Cadillac’s retail sales grew 43 percent from a year earlier to 36,200, its best first-quarter tally since 2014. Retail sales are on an eight-month growth streak, the longest since 2013. The brand’s average transaction price rose to a record-high $58,550. And dealerships’ return on sales reached a record 4.3 percent.
“As you invest in the future, momentum today is as important. This is not about promise making. This is about promise keeping,” Samara said. “That promise has been kept today and will continue for the future with Lyriq and our EVs beyond Lyriq as well.”
Cadillac will open Lyriq reservations in September, but the brand and its dealer council are working to finalize the dealership allocation strategy.
“We have already had a couple of discussions,” Samara said, “and I feel we are in a good place whereby we’ll have a plan that is aligned between what Cadillac wants and also a plan that is ready for the dealers to act upon.”
Cadillac has worked to keep the global microchip shortage from disrupting the rollout of the Lyriq and gasoline-powered CT4-V Blackwing and CT5-V Blackwing performance sedans. It also has kept production going for high-margin, fast-turning vehicles such as the Escalade full-size SUV.
In contrast, the Fairfax Assembly plant in Kansas that builds the Cadillac XT4 is in the midst of five months of downtime to conserve chips, until at least July 5. A Michigan plant that builds the CT4 and CT5 is shut down for May and June, except to support CT4-V Blackwing and CT5-V Blackwing production in June. Spring Hill Assembly in Tennessee, which builds the XT5 and XT6 crossovers, has also had downtime over the past few months.
