely be sold in Europe, where it would replace the Cadillac BLS, as well as the U.S., and could also provide a bigger inroad into the fast-growing Chinese luxury car market.
The ATS will use a smaller version of the CTS platform, a flexible “architecture” that has also been used for the brand’s current STS model. A replacement for that sedan, as well as the current front-drive DTS, is now under development. A prototype, dubbed the XTS Platinum, was unveiled at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show.
(For more on the ATS and Cadillac’s plans for the future, Click Here.)