Cadillac Sales in Europe: Automaker Chooses Consistent, Long Term Approach
When we think of brands that are recognized on a global level, Cadillac doesn’t spring to mind. While the automaker is holding it down in the U S of A, Cadillac sales in Europe aren’t particularly stellar. Yet.
Cadillac is slowly but surely working its way into European hearts. The automaker has taken a controlled, creative, and consistent approach to its growth in the market. Cadillac’s dealer network in Europe is not yet fully established, and Cadillac chief marketing officer, Uwe Ellinghaus, predicts European deliveries will hover at about 2,000 units per year for several years. Ellinghaus sees no problem with the seemingly small number of deliveries and hopes to take a more personal approach to growing the market.
Ellinghaus was quoted in a recent GM blog: “Because of our limited volume, it will be easier to take care of customers on an individual basis. So we see a competitive advantage there and can pioneer a new retail format, with pop-up stores, virtual stores and a flagship store, maybe. If this approach works we then roll it out in rest of the world … We want to control better not just the transaction prices but the quality of the experience at the dealer customer touch points. This industry has one common Achilles heel, and this is that the dealers do not like automakers to get too far into their business.”
If Cadillac wants to become a global premium brand, they simply can’t leave Europe untapped. Some of Cadillac’s new cars are rivaling the best European models and even winning some comparisons, which would have been a dream for the automaker just a few years ago.
What do you think? Is Cadillac taking the right approach to overseas sales?
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