Cadillac Will Make Compact Rear-Wheel-Drive Sedan and Crossover

2015 Cadillac ATS (Credit: Cadillac)

Cadillac is moving and shaking like crazy lately, which of course is making many competing luxury brands increasingly nervous. The man in charge of Cadillac, Johan de Nysschen, has rolled in and started doing what people have talked about for a long time, like reviving the automotive icon that used to be the standard for luxury. That work includes creating some entry-level models that can compete against the likes of the Mercedes-Benz CLA and GLA. Automotive News recently reported that de Nysschen says Cadillac will be creating a compact rear-wheel-drive sedan, plus a compact crossover. The new vehicles will fill a huge gap in the product lineup, and likely will inflate the brand’s sagging sales numbers. According to the report, the yet-to-be-named crossover will launch first in the early part of 2017. The sedan will hit the market about a year later. Admittedly, other brands like Audi, BMW, and Mercedes have a huge lead on Cadillac, but it’s better to be late to the party than to just not show up. The urgent push to get the two compact models on the market is affecting other projects, forcing them further down the brand’s priority list. One of those projects is a new all-electric model, which has been deemed not as important thanks to the fact that such a venture would likely not be the cash cow the sedan and crossover will become. A replacement for the ELR, on the other hand, is already in the works. The compact sedan will feature rear-wheel since it will share the same platform as the ATS, while models like the Mercedes CLA come with front-wheel-drive standard. Even though the move will cost more and will reduce interior space at least some, de Nysschen said it was a strategic decision to help position Cadillac as a maker of driver-focused vehicles. He may have a point, considering that some have criticized the CLA as a poor representation of the Mercedes brand.