Cadillac Bringing ATS and Escalade to the UK in Push for World Domination
Quick: name something that Europeans really love that America hasn’t quite come around on yet. If you said the unfortunate music career of David Hasselhoff, you are correct (but not in this particular piece). If you said diesel powertrains for vehicles that aren’t full-size pickup trucks—ding, ding, we have a winner! Cadillac has been trying to take some precious European territory from their rivals, and Auto Express suggests that bringing the ATS and Escalade to the UK will be just the first part in their plan for world domination.
The presence of the ATS and Escalade in the UK will be the first offensive in a long assault on the European market. While the ATS will be getting the right-hand drive version sometime this year, Cadillac’s director of emerging markets, Jim Vurpillat, told Auto Express that the Escalade would only be offered in left-hand drive until there is a greater network of dealers…which won’t be in place until the Escalade is fitted with a diesel powertrain.
“We currently have one dealer in the UK, and the new Escalade will be available to buy in left hand-drive this year, but we won’t expand the network until we have diesel power trains and right-hand drive – but they are both in the plan.”
This begs a number of questions: will Cadillac manufacture more models with a diesel powertrain? Will these diesel-powered Cadillacs make their way stateside? Do they call an Escalade “Le Royale Escalade” in Europe? Hopefully we will have answers to these pressing questions in time.
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