New Cadillac Flagship Named CT6

General Motors will call the next flagship Cadillac sedan CT6, making it the first in a future lineup of cars to use a new alphanumeric nomenclature.

“As we expand the portfolio, we can assist consumers in placing the cars within a structure, as they compare cars both within our showroom and across the market generally,” Cadillac marketing chief Uwe Ellinghaus says in an announcement today detailing the brand’s new naming convention.

“However, this will be an evolutionary process,” he adds. “We will only change a product’s name when the product itself is redesigned or an all-new model is created, as in this instance.”

At the Geneva auto show earlier this year, Ellinghaus told WardsAuto a change was coming to how Cadillac vehicles are named.

“We fully acknowledge this has to improve,” he said. “We may lose customers who do not know where the car fits.”

The model name CT6 derives from Cadillac’s use of CTS for its centerpiece carline, arguably the most sophisticated vehicle from GM in the modern era. Going forward, all car models will use the “CT” lettering and a number “indicating the relative size and position of the cars in the hierarchy of Cadillac models,” GM says.

The new approach comes quick on the heels of GM hiring longtime luxury-segment executive Johan de Nysschen away from Infiniti as Cadillac president, responsible for global sales, pricing and network development, strategic brand development and marketing and product portfolio planning. He also will offer input to product engineering and design.

While at Infiniti, de Nysschen overhauled that brand’s roundly criticized nomenclature. All cars at Infiniti now use the letter “Q,” while CUVs and SUVs use the combination of “QX.” Numbers follow to indicate vehicle size and position in the Infiniti lineup.

It has been a busy summer for Cadillac since de Nysschen came on board July 11. The brand announced earlier this week plans to relocate its sales and marketing team from Detroit to a new Cadillac headquarters in New York City, and GM veteran Jim Bunnell was named the brand’s fourth head of sales in two years.

GM broke news of the CT6 on Sept. 16. The rear-wheel-drive car will be shown early next year and arrive at dealers near the end of the year. It is expected to give Cadillac a genuine competitor to large, six-figure sedans from German brands such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

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