cadillac

Well known as an American big car for the rich, for Europeans it was difficult to understand that GM intended to make the Cadillac marque popular here among premium D-class car buyers with the arrival in 2006 of the BLS, a Swedish built reshaped 4-year-old Saab 9-3 on the shorter Epsilon platform. The related Opel Vectra C sedan stood on the longer 270 cm wheelbase, as did the Chevrolet Malibu.

In 2007 a record 3,000 Cadillacs were sold in Europe (4,500 incl. Russia), of which the majority were American models (mainly SUVs), while over 7,000 were sold in China, then a market less than half as large as Europe, with the arrival of the impressive SLS (Seville Luxury Sedan), a (rwd) STS with extended rear compartment, of which 30,000 eventually would be made and sold, the latter half with a 4-cylinder 2-litre turbo engine. The SLS with Northstar V8 engine was limited for export to the Middle East by March 2008. The SLS introduced SGM’s OnStar in China late in 2009.

By 2017, GM sold more Cadillacs in China than in the USA and Canada together, and nowadays more Cadillacs are sold in China, than in the rest of the world, but that is no exception. The Chinese car market surpassed that of the USA in crisis year 2009. From 2008 to 2010, the Chinese car market doubled. The Cadillac brand was introduced in China in 2004. In 2005, nearly 2,800 Cadillac CTS were assembled. Forty-five years earlier, assembling of Cadillacs had stopped in Europe, after these cars had grown too big. Cadillacs (and Buicks) were of course already sold in Taiwan in the 1990s, incl. the Opel-built Catera.

Unexpectedly, by autumn 2020, China and not America were granted the latest amenities, such as the adaptive matrix headlight system in the XT6 (a lesser variant is available in the 2020 Buick GL8 Avenir), the facial recognition unlocking and starting system in the XT4, and the Super Cruise semi-autonomous highway driving in the CT6 (earlier available in North America, and by 2021 in the CT4, CT5 and Escalade).

In 2021, Cadillac outsold Chevrolet in China (231,800 vs 229,600).

Cadillac XTS USA June 2012 - 2020, China: April 2013 – October 2019

The name of this model preceded the time that ‘X’ would mean crossover. This front-wheel-drive car on the extended Epsilon II platform denied its all-wheel-drive option and air springs to China. US models without air suspension came only for the 2018 model year, after it was decided to continue the XTS with sales in China growing 25~50% in 2016 and 2017, exceeding US sales year by year. The 2-litre turbo engine in China delivered 45 hp less power, but 45 Nm more torque than the 3.6, abandoned here by 2015. With the production of the XTS ending in October 2019, some 18,000 were sold in North America in 2018, vs 65,000 in China (11,300 vs 42,200 in 2019).

Platform:	ext. Epsilon II	XTS
rear suspension:		see below			GM	GM	GM
		wheelbase (cm):	283.7		L850	HF6	HF6
		length from (cm):	513.1		4 cyl.	V6	V6
		width (cm):	185.2		DOHC	DOHC	DOHC
				cc:	1998	3564	3564	cc
					dir. inj.	dir. inj.	dir. inj.
					turbo		twin turbo


market:
USA/CDN		curb weight from:	1877	kg		12-19	12-19
rear susp:	12-17	4-link independent, H-arm, air springs				fwd or awd	awd
	17-19	fwd: 4-link independent, H-arm, coil springs				6A	6A
	17-19	fwd opt., awd: 4-link indep., H-arm, air springs				227	306	kW
						305	410	hp
						355	500	Nm

China		4-link independent, H-arm, coil springs
					13-19	13-14
		curb weight from:	1840	kg	28T	36S
					fwd	fwd
					6A	6A
				kW	193	224
				hp	262	305
				13-18 Nm	400	360
				18-19 Nm	353

Cadillac ATS-L China: October 2014 – September 2019

The 8.5 cm longer Chinese ATS-L practically outsold the US ATS from the start. In the USA, the ATS had arrived in autumn 2012 and, after a year was imported to China until the ATS-L was produced there a year later. At that time, in America had arrived a 2-door coupe, which would outlive the sedan there from autumn 2018, while the manual transmission was deleted, which was never offered in China, nor was all-wheel-drive. The ATS-L stopped in 2019 with 26,000 units sold.

platform:

Alpha

ATS/ATS-L

rear suspension:

5-link independent, coil springs

L850

L880

HF6

HF6 II

HF6

4 cyl.

DOHC

cc:

1998

2457

3564

3649

3564

dir. inj.

turbo

twin turbo

market:

ATS-V

USA/CDN

ATS

sedan

coupe

sedan:

12-14

14-18

12-16

12-15

15-18

curb weight from:

1505

1547 kg

coupe:

14-19

14-15

15-19

wheelbase (cm):

277.5

rwd/awd

rwd

rwd/awd

rwd

length from (cm):

464.3

466.3

6M'/6A

6M'/6A8A

6A > 8A

6M'/8A

width (cm):

180.5

184.2

203

151

239

250

346

272

202

321

335

464

353

400

259

373

386

603

'rwd only

'rwd only, -18

'15: 8A

' 6M: -18

'15: 6A > 8A

China

import

ATS

sedan

13-14

28T

rwd

203

272

353

China

ATS-L

sedan

14-15

14-19

curb weight from:

1600

25T

28T

wheelbase (cm):

286

rwd

length from (cm):

473

'15: 6A > 8A

width (cm):

182.4

164

200

223

272

353

400

Cadillac CT6 China: January 2016, USA: March 2016 - 2020

The first vehicle on the light-weight Omega platform, with a weight from 1655 kg, the impressive CT6 set new standards for an over 5-meter car on an over 3-meter wheelbase. This is just 55 kg over the much smaller ATS-L. The CT6 features a multi-material body-in-white that has 20% fewer parts and is 100 kg lighter than a comparable steel structure. Conceived as a rear-wheel-drive sports sedan (with available all-wheel-drive), there is no air springs option.

Two months earlier on the market in China than in the USA, the Chinese CT6 outsold the American CT6 from mid-2017. A plug-in hybrid model, actually an extended range electric vehicle, was made from autumn 2017 till autumn 2018 in China, and also imported to North America. This 2-tonne vehicle at a price of $75,000 was $16,000 more expensive than the regular model with the same 2-litre engine, actually a green vehicle in disguise with the 2.0E badge at the back, but with a second ‘filler’ cap at the left side of the car. With two US-built electric motors mated to the 2-litre turbo engine, three power sources were its characteristic, and as drawback a reduced trunk capacity due to the battery pack.

Some 1,450 CT6 Plug-in hybrid models were built, of which about 200 went to North America. During the sales period of the CT6 in China, a notable 8% were hybrids (in Chinese manner with a 30E badge on the back, as well as a ‘plug-in hybrid’ badge, whereas the regular 2-litre model has a 28T badge). In August 2019, VW and GM said they believe that hybrid cars have no future, though a PHEV (E-REV) Buick Velite 6 will arrive in 2020.

When the plug-in model was deleted, another ‘Tripower’ model arrived in autumn 2018 with a long-stroke 2-litre engine with cylinder deactivation and low or high intake-valve lift, depending on power of driving, but it was deleted the next spring in America, possibly as the engine was needed for the Chevrolet Blazer and Cadillac CT5 and XT5. This meant that all CT6 models there featured four-wheel-drive. In China, in the first three quarters of 2019, only a quarter of a percent were four-wheel-drive models (68 units), of which sales stopped that year. Here the new 2-litre engine became the only offering in 2019. Cylinder deactivation has been earlier practised by Cadillac for the 1981 model year with the ‘Displacement on Demand’ V8-6-4 L62 6-litre 140 hp engine, realizing a 15% better gas mileage, but rather powerless when riding on 4 cylinders.

Production of the CT6 in North America stopped in February 2020, after from 2016 till 2019 some 9,500, 11,000, 10,000 and 8,000 units were sold, compared with 6,000, 12,000, 17,000 and 22,500 in China.

In July 2020, Cadillac in China added two CT6 2-litre Super Cruise editions, after its availability had stopped earlier this year when the V6 model was deleted. In 2017, the Cadillac CT6 with Super Cruise was launched in the U.S. and Canada, and the next year in China. It is China's first mass-produced intelligent driving technology to let go two-handed driving on the highway (semi-autonomous highway driving).

platform:	Omega	CT6
rear suspension:		5-link independent, coil springs			GM	GM	GM	GM	GM	GM
		curb weight from:	1655	kg	L850	L850	CSS	HF6	HF6 II	Blackwing
		wheelbase (cm):	310.9		4 cyl.	4 cyl.	4 cyl.	V6	V6	V8
		length from (cm):	517.9		DOHC	DOHC	DOHC	DOHC	DOHC	DOHC
		width (cm):	187.9	cc:	1998	1998	1998	2990	3649	4192	cc
					dir. inj.	dir. inj.	dir. inj.	dir. inj.	dir. inj.	dir. inj.
					turbo	turbo	turbo	twin turbo		twin turbo
						plug in

market:										CT6-V
USA/CDN					16-18	17-18	18-19	16-20	16-20	19-20
					rwd	rwd	rwd	awd	awd	awd
					8A	EVT	10A	'8A, 18> 10A		10A
				kW	198	198+52	177	301	250	373-410	kW
				hp	265	265+70	237	404	335	500-550	hp
				Nm	400	400+186	350	542	385	750-850	Nm
		EPA electric drive range		km		50

China					16-18	17-18	18-	16-19
					28T	30E	28T	40T
					rwd	rwd	rwd	awd
					8A	EVT	10A	8A, 19 > 10A
				max kW	198	198+52	177 > 174	298
				max hp	269	269+71	237 > 233	404
				Nm	400	400+186	350	543
	NEDC electric drive range			km		80
				l/100 km	7.9	1.7	7.1	9.3 > 9.2

EVT: electric variable transmission

Cadillac XT5 China, USA: April 2016

As the first model on the new C1 platform, which is the crossover version of the E2 architecture, the XT5 was introduced in April 2016, in the USA with the new V6 3.6 engine, and in China with the 2-litre turbo engine, both markets with the choice of front-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive. In 2017 China added a mild hybrid awd version (6.6 kW/49 Nm motor) with a nine-speed automatic gearbox, reducing the fuel consumption from 8.7 to 7.9 l/100 km. By 2018 Chinese sales exceeded those of North America, with one out of every eight a hybrid. In summer 2019, the only engine for China became the new 2-litre turbo with cylinder deactivation, which engine was added to the line in the USA. In China, a 48V mild hybrid came by February 2021.

In China in 2019, 7% were hybrid models, and in 2020, about three, in America four out of every ten is four-wheel-drive. In April 2020 in China, the power was slightly reduced, improving the fuel consumption from 7.5 to 7.3 l/100 km (awd: 7.9 > 7.8 l/100 km). In Russia, since February 2020, the awd XT5 is imported with the 2-litre engine derated to a tax-efficient 200 hp. Some 1,250 units were sold there of the earlier model with V6 engine.

platform:	C1UL	XT5
rear suspension:		5-link independent, coil springs			GM	GM	GM	GM	GM	GM
		curb weight from:	1795	kg	L850	L850	L850	CSS	CSS	HF6 II
		wheelbase (cm):	285.7		4 cyl.	4 cyl.	4 cyl.	4 cyl.	4 cyl.	V6
		length from (cm):	481.2		DOHC	DOHC	DOHC	DOHC	DOHC	DOHC
		width (cm):	190.3	cc:	1998	1998	1998	1998	1998	3649
					dir. inj.	dir. inj.	dir. inj.	dir. inj.	dir. inj.	dir. inj.
					turbo	turbo	turbo	turbo	turbo
						mild hybrid			mild hybrid
market:
USA/CDN								19-		16-
								20: 350T		20: 400
								fwd/awd		fwd/awd
								9A		8A, 19 > 9A
								177		231	kW
								237		310	hp
								350		367	Nm
										fwd -19

Russia								20-		16-20
								350T
								awd		awd
								9A		8A, 19 > 9A
								147		228	kW
								200		310	hp
								350		367	Nm

China					16-19	16-19	17-19	19-21	21-
					25T	28T	28E	28T
					fwd	awd	awd	fwd/awd	fwd/awd
					8A	8A	9A	9A	9A
				max kW	179	193	193 + 6.6	177 > 174	174 + 10
				max hp	243	262	262 + 9	237 > 233	233 + 13
				Nm	400	400	400	350	350 + 50
				l/100 km	8.2	8.7	7.9	-20: 7.5/7.9	7.0/7.4
				l/100 km				20-21: 7.3/7.8

Cadillac XT4 China, USA: September 2018

This light-weight crossover also was launched simultaneously in USA and China, both with the new 2-litre CSS (Cylinder Set Strategy) turbo engine with power dependent valve management and cylinder deactivation, and front-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive, with 32,000 US sales vs 47,000 in China in 2019. In the US, the fwd/awd sales split was about fifty-fifty. In China, the two-wheel drive top configuration accounted for more than half of the XT4's sales.

In October 2020, the XT4 arrived in Europe with a new 4-cylinder 2-litre diesel engine, developed at the former GM Powertrain Torino, that will also be fitted in the Insignia. The 3-cylinder version came in the Astra in August 2019, and a 6-cylinder ‘Duramax’ in the Chevrolet Silverado/GMC Sierra.

From September 2020 in China only, at a price of 10,000 yuan, the XT4 can be equipped with a facial recognition unlocking and starting system, at which the touchscreen on the B-pillar is activated automatically through the driver’s mobile phone's Bluetooth recognition wake-up function. In China, a 48V mild hybrid came by December 2021.

In 2021, 2% of the XT4 in China were four-wheel-drive.

platform:	E2UL	XT4
rear suspension:		5-link independent, coil springs			GM	GM	GM
		curb weight from:	1642	kg	CSS	CSS	CSS dsl
		wheelbase (cm):	277.9		4 cyl.	4 cyl.	4 cyl.
		length from (cm):	460		DOHC	DOHC	DOHC
		width (cm):	188.1		1998	1998	1995	cc
					dir. inj.	dir. inj.	dir. inj.
					turbo	turbo	turbo
						mild hybrid	diesel
market:
USA/CDN					18-
					20: 350T
					fwd/awd
					9A
					177			kW
					237			hp
					350			Nm

China					18-21	21-
					28T
					fwd/awd	fwd/awd
					9A	9A
					177 > 174	174 + 10		max kW
					237 > 233	233 + 13		max hp
					350	350 + 50		Nm

Europe					20-		20-
					350T		350D
					fwd/awd		fwd/awd
					9A		9A
					177		128	kW
					237		174	PS
					350		380	Nm

Russia					21-		21-
					350T		350D
					fwd		fwd
					9A		9A
					147		128	kW
					199		174	PS
					350		380	Nm

Cadillac XT6 USA: June 2019, China: July 2019

This is a 3-seat row model, featuring the same engine availability as the XT5, except that the 2-litre initially was denied to America, but added by model year 2021. In America the standard seat layout is 2-3-2, and optional 2-2-2 with captain’s chairs in the middle. In China, this latter option initially was the standard layout, with a 7-seater available free of charge for the entry-level front-wheel-drive model, but by November 2019 more models got this seating choice. In China it is offered for about half of the price of other luxury SUVs sold in the form of imports. In June 2020, the power was slightly reduced, improving the fuel consumption from 7.8 (awd: 8.2) to 7.6 (awd: 8.1) l/100 km, and by February 2021 to 7.2 (awd: 7.6), adding a 10 kW electric motor (mild hybrid).

There is a choice of single or triple headlights, the latter with a new adaptive matrix system that continuously assesses the profile of the oncoming and preceding traffic and adjusts the headlamps’ 14 LED segments to provide 28 independent lighting zones for the driver while reducing glare for the other concerned road users. It was a standard feature across XT6 variants in China, until more basic models were added by June 2020. Unfortunately, in North America, this system is for the present forbidden by federal motor vehicle regulations (though it is legal in Canada).

11,559 units were sold in the United States in 2019, vs 11,053 in China, where sales started two months later. Over 60% were all-wheel-drive in the US. In Russia, the American awd XT6 is imported with the 2-litre engine with a tax-efficient 200 hp, similar to the one used in the regular 2020 Insignia models.

platform:	C1TL	XT6
rear suspension:		5-link independent, coil springs				GM	GM	GM
		curb weight from:	1980	kg		CSS	CSS	HF6 II
		wheelbase (cm):	286.3			4 cyl.	4 cyl.	V6
		length from (cm):	505.6			DOHC	DOHC	DOHC
		width (cm):	196.4		cc:	1998	1998	3649
						dir. inj.	dir. inj.	dir. inj.
						turbo	turbo
							mild hybrid
market:
USA/CDN						20-		19-
						350T		400
						fwd/awd		fwd/awd
						9A		9A
					kW	177		231	kW
					hp	237		310	hp
					Nm	350		367	Nm

Russia						20-
						350T
						awd
						9A
					kW	147
					hp	200
					Nm	350

China						19-21	21-
						28T
						fwd/awd	fwd/awd
						9A	9A
					max kW	177 > 174	174 + 10
					max hp	237 > 233	233 + 13
					Nm	350	350 + 50
					l/100 km	-20: 7.8/8.2	7.2/7.6
					l/100 km	20-21: 7.6/8.1	7.76/8.24	WLTC

Cadillac CT5 China: November 2019, USA: December 2019

This is the first Cadillac on the new Alpha 2 rear-wheel-drive platform with digital feature connectivity. With 43 sold in 2019 in the United States vs 6,191 in China, China again took the lead. The CT5-V with twin turbo 3-litre engine is not offered in China, nor is all-wheel-drive.

For America, a Cadillac CT5-V ‘Blackwing’ will follow in summer 2021, offering a six-speed manual gearbox in addition to the 10-speed automatic, equipped with an updated supercharged 6.2-litre V8, as was in the CTS-V. This vehicle, like its CT4-V stablemate, will be equipped with magnesium wheels. It is worth mentioning that this magnesium alloy wheel is an open innovation achieved by the General Motors Chinese Academy of Sciences in conjunction with Chinese suppliers and universities.

By early 2021, Super Cruise semi-autonomous highway driving became available in North America, and by May in China.

platform:	Alpha 2	CT5
rear suspension:		5-link independent, coil springs			GM	GM	GM
		curb weight from:	1660	kg	CSS	HF6	LT4
		wheelbase (cm):	294.7		4 cyl.	V6	V8
		length from (cm):	492.4		DOHC	DOHC	OHV
		width (cm):	188.3		1998	2990	6162	cc
					dir. inj.	dir. inj.	dir. inj.
					turbo	twin turbo	supercharger

market:						CT5, CT5-V	CT5-V
USA/CDN					19-	20-	21-
					20: 350T	550T, V	Blackwing
					rwd/awd	rwd/awd	rwd
					10A	10A	6M/10A
					177	250-265	498	kW
					237	335-360	668	hp
					350	542-550	893	Nm

China					19-
					(28T)"
					rwd
					10A
				max kW	177 > 174
				max hp	237 > 233
				Nm	350
				l/100 km	6.9

					" 28T badge till 21.05

Cadillac CT4 USA: March 2020, China: April 2020

Also on the Alpha 2 platform, similar in length to its predecessor ATS, and actually not that much different in appearance, the early batch at the dealers in the US are equally divided between rear-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive models. It will compete with BMW 1-series, Audi A3 and Mercedes-Benz A Class. The 4-cylinder tripower 2.7-litre engine is not offered in China, nor are the all-wheel-drive models. The Chinese ATS-L’s successor is the CT5. In China, by April 2020, the portfolio for Cadillac extends from CT4, CT5, CT6 rwd sedans, to XT4, XT5, XT6 fwd/awd crossovers, all with the 2-litre engine with cylinder deactivation, next to the awd V8 6.2 Escalade ESV, imported since April 2017.

For America, a Cadillac CT4-V ‘Blackwing’ will follow in late summer 2021, offering a six-speed manual gearbox in addition to the 10-speed automatic, equipped with an updated twin-turbocharged 3.6 V6, as was in the ATS-V.

By early 2021, Super Cruise semi-autonomous highway driving became available in North America.

platform:	Alpha 2	CT4
rear suspension:		5-link independent, coil springs			GM	GM	GM
		curb weight from:	1570	kg	CSS	CSS	HF6
		wheelbase (cm):	277.5		4 cyl.	4 cyl.	V6
		length from (cm):	475.6		DOHC	DOHC	DOHC
		width (cm):	181.5		1998	2727	3564	cc
					dir. inj.	dir. inj.	dir. inj.
					turbo	turbo	twin turbo

market:						CT4, CT4-V	CT4-V
USA/CDN					20-	20-	21-
					350T	500T*, V	Blackwing
					rwd/awd	rwd/awd	rwd
					8A	10A	6M/10A
					177	230-242	352	kW
					237	309-325	472	hp
					350	475-515	603	Nm

China					20-
					(28T)"
					rwd
					8A
				max kW	174
				max hp	233
				l/100 km	6.7

* 1,155 CT4 left the factory with incorrect 450T badge					" 28T badge till 21.02

Net output data are approximate.

with thanks to carsalesbase.com and http://db.auto.sohu.com pages

For recent specifications on Cadillac cars built in China, see:
On a Global Mission: The Automobiles of General Motors International

Far East Auto Literature

22 January, 2022