Now, in order to continue to expand their sphere of influence in the sports car market, Cadillac plans to introduce CT4 into China this year. Compared with the length of CT5 of 4,924 mm, CT4 is only 4,760 mm. Although it is not a loss for BMW 3 Series standard shaft and mercedes benz c Class standard shaft, the above two are already "things in the bag" of CT5 at present. So how will Cadillac CT4 be laid out and who should it be competitive with?
About Cadillac CT4.
For Cadillac's first model launched globally, Cadillac CT4 is sufficient to assist its brand's business layout and development in the auto market, so that the China market, which is very important to Cadillac, can enjoy the brand-new feeling brought by this model at the first time.
Judging from the previous declaration, CT4 is also sold domestically, and the specific time may be in the second half of the year. In addition, at the design level, CT4 has also caught up with Cadillac's latest design style, which can be said to be almost the same as CT5. After domestic production, CT4 will also adopt two appearance kits, one is luxury and the other is sports.
In June 5438+last year 10, CT4 made its debut in China, and adopted a sports suit. It can be seen that the CT4 sports suit in the air intake grille of China Net adopts honeycomb blackening treatment, and a small amount of chrome-plated material makes it more prominent, and of course it will be more sporty. The deluxe edition will add chrome decoration to the net and even the whole body.
Coming to the side of the car body, CT4' s overall line sense also reveals stretching, and its visual effect is smoother than ATS-L, but slightly convergent than CT5' s slip-back design, giving CT4 a familiar and unfamiliar feeling. In addition, the length, width and height of CT4 are 4760/1815/1mm, and the wheelbase is 2775mm, which is obviously not too big for it to locate a medium-sized car.
In the rear part, there are obvious differences between CT4 and CT5 in design, but there are no iconic taillights, slightly inclined spoilers and bilateral exhaust. In the style of the rear bumper, the lines of CT4 are bolder and more stereoscopic. However, perhaps because of the spoiler, CT4 canceled the arrow-shaped design on the trunk lid before ATS-L, which would make people feel a little sorry.
In addition, in terms of interior layout, the domestic CT4 will be basically the same as the overseas version, which can be directly referenced. Compared with the interior of CT5, the layout similarity between them is relatively high, but there are obvious differences in the size of the central control screen (8 inches) and the style of the shift lever. In addition, Cadillac's latest CUE system will also be installed on CT4. In addition, for the performance of space, we have to wait until the actual experience after listing, but in terms of wheelbase parameters of 2775 mm, CT4 may be slightly better than the previous ATS-L.
Although the overseas version of CT4 is equipped with 2.0T and 2.7T engines, there is a high probability that the domestic 2.7T engine will not appear. After all, CT5 is currently only equipped with a 2.0T engine. Therefore, in the future, CT4 will also be equipped with a 2.0T turbocharged engine code-named LSY produced by SAIC-GM, but its parameter performance may be slightly lower than CT5, with a maximum power of 230 HP and a 10 automatic manual transmission. Importantly, CT4 will continue to adopt the layout structure of "front drive and rear drive" to meet the consumer's demand for the concept of "no rear drive and no movement".
Excellent size and dynamic advantages
Judging from the current product layout of Cadillac in the domestic market, the most likely models of CT4 in the future will be Mercedes-Benz CLA and BMW 2 Series Gran? Coupe, a new generation of Audi A3, and of course the domestic Mercedes-Benz A-class sedan will also be among them. In the face of the above competitors, Cadillac can directly take out the size card to some extent and directly break through the psychological defense of consumers. After all, space is still very important for China users.
In addition, it is power. The power layout of Cadillac CT4' s 2.0T system is bound to make those friends who are still struggling with 1.3T, or just getting started with 1.4T, 2.0T is a start, which may still be the idea of most consumers. What's more, the LSY engine starts with a maximum power output of 200 horses, and with the 10AT gearbox, it has to be said that it is "really fragrant".
So if CT4 aims at the 3-axis and C-axis, its advantages are actually simpler and cheaper! Who will think the price is cheap? What's more, Cadillac is a member of the luxury brand anyway, and there was a big brother CT5 to play before, well done!
Product positioning is an art.
Perhaps it is Cadillac's brand positioning that makes CT4 likely to be lost in thought. Horizontally, do you focus on smaller entry-level luxury brand models, or do you set off the CT5 to compete with the 3 Series and C Class with standard wheelbase?
If Cadillac is indecisive on this issue, or the decision is biased, it is very likely that CT4 will completely lose its market position. After all, several models including 1 sedan, Audi A3 and A-class sedan have now reached the market terminal price of 200,000, and even rushed into the price range of 200,000. Can CT4 accept this reality?
In addition, looking at the relationship between CT4 and CT5 vertically, both cars actually belong to the mid-level car camp in terms of positioning, but CT5 is slightly larger. For overseas markets without long wheelbase, their division becomes very clear. As for the particularity of China market, Cadillac seems to be able to make up for the vacancy in product layout in this way, but it is at least possible whether it will have a negative impact in the end.
Maintain the final brand premium
It is not uncommon for several American brands, including Cadillac, to bully small ones, and so is CT5. Therefore, after the arrival of CT4, there is bound to be a high probability of doing something similar. Then, while competing with several luxury brands, CT4 can even snatch some consumers who were originally wandering in the joint venture brand mid-size car market by virtue of its size advantage.
However, it is also possible that when CT5 gradually begins to take the old road of terminal concession, it will also force CT4 at a lower level to make the same decision, so how much room can CT4 reduce its price? Referring to the situation of ATS-L hoarding before, can Cadillac accept the price of landing less than 200 thousand? If the answer is yes, it means that the brand value is drifting with the tide.
Editor's comment:
Cadillac brought CT4 and CT5 into the China market almost at the same time, which is undoubtedly an impact on the luxury brand mid-size car market. However, due to the situation, users must have a clear psychological construction about how long Cadillac can persist in this wave. But it is undeniable that CT4 and CT5 are successful in building sports cars. Whether it is design or power, every link is deeply rooted in the hearts of consumers in China. In a word, how Cadillac prices CT4 and positions CT4 is the most important, which even determines the life cycle of CT4 in China market.
This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.