GM CFO Confirms Cadillac Won't Chase 'Volume at all costs'

General Motors CFO, Dan Ammann, while discussing Cadillac's position vs their German rivals has confirmed that they are approaching the luxury market differently. While BMW, Mercedes, and Audi are slicing and dicing the luxury market in a battle to sell the most cars at all costs, Cadillac is - to hear him tell it - being more strategic in their approach. While the cynical might say that GM isn't willing/able to produce all the products in all the same segments that the others compete in...it can also be read that Cadillac will attack only the most important and profitable segments. The potential up-side to this approach is not cheapening the Cadillac brand with moves downmarket (something Mercedes and BMW specifically must do to meet mileage and CO2 requirements). Audi would be the only other company in this list that has the same flexibility because it gets to share the burden with its more volume-centric brands (VW here in the US) as Cadillac can with Chevrolet. BMW's MINI and Mercedes' smart simply do not sell in sufficient volume (again in the US) to raise their corporate numbers to meet the regulatory requirements. Audi, however, is committed to being the volume leader in the luxury market - so they may not possess the will to do the same as Cadillac. It would be a smart move on Cadillac's part to stake out a unique position as more of an aspirational brand in ways that their competition might not match. Then again, it will be years before we see how they play this out. Source: Automotive News