Nope, you didn’t misread the headline: the Cadillac CT6 will be discontinued. We’re just as surprised and shocked as your are, and that sound is frustration, disdain and contempt on behalf of Cadillac owners, fans and enthusiasts the world over.
It has been confirmed that the Cadillac CT6 will exit production next year, around the middle of 2019. The reason for the decision is rather nebulous, but it’s related to a decision made by Cadillac parent, General Motors, to shutter the Detroit-Hamtramck plant in Michigan where the large sedan is assembled for North American markets.
It’s currently unclear whether GM or Cadillac made the aforementioned decision, but all signs point toward the former shuttering the plant, and the CT6 being a casualty of the move.
But two things will take place before that happens. First, the refreshed 2019 Cadillac CT6 will go on sale. Second, Cadillac’s new 4.2L Twin-Turbo V8 engine – the Blackwing – will be made available in two versions:
- Regular-output variant (for the CT6 Platinum) making 500 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque, and
- High-output variant for the CT6-V (née CT6 V-Sport) making 550 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque
Though not yet official, it looks like the powertrain combination will only be built for six months, making CT6 units with the Blackwing motor extremely rare.
Prior to the official confirmation of the discontinuation, it was rumored that CT6 production could simply be moved to the Lansing Grand River plant (home of the ATS and CTS, and the upcoming CT5 and CT4), which is located less than 100 miles West of Hamtramck. Since then, Cadillac has confirmed that the CT6 is set to be discontinued entirely, and that there are not plans to move CT6 production to another facility.
We should also note that the Cadillac CT6 discontinuation only applies to the North American market. The large luxury sedan will remain in production and on sale in China, where it is made at the dedicated Jinqiao Cadillac plant in Shanghai.
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Felix
De Sad ,we get a worthy upgrade and it don’t even last a whole year. Way to instill confidence in you brand and convince people to purchase and stand by your products.
Randy
Cadillac finally make the right car with the right motor options Blackwing and dumps it let’s move backwards not forward sad day.
Seel
I wonder if at some point in the distant future, the Shanghai plant will supply the CT6 to the North American market?
Robert Jones
GM will lose all of it’s CT6 customers after this move. GM continues to make poor choices.
Rosel Hurley
Is the CT8 dead also
Alex Luft
From what we know, the second full-size Cadillac car is still on track.
Johnls_39
Is it Escala?
Felix
As far as you know will that vehicle be on the Omega platform or a new platform? If the do bring out a new full size sedan it will be a direct competition to the S class and not a 7/8 size. Go all or nothing in every way. If they do bring out a new platform hopefully they will have the good sense to make it adaptable to accomidate various sizes and types of vehicles.
Ron
Cadillac and/or GM seems to have problems getting it right whatever the model. My guess Cadillac will not be made or available In North America in 10 years but it will be in China.
Frank Ricciardi
This is terrible news. The Cadillac CT6 is an excellent car and Cadillac needs to be in the market even if its not profitable. If the CT6 is eliminated and the CTS is downsized to become the CT5, Cadillac will only sell small cars. Cadillac is a BIG CAR Company. I hope Cadillac can find a way to to keep the CT6 in its product line. I think its important for the brand image.
Felix
It seems that Cadillac or GM as far as that go are too willing to cut and run rather than stand and fight. When they bring out a product that is not a runaway sales success for whatever reason they drop the product rather than figuring out why it didn’t succeed and fixing it to make it competitive.
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Craig
I see this as a move from standard cars to crossovers. The Chevy Cruise and the Buick Regal are nice cars, but they aren’t selling well. The Equinox, and the XT5 are. Cadillac just came out with a smaller crossover (XT4).
Alex Luft
The alleged move from cars to crossovers is only impacting GM.
Meanwhile, the Japanese, German and Korean automakers have only slight decreases in car sales and huge gains in crossover sales.
We are witnessing GM’s significant competitive disadvantage of having very low loyalty rates, which has led to car sales to be impacted more than at other automakers.
Van Straker
One reason for the lack of loyalty is everytime GM comes out with a new vehicle they come up w/a new name. Then they hardly market the new cars, there are few legacy vehicle names. Where as even Hyundai use names we all know Sante Fe and their others have been gen 1, gen 2, gen 3, etc… Toyota rarely changes names as well as most others. GM is a pathetically run organization and Mary Barra needs to be fired. She was given a CEO seat on a company with a completely clean sheet of financial paper and its been wasted. She came in wanting to change the culture but she is a lifer herself who is now the captain as the ship goes down. We are witnessing the end of GM and its tragic on so many fronts…
Felix
Alex
What is your views on the Future of Cadillac in America? Do you think people will trust them enough to buy their vehicle in enough quintity to make them competitive? Will their existing and future products be able to truly compete with their competitors?
ey789
Alex, In your professional opinion, do you think the CT6 will really be discontinued? A part of me wants to believe that threatening the end of this car is only a ploy for GM to get concessions from the government. After investing so much in the CT6, it is a bit hard for me to fathom that GM wants to end it.
Alex Luft
Thank you for the question.
I do think they are dropping production of the CT6 in North America “for real”. That said, we might see the CT6 line from Detroit Hamtramck be put into another North American plant, such as Lansing Grand River. In that regard, that is where they might be looking for some political leverage, though what concessions they might be looking for, in particular, is beyond me.
In addition, Lansing Grand River (in its current form) simply isn’t big enough to support CT6 production. Another alternative is importing the CT6 from China… which is far from an ideal scenario for multiple reasons (order-inventory-delivery process timing being the primary reason).
From a general standpoint, GM is currently extremely focused on profitability and maximizing the ROI/ROIC, while investing heavily into electric and autonomous technologies, both of which are very far from breaking even or turning a profit. And that’s the flaw of the strategy: they are investing so much and so quickly in EV and AV to be “the leaders” in each area, but are burning through cash faster than ever.
In the case of AV, the money is going toward developing these technologies (Cruise). In the case of EV, it is to keep products like the Bolt EV on the market, while losing several thousand dollars on each unit produced/sold (they are very far from breaking even on the Bolt program). As a result of all that, we see vehicles like the CT6 get discontinued. Notably, the CT6 is profitable. However, it is not meeting the profitability targets that were planned for it. In other words, rather than making 35% margin, GM was making 10% margin. Meanwhile, the CT6 re-establishes Cadillac in the luxury space. For all intents and purposes, it’s worthy of being kept around for the long term. But the massive AV/EV investments are preventing this from taking place.
I should note that prior to this EV and EV craze, GM would keep vehicle lines that were somewhat profitable (not extremely profitable, but still doing well) around, while recouping the investment in the long-term. Now, they cut anything that doesn’t meet their extremely high (and, arguably, unrealistic) ROI/ROIC targets… all to support EV and AV investments. From my perspective, the strategy is extremely unsound.
At the end of the day, I think the chance that they are bluffing/using the CT6 discontinuation as leverage is close to 0%, the chance that they will keep CT6 manufacturing around in North America is 10%, and that they will import the CT6 from China is 35%.
Felix
That obsession with high profits will cost them in the long run perhaps even in the short run. When your customers lose faith in you and go elsewhere where are those profits coming from? Know they make big bucks on Trucks and SUV’s but if they keep cutting corners and not spending the money to make them class leading they stand a chance of loosing those customers also.
ey789
Thanks for the detailed explanation Alex. I greatly appreciate it! It is a shame to see General Motors operate this sloppily while some of its competitors continue to prosper. Two years ago, I would have thought that Cadillac would soon become a dominant contender in the luxury car market. Alas, I was being too optimistic.
Van Straker
I agree with you and thought the plan was moving the needle. The new CT4/CT5 to replace the ATS & CTS and XTS but still having the CT6 in place, plus adding the XT4 and XT6 means a refreshed line up not one that appears to be staggering. Then whatever else there might be coming would only add to the portfolio. Compared to their competition Cadillac needs to add products and expand the market opportunity not shrink it. Keeping the CT6 kept them in the conversation especially with the new V8 and refresh.
Cadillac and GM in general brings out a vehicle with a new name, then if it doesn’t light the world on fire, kills it. They hardly do any marketing, and no one knows what it is because of the new names. The whole company seems to be lost and unable to create a solid home run, hit. All their vehicles provide “just enough” to be competitive but no greater value. All Cadillacs should have amazing and stunning styling, world beating interiors and electronics, the driver assists should be standard, Magnetic Ride Control should be standard not an option and PANARAY should be a one up option on all models. The dealer experience also kills repeat customers too as Mercedes simply is the benchmark but old Caddy dealers think they know better. I always get a free loaner, every time, at the Mercedes dealer but only if available at the Caddy dealer.
That said the new XT4 was pitted in a recent comparison against an Infiniti and an Acura, read that as a Nissan and a Honda. It’s the brand-new Cadillac to take on the small luxury SUVs and it lost to the Acura version of a Honda CRV. I mean Cadillac wasn’t compared to BMW, Audi or Mercedes and decisions like this relegate them to “also ran” status. The car is late to the party where the Germans are on Gen II and Gen III vehicles and the XT4 loses to a Honda. The stewards of this brand are incompetent and need to be fired as are the bean counters and managers that are destroying an American icon.
Bill Sharkan
I own a CT6. It’s a Cadillac. I would buy another if it’s “Made In USA.” If it’s “Made in China,” it’s not a Cadillac. I will not buy another one. Buying a Cadillac is a statement on many levels; it’s a statement of loyalty on many levels.
Mikepye
Dittos to your comment Bill. I own a CT6, it’s a wonderful car, Cadillac’s flagship, and where GM should introduce their latest technology. I will never purchase any Cadillac manufactured in China. GM continues with major strategic errors on their premium brand. Relying on small sedans and SUVs….May as well purchase a Buick or GMC. Let’s face it, GM has not been the same since the bailout a decade ago as management has become fixated on short term ROI with no path for long-term brand survival. Good luck with that electric initiative, a failed strategy before it even starts. Anyone who believes that electric vehicles will become mainstream short term is dreaming. I for one will be looking at European brand sedans now that GM is in free-fall decline. How sad, they just lost another lifelong customer. Sadder is that they don’t care about 50/60-something loyal “car” customers anymore as they seek to sell overpriced minivans and electric toys.
David
When will the pricing be released for the 2019 CT6 Platinum Ed with the Blackwing V-8 and the CT6-V?
Joseph Magier
Then what of the Escala or CT8 version ? Get away from the alphabet and come up with names like Lincoln is doing. So much development into this car and pulling the plug now ? What a shame. I remember when Cadillac was what you aspired to. Now all cars look the same and it is all about gadgets and self-driving etc.
Felix
Just read in GMINSIDENEWS that the CT6 will not be discontinued in the US. fact or fiction? If it’s true what changed their mind? Do they think that somehow constantly giving conflicting information will somehow benefit or instill confidence in potential customers?
scott cholewa
I had a 2016 ct6 it was great so I just traded for a 2019 ct6 GM can not think that in only three years they can have a new car that will be a big seller right away this shows they are run by fools, that being said I think they are ending the run in 2019 and are only saying it will continue the build so they can sell the last run. Good job GM you just handed that market to MB, BMW and Audi
Angel Urena
I can’t believe they’re discontinuing the CT6. I’m a Lexus owner, i have being buying Lexus for 20 years. I discover the CT6 and i really really like, in another six months i’m concerting to buying Cadillac. I’m very disappointed that the CT6 is going away. Can someone give me some good news.
Denis Flaherty
Damn…I was looking forward to a V-series..not prepared to take a hit on a discontinued model 🙁
Felix
It’s October 15 which is well past mid 2019. CT6 still here. The problem is no one can get a straight answer from GM as to what they are going to do with the CT6.
Discontinuing the CT6 after finally getting it right is something GM would do as they have done so many times on so many other vehicles.