General Motors’ big hope to grab a share of the luxury compact segment rolled off the assembly line in Lansing today. Tomorrow, the Cadillac ATS rolls on to the world stage.
GM officials hope the Cadillac ATS will do what the Catera and Cimirron failed to do: succeed.
The ATS is the automaker’s latest effort to take a slice of the market dominated by the BMW 3-Series, the Audi A4 and the Mercedes Benz C-Class. The small luxury car is an important part of GM’s global strategy.
“We want to be competitive in the luxury compact market,” says Antonio Francavilla, GM’s regional plant manager in the Lansing region, “We really haven’t been competitive….that’s the high end of the market…of the luxury market. With this product, we know we can be competitive.”
A TV ad featuring the Cadillac ATS will debut tomorrow during the opening ceremonies of the London Olympics.
GM has added a second shift to its Grand River Assembly plant in Lansing to meet expected demand.