Automotive News reported earlier this month the death of the Cadillac XTS — expected to happen when the new, range-topping CT6 arrived at dealers — has been stayed until 2018 or 2019 thanks to the livery market and sales in China, sourcing "three people familiar with General Motors' plans."
Sorry, Mike Colias, but you are about 3-and-a-half months too late and you have the narrative all wrong.
The CT6 is the first model in Cadillac's lineup to sport the brand's new nomenclature and will also trigger similar changes to other models; the next Cadillac to be renamed will be the Cadillac SRX when the XT5 is introduced later this year.
At the media preview of the CT6, a model widely rumored to be the death knell for the front-wheel drive XTS, I was able to ask Cadillac head honcho Johan de Nysschen exactly what the new CT6 meant for the similarly sized, large, front-wheel-drive sedan.
"Ultimately, a car like XTS when it reaches the end of its lifecycle, will not be replaced," de Nysschen said of the XTS at the CT6 preview event.
Speaking of the livery market specifically, de Nysschen continued, "We will not have a car that will lend itself to these kind of modifications and we will probably withdrawal from those markets."
This narrative makes the most sense as Cadillac looks to position itself as a more premium offering against the likes of BMW and Audi. Offering up a model from the Cadillac range for stretch limousine and funeral service would only contribute to prolonging the brand's image of building vehicles for the Florida snowbird set.
While Automotive News is reporting Cadillac will "XTend" life of its XTS into 2018 or 2019, the fact of the matter is 2019 is the planned end-of-life for the large sedan anyway — and when it dies, Cadillac's livery business will likely die along with it.
Automotive News does highlight one worry, however, and that's where the Cadillac XTS will be built after 2016. Currently, the large sedan is built in Oshawa, Ontario, and we all know how secure that facility's future is these days.
The post Automotive News Late, Wrong On Cadillac XTS News De-Livery appeared first on The Truth About Cars.
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