As we all know, with the post-90s and even post-00s young consumers gradually becoming the main consumer force in the automobile market, the B-class car attributes that were once business administrations have also changed, replaced by young sports. In the current rather diversified car market, consumer choices are very abundant, and for consumers with slightly stronger purchasing power, luxury brand B-class cars will inevitably become their preferred models.
And in this segment, Cadillac has always had the title of "price butcher", compared to the same level of BBA models, Cadillac is completely "with a lower price, buy the enjoyment of the cross-level", such as Cadillac CT5, because it has a greater preferential policy, so the actual transaction price is much lower than the same level of BBA C-class, 3 series, A4L, but even so, CT5 sales are still far inferior to the higher price of BBA models, in the past March, Cadillac's monthly sales are only 3785 vehicles, which is still a big gap with the BBA, so what is the reason for this situation?
The product force is remarkable, and the sports attributes are more prominent
Compared with mercedes-Benz C-Class, BMW 3 Series and Audi A4L, the most prominent product strength of cadillac CT5 is its sporty attributes.
Now consumers, once the B-class car sports benchmark, often the first time will think of the BMW 3 Series, but in fact, the real control of the sharp and sporty BMW 3 Series, should be the previous generation of chassis codenamed F30 BMW 3 Series, and the current chassis codenamed G20 BMW 3 Series has seriously compromised to comfort, it is no exaggeration to say that the current BMW 3 Series in addition to the 2.0T + ZF 8AT gold power system, has been completely unrelated to sports.
The picture shows the F30 BMW 3 Series
But on cadillac's side, the B-class car is still sticking to sports and wants to "go all the way to black". The B-class cars of cadillac in the past, whether it was the cts and ATS in the past, or the CT4 and CT5 now, are definitely the sports benchmarks in the same class. Taking ATS as an example, the research and development process of ATS that year was completely built in accordance with the standard of the BMW 3 Series (known as the most sporty and extreme generation of BMW 3 Series, which also started from it, which opened the title of sports benchmark for the BMW 3 Series), and the sharpness of the control can be imagined.
The picture shows ATS
The picture shows the E46 BMW 3 Series
And in the Cadillac CT5, it still retains the "innocence" on ATS.
Compared with the same class of models, its powertrain is almost the most outstanding, the 2.0T+ 10AT power system can burst out the maximum horsepower of 237Ps and 350N·m peak torque, the acceleration time of 100 kilometers is only 7.3s, and the CT5 is also the standard of this power system in the whole series. In the same price range, the 3 Series and A4L can only buy 2.0T low-power engines, and Mercedes-Benz can only buy 1.5T low-power engines.
It is worth mentioning that if you have a sufficient budget, then you can go up to the CT5's premium model, in the premium model, in addition to the same power system, Cadillac in order to further reflect the sportiness of the CT5, it is also equipped with electromagnetic induction suspension, rear axle limited slip differential and Brembo conjunctive four-piston brake calipers and other configurations, highlighting the cost performance at the same time, but also further enhance the product strength.
With such an excellent product strength, why are sales still inferior to BBA?
The reason why BBA can have such a large influence in the world and successfully become a first-line luxury brand must have its special features. And those special things about them are not available in Cadillac.
The first is the space, as a luxury brand B-class car, its space performance must meet the needs of the family. In its class, the Cadillac CT5 has the largest body size, with a body length of nearly five meters, but its rear space performance is the most general.
Someone once used such a sentence to ridicule the American car: the American car, like the Chinese house, has a pool area. Indeed, the same longitudinal engine, C-class, 3 Series long shaft and A4L space optimization is significantly better, although their spatial performance can not be compared with some joint venture brand horizontal front-drive platform B-class cars, but it is absolutely sufficient, everything is just right.
The picture shows the rear space of the Audi A4L
The Cadillac CT5 is different, although the legroom is still acceptable, but due to the design of the back, the roof of the rear will occupy a part of the interior space downwards, so that as long as the height of more than 1 meter 7 passengers, there will be a head situation. And "benefiting" from the traditional arts of the general, the Cadillac CT5 is not equipped with a headrest in the middle of the rear, which is not so friendly to the middle passengers.
The figure shows the CT5 rear space
Secondly, the reason why it is called a luxury brand, then the sense of luxury must be a necessary and sufficient condition for the luxury brand, and in the creation of the sense of luxury, CT5 is also not outstanding.
As we all know, Mercedes-Benz C-class has always been the interior luxury as the biggest selling point, not to mention the new C-class, even if it was designed 6 years ago, it is not outdated at all; BMW 3 Series Since the replacement, the creation of a luxurious atmosphere has also been significantly improved, although it is still unable to compare with Mercedes-Benz, but it is very brand-specific; and although the Audi A4L is not piled up like Mercedes-Benz BMW, its workmanship and texture are indeed the most outstanding, The texture of each knob and the sound of each button pressed will definitely leave a deep impression on consumers.
Pictured is the interior of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class
On the other hand, cadillac CT5, although its workmanship materials have been much better than the former Cadillac, but in the design, it is not visible luxury, ordinary and featureless. Therefore, for Cadillac, the top priority should be to quickly increase the luxury of the product, so as to occupy more market share.
The picture shows the ct5 interior
The last point, which I think should be the most important point, is brand positioning. Although Cadillac is still a standard luxury brand at this stage, in the psychology of the majority of consumers, the gap between it and BBA in brand positioning is gradually widening, which has a certain relationship with its consistent marketing strategy of discounting and reducing prices, which may indeed have the effect of increasing sales in a short period of time, but in the long run, it will damage brand positioning.
epilogue:
Obviously, domestic car consumers are no longer the group of people who "listened to the wind is rain" ten years ago, and whether the product is good or bad, the market will directly prove it through sales. For Cadillac at this stage, it is the most important task to occupy more market share and improve its influence and voice. To complete this task, we should fully absorb the opinions of consumers, do a good job of space optimization and enhance the sense of luxury, rather than blindly relying on discounts in exchange for sales. After all, I believe that Cadillac's ultimate goal should be to align with the BBA, not to be relegated to a common joint venture brand.