Cadillac has announced the price for its 2020 XT6, a three-row SUV that goes on sale this spring.
The XT6 will start at $53,690 for the premium luxury front-wheel drive model.
The XT6 lineup also includes the XT6 Sport, with standard Sport Control all-wheel drive, which starts at $58,090.
One Cadillac dealer said the starting price might be too high to draw in new customers.
"I notice a lot of luxury manufacturers don't even advertise price or they advertise their lowest-priced cars," said Lynn Thompson, co-owner of Thompson Motor Sales in Springfield, Mo.
"Will (XT6) sell at that price? I'm not sure. With pricing it seems like everything's gotten so high and analysts are saying that prices have gone up so much it's hurting new vehicle sales. We're seeing it too. Our used car sales are doing real good, but new is suffering."
Through February, Thompson said his sales of new GMC vehicles are up 10 percent from a year ago. His Buick sales are flat, but Cadillac sales are down 2 percent. As a result, Thompson said he wants to reduce his Cadillac inventory by about a third.
"We'll have to not take anything for a while and dealer trade for what we need," said Thompson.
Cadillac's smaller XT4 compact SUV, introduced last year and starting at $34,795, has drawn female customers to look at it, Thompson said, and he likes the advertising Cadillac has done on it. But it's not selling well for him.
"The problem is they often advertise a car that they starts under $35,000, but the one they show costs $50,000," said Thompson. "We carry them starting at $41,000 to $42,000 and that's the low range for us. Everybody that drives it, loves the car. Cadillac sales just have not been very strong at all."
The XT4 went on sale in the fall of 2018. Cadillac sold 7,785 of them in the United States last year.
Cadillac ended 2018 with its U.S. sales down 1.1 percent at 154,702. By comparison rivals such as BMW saw its North American sales rise 1.7 percent to 311,014 in 2018. Lexus, however, reported a decline in its U.S. sales of 2.2 percent to 298,310.
Improved quality
Cadillac boss Steve Carlisle said the brand has improved quality. Earlier this year, Cadillac completed its move from New York back to Warren to be closer to designers as the brand embarks an expansive product launch, rolling out a new vehicle every six months through 2021.
The XT6, Carlisle said, is designed for comfort and luxury, while offering the latest technology.
"The XT6 is designed to make every seat the best seat in the house, with every inch carefully considered to offer refinement, comfort, connectivity and safety," Carlisle, Cadillac's president, said in a media statement. "XT6 will offer customers a high level of content with choices for style and driving character."
General Motors unveiled the XT6 at the Detroit auto show, targeting the similar buyer demographic as those who buy Cadillac's full-size, flagship SUV, the Escalade, which starts at $75,195. Those buyers typically have an annual household income of at least $200,000, 87 percent have a college education and most are in their 40s.
Cadillac designers designed the XT6 to be a "little brother" to the Escalade with the "stance and presence of a Cadillac, to be used for everyday life," said Andrew Smith, Cadillac's executive director of design.
"This fills the gap between the XT5 (five-seat SUV) buyer who needs something bigger and the Escalade buyer who needs something smaller," Smith said.
Cadillac said the premium luxury model has bright chrome exterior accents where as the sport version has glossy black accent and "more aggressive, performance-inspired details," Cadillac said. Both models include advanced lighting technology.
Standard features for both XT6 Premium Luxury and Sport models include the following safety and driver assist features:
Seven standard airbags
HD rear vision camera with Remote Wash
Forward collision alert
Following distance indicator
Automatic emergency braking
Front pedestrian braking
Front and rear park assist
Lane change alert with side blind zone alert
Rear cross traffic alert
Lane keeping assist
Rear seat reminder
Teen drive
All XT6 models are powered by a 3.6-liter V-6 engine that generates 310 horsepower and features direct injection, active fuel management and stop/start technologies.
It is matched with a nine-speed automatic transmission controlled via Cadillac's Electronic Precision Shift, which uses electronic controls in place of a conventional mechanical linkage.
All-wheel drive is available on Premium Luxury and a performance-oriented Sport Control AWD system is standard on XT6 Sport.
Cadillac will begin accepting orders of the 2020 XT6 this month.