GM is bringing a new Cadillac to Lansing

LANSING - General Motor Co.'s Lansing Grand River Assembly plant could stop making the Cadillac ATS and CTS in 2019.

Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen told Reuters last month that the ATS, CTS and Detroit-made XTS would be replaced by a new sedan called the CT5, which could be priced between $35,000 and $45,000. The CT5 would be built in Lansing along with another luxury sedan that would compete with the Audi A3, de Nysschen said in the article.

"We are working to balance our product portfolio to reflect luxury market demands," wrote Cadillac spokesman Donny Nordlicht in an email. "As the current ATS, CTS and XTS run their natural course until the end of their planned life-cycle, we will introduce two completely new sedans, positioned in different segments and clearly differentiated by size and price while exhibiting the latest evolution of the Cadillac design language."

Sales for the Lansing-built luxury sedans have continued to plummet. In July, the ATS and CTS were among the lowest-selling vehicles in GM's portfolio, with 777 and 786 delivered, respectively. The only models still in production that sold fewer were the Cadillac XTS, the imported convertible Buick Cascada and the Buick Verano.

From January to July, CTS deliveries declined 36% to just below 6,000 compared to last year. ATS deliveries dropped 32% to just below 8,000. The Chevrolet Camaro accounts for 75% of the production at the plant with 41,280 sold year to date.

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Neither Nordlicht nor GM's Lansing-based spokeswoman Erin Davis would expand upon de Nysschen's statements.

Davis added that GM announced last year it would invest $211 million into the Lansing Grand River plant for new tooling for future Cadillac products as well as expand the body shop.

GM laid off 500 workers from the plant in January and cut the third shift due to declining sales of the ATS, CTS and Camaro driven by the popularity of trucks and crossovers.

Two shifts are still necessary at the plant to meet market demand, said Ben Frantz, vice president of UAW Local 652, which represents the workers at the plant.

"Being in the luxury segment, you drive quality, you don't always drive numbers," he said.

The CTS is likely to be phased out in mid-2019 with the ATS following by the end of the year, said Alan Baum, principal of Baum and Associates, a West Bloomfield company that provides automotive forecasts.

Baum said ATS and CTS sales may be low as Cadillac has focused its attention on its flagship sedan, the CT6. Rolling the two Lansing Cadillacs into one can pay off.

"The sum of the CTS and ATS sales combined will be exceeded by the CT5," he said.

Contact Alexander Alusheff at (517) 388-5973 or aalusheff@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexalusheff.