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Steve Carlisle replaces Johan de Nysschen as head of Cadillac

Johan de Nysschen, a longtime automotive industry executive, is out the door at Cadillac after four years at the helm of GM's flagship luxury brand. Steve Carlisle will replace de Nysschen as General Motors senior vice president and president, Cadillac. Carlisle previously served as president and managing director of GM Canada. Travis Hester will replace Carlisle in that role, starting immediately. "We appreciate Johan's efforts over the last four years in setting a stronger foundation for Cadillac," said General Motors President Dan Ammann. That strong foundation is mostly seen overseas. Cadillac has seen record sales in China under de Nysschen's watch, but has continued to flounder in its home market of the United States with market share significantly lower than rival brands like Audi, BMW, Lexus, and Mercedes-Benz. Growth in the U.S. market is mostly happening with crossovers and SUVs, and Cadillac has been trailing its German and Japanese rivals on that front. The brand-new XT4 is seen as a big potential sales booster for the automaker, but its late arrival has already hurt the brand's sales figures here in America. "Looking forward, the world is changing rapidly, and, beginning with the launch of the new XT4, it is paramount that we capitalize immediately on the opportunities that arise from this rate of change," said Ammann. "This move will further accelerate our efforts in that regard." Carlisle will report directly to Ammann in his role as the head of the Cadillac brand. Related Video:

Cadillac XT4 crossover to be built in Kansas City

Cadillac's upcoming XT4, a crossover we've previously known as the XT3 in a long series of spy shots of heavily camouflaged mules, will be built at General Motors' assembly plant in Kansas City on the same platform as the Chevrolet Malibu, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the plan. That will give Cadillac another entry in the red-hot luxury crossover segment and, GM hopes, help to reverse a sales slump in the U.S. It'll also breath life into the Kansas City plant that makes the slow-selling Malibu, where GM cut a third shift last year, by sharing the assembly line between the crossover and sedan and defraying costs for each vehicle. The XT4 was known most recently as the XT3, with styling cues based on the Escala concept sedan from 2016. It's slightly smaller than the XT5, Cadillac's top-selling vehicle, and will also augment the full-size Escalade in Cadillac's stable of SUVs when it makes its expected debut later this year. Cadillac last week reported its second-highest-ever sales mark with 356,467 vehicles, an increase of 15.5 percent over 2016. But that mark papers over an 8 percent sales decline in the U.S. to 156,440 vehicles. The luxury brand is on a hot streak in China, where sales jumped 50.8 percent last year to 175,489 units.Related Video: Image Credit: Brian Williams Plants/Manufacturing Cadillac Chevrolet GM Crossover sales cadillac xt5 cadillac xt4 cadillac xt3

Cadillac teases production ELR ahead of Detroit Auto Show

General Motors has just confirmed that the 2014 Cadillac ELR will make its official debut next month at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show. We've already seen the ELR testing earlier this year using the same range-extended electric drive system as the Chevrolet Volt, and based on the shadowy image above, we're happy to see that the coupe's styling has stayed pretty true to 2009 Converj Concept.
The two-door ELR will be built alongside the Volt at GM's Detroit-Hamtramck plant starting later next year. Aside from this info, Cadillac has remained tight-lipped on the specific details of the car. But all that will all change on January 15.
Until then, all we have to offer you is the press release posted after the jump.