Not Moving Fast Enough, de Nysschen Out at Cadillac

Looking to accelerate the latest turnaround effort at its middling Cadillac unit, General Motors makes a major change at the very top of the brand, immediately replacing the charismatic luxury-car veteran Johan de Nysschen with longtime company executive and manager Steve Carlisle.

“We appreciate Johan’s efforts over the last four years in setting a stronger foundation for Cadillac,” GM President Dan Ammann says in a statement announcing the shakeup.

“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. This move will further accelerate our efforts in that regard.”

Cadillac’s marketing chief, Uwe Ellinghaus resigned for personal reasons in December.

De Nysschen came to Cadillac in surprise jump from Infiniti, the luxury division of Japanese automaker Nissan, where he was expected to work the same magic he did as the U.S. chief of Audi. Sales blossomed for the Volkswagen division under de Nysschen, although he did enjoy a flurry of new products during his eight-year tenure with the German luxury brand.

Cadillac promised a similar environment, which helped lure de Nysschen from less than two years with Infiniti, and at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit three years ago he unveiled a $12 billion investment by GM into Cadillac to bring new products to the industry’s hottest segments. De Nysschen said earlier this year he would accelerate that rollout by consolidating its sedan-heavy lineup and adding crossovers, hybrids and electric vehicles.

But Cadillac has been far behind luxury market leaders Mercedes, BMW and Audi to catch the rising shift to crossovers from sedans. Cadillac since has brought the XT5 midsize CUV to market (replacing the SRX) and later this year the smaller XT4 comes. But the gap with its rivals is widening rather than narrowing in the key U.S. market. International markets also now crave CUVs.

Cadillac’s U.S. sales last year fell 8.0% to 156,440 units, while BMW deliveries slumped a more modest 3.4% to 352,790 light vehicles and demand at Mercedes was off just 1.4% to 375,409, reflecting the ability of the Germans to respond more quickly to the market’s shift.

Carlisle globetrotter for GM.

In the same period, Cadillac’s U.S. market share fell to 0.91% from 0.97%, while Mercedes grew to 2.17% from 2.14% and BMW inched down to 1.78% from 1.79%.

De Nysschen, who led product planning for Cadillac and provided input to design and engineering, arguably delivered globally. Cadillac global sales grew 15.5% last year to 356,457 units for the second-biggest sales year in its 115-year history.

China was the key on volume of 24,534 vehicles. De Nysschen moved aggressively in China by establishing a $2 billion manufacturing footprint and dealer network early in his tenure to quickly drive up volume and book profits to fuel new-product entries.

“It was a very bold move,” de Nysschen told WardsAuto during an interview in Detroit earlier this year.

But results didn’t come quickly enough at a time when GM has pegged Cadillac as the next big cash cow for its operations next to pickups and SUVs. The automaker laid out a plan in January to push Cadillac global sales in a growing luxury market to nearly 600,000 units annually by 2021 and profitability up 100%, with the U.S. playing the main role in driving profits.

Rumors also swirled of a power struggle between GM brass and de Nysschen, who in his trademark bravado moved Cadillac’s headquarters from Detroit for the tonier SoHo neighborhood of New York City. He also boldly proclaimed recently that Cadillac would be the technical leader at GM in the future, underscored by the brand’s rollout of its Super Cruise automated-driving system last year, but the comment also diminishes Chevrolet, Buick and GMC.

Hester rising star at GM.

Also in the mix recently was the unveiling of an all-new twin-turbo V-8 for the Cadillac CT6 large sedan. It gives Cadillac a powerful engine to compete with rivals at the upper end of the car segment, but was a puzzling investment given the surge in electrification at premium global brands and given Cadillac’s inability to compete with higher-volume, lower-displacement powertrains.

Carlisle comes to Cadillac from GM Canada, where he served as president and managing director.

“The potential for Cadillac across the globe is incredible, and I’m honored to be chosen to be a part of mapping that future,” says Carlisle. “I look forward to building on our current momentum as we continue on our mission to position Cadillac at the pinnacle of luxury.”

Like de Nysschen, Carlisle also will report to Ammann. He is a GM lifer, beginning his career in 1982 as an industrial engineering co-op student at the Oshawa, Canada, assembly plant. Since then, Carlisle has trotted the globe for GM, serving in Asia between 2007 and 2010 and then running global product planning and U.S. sales operations before returning to Canada as its top executive.

Travis Hester, currently vice president-global product programs at GM, replaces Carlisle in Canada.

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