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Cadillac plans to secure residuals before volume
Date: 07 September 2007 | Author: Tristan Young
New Cadillac boss Jonathan Nash has promised to improve residual values before pushing into the business car market, now that GM has taken control of the brand in the UK.
Saab boss Nash has now also taken on Corvette and Hummer as well as Cadillac, in the wake of the failed attempt to launch Cadillac through dealer group Pendragon, and aims to sell only hundreds of the three new US brands next year.
While Corvette and Hummer will sell in handfuls overall and even fewer in fleet, Nash does have plans to get the Cadillac brand into UK businesses.
"For Cadillac to be genuinely successful as a global brand it has to be successful in Europe. I don't believe in looking back but we're changing it [the way Pendrgon operated], so obviously we're not satisfied," said Nash.
He confirmed there would be six Cadillac and Corvette dealers, including one in Scotland for the first time.
"There will be no daily rental and no fast turn that would destroy RVs and upset customers. It will take three to four years to establish these brands in the UK. I am conscious that this is not the first time the brand (Cadillac) has been launched in the UK," added Nash.
Commenting on the fleet prospects for Cadillac, Nash said: "The expertise is in the family already. To establish credibility we'll develop a relationship with a few existing partners."
Commenting on the RVs and the used car pricing experts he said: "We've had a chat with them and they think we're being a touch pessimistic with the numbers we can sell. CTS has to be competitive [in RVs] with the 5-series and the E-class, not necessarily better, but in the same group."
"Cadillac has to reflect the premium cost of ownership in terms of RVs - we're not going to make up the numbers with fleet."
Nash confirmed Cadillac would sit above Saab in terms of prestige and pricing.
"We could be doing 10,000 a year in four to five years' time but we need a new CTS, a new diesel, a revised BLS and a wider dealer network."
All of these are on the cards according to Nash.
"We've got diesel in the BLS already but we'll also have a diesel in the bigger cars. It will be a diesel with more than 170PS and will go into Hummer H3 and the Cadillacs."
