Cadillac’s biggest sedan, the CT6, might be in for a lower base price in the near future. That much is according to a recent Reuters report, which at the end of July stated:
“New versions of the CT6 sedan will be offered to customers who want a larger car starting at $50,000.”
The focus of the Reuters piece was to report that Cadillac is planning on replacing the XTS, CTS and ATS sedans with one model called the CT5, something that was later correct by GM Authority — which confirmed that not one, but rather two sedans will replace the CTS and ATS. As such, there is a chance that the publication is incorrect in its reporting of matters related to CT6 pricing.
Two Options
It is not entirely clear whether Reuters is being careless in reporting the CT6’s base price (which is $53,795 for the 2017 model year in the United States), or if Cadillac is indeed planning on decreasing the price of the full-size sedan.
If the latter is, in fact, the case and the CT6 will see a lower price, then we can see that happening in one of the following two ways:
- A simple price drop: Cadillac decreases the starting price of the CT6 by $3,795. The base CT6 with the 2.0L Turbo motor would seem the most appropriate candidate for such a drop, though other trim levels of the vehicle might also see a similar cuts.
- An introduction of a new trim level: Cadillac rearranges the CT6’s trim level structure, introducing a new and decontended model with a lower starting price than even the current base CT6 2.0T.
Timing
Assuming that the Reuters report is correct about Cadillac plan to decrease the CT6 price, the timing of the change is worthy of discussion. We posit that if the CT6 does, indeed, get a price cut, then the change will take place roughly one year from now, for the 2019 model year CT6 — which is when the vehicle is expected to get refreshed with styling similar to the Cadillac Escala concept.
Our reasoning is simple: the XTS, which is getting a refresh for the 2018 model year, will be discontinued within two years, and Cadillac might be thinking of ways to transition XTS owners into the CT6 around that time. As such, a $50,000 starting price for the CT6 might be a good way to attract existing XTS owners given that the XTS starts at $45,595 (for the 2017 model).
Sales
Cadillac CT6 sales have been notably healthy since its launch in the spring of 2017, accounting for 9,169 deliveries in 2016 – its first year on the market. In the first seven months of 2017, the CT6 tallied 6,287 deliveries, putting it on track for roughly 11,000 sales during the full calendar year.
The results are admirable for three specific reasons:
- The CT6 is recording sales gains in a market that is rapidly buying crossovers at the expense of sedans.
- The CT6 is the first Cadillac model to compete in the full-size prestige-luxury segment against such segment stalwarts as the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, BMW 7 Series, and Lexus LS. Hence, the CT6 does not have an established customer base but is instead selling to a new generation of Cadillac customers.
- The CT6 is competing internally for customers with the Cadillac XTS, the brand’s other full-size luxury sedan that currently undercuts the CT6’s price by roughly $8,000
Stay tuned as we learn more about the supposedly-planned CT6 price drop, as well as for more Cadillac news.
