(Bloomberg) -- A General Motors executive said next year will be a "fantastic year for Cadillac" as he confirmed plans for a new rear-wheel-drive sedan and a redesigned SRX crossover.
Cadillac’s chief engineer, Dave Leone, discussed the plans in an interview with Bloomberg ahead of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in California.
As Automotive News has reported, the car will have rear-wheel drive and arrive in late 2015, Leone said. GM showed an Elmiraj concept that reflected its vision for such a car at Pebble Beach exactly one year ago. Since then, the vehicle has been on a global tour and was seen in Detroit earlier this summer.
GM's sales in its home market have trailed the industry's 5 percent growth this year as Cadillac deliveries dropped by 2 percent, putting the brand further behind Mercedes-Benz (up 9 percent) and BMW (up 12 percent) in the luxury segment. The largest U.S. automaker is counting on an expanded stable of passenger cars and the new SRX, its top-selling model, to lure buyers away from the German luxury marques and Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus.
Cadillac’s car lineup has paced the brand’s sales declines this year, with deliveries of the compact ATS and larger XTS each falling by more than 20 percent through July. The company also plans to introduce a high-performance V-version of the ATS next year, Leone said.
Sales of the SRX, which GM last redesigned in 2009, have climbed 16 percent to 33,463 vehicles, according to the Automotive News Data Center.
The new models will be among the first to debut under new leadership for Cadillac. GM last month named Johan de Nysschen president of the brand, hiring him away from Nissan Motor Co.’s Infiniti.
For the entire Automotive News future product report on Cadillac published last month, click here.
Automotive News contributed to this report.
