Photo: Cadillac
A pair of new crossover models loomed large for Cadillac in 2019, as the luxury brand bested the previous year’s numbers with a sales increase of 1 percent.
For the year, Cadillac sold 156,246 vehicles, compared with 154,702 in 2018. Credit for that increase goes to the XT4 crossover, introduced in late 2018, and the XT6 crossover, which came out in mid-2019. Without the lift provided by those two models, Cadillac would have seen a significant decline in sales.
Apart from the XT4 and XT6, all of Cadillac’s models ended up with lower sales for the year. Some of this decline can perhaps be attributed to a UAW strike in September and October, which shut down production at General Motors for 40 days and led to shortages of popular vehicles at dealerships.
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Photo: Cadillac
2019 Cadillac Sales Leaders
More than 80 percent of 2019 Cadillac sales were crossovers and SUVs. The brand’s biggest seller was the XT5 crossover with 49,879 units sold. However, that total was down 17.6 percent from the year before, reflecting the heavily competitive market for midsize luxury crossovers.
The Escalade SUV came in second with 35,424 sales, a 3.9 percent decrease. Later this year, the next-gen Escalade will arrive at dealerships, and Cadillac is hoping the overhaul will lead to resurgent sales for its most iconic nameplate.
The XT4 was Cadillac’s third most popular model, selling 31,987 units in its first full year on the market. Meanwhile, the three-row XT6 notched 11,559 sales after its debut in June.
Sedans continued their fade for Cadillac in what was something of a transitional year. The ATS, CTS, and XTS were all phased out in 2019, and the CT6 is joining them at the end of January. Of those models, the XTS was the only one to crack 10,000 sales, moving 11,304 units for a 36.2 percent decline. For 2020, Cadillac is pinning its sedan hopes on the all-new CT4 (coming early this year) and CT5 (which is available now).
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A longtime editor/writer and recently transplanted Hoosier, Caleb Cook lives in Xenia, Ohio. His favorite activities are reading and listening to music, although he occasionally emerges from the heap of books and vinyl records in his basement to stand blinking in the sunlight. Once fully acclimated to the outside world again, he can be observed hanging out with his wife, attempting a new recipe in the kitchen, attending movies, walking the dog, or wandering into a local brewery to inquire about what’s on tap. See more articles by Caleb.