Responding to allegations that he would simply prefer to live in SoHo rather than Detroit, Johan de Nysschen — drawing from his experience at Audi under Volkswagen ownership — argues that the move is necessary to give Cadillac a true sense of independence as it attempts to transform itself into a true competitor in the luxury market.
“No distractions. No side shows. No cross-brand corporate considerations. No homogenized lowest common denominator approach,” he wrote on his Facebook page, as quoted by Daily Kanban and spotted by Autoblog. “Just pure, unadulterated, CLASS.”
The executive further argues that physical relocation forces the necessary “change to processes.” General Motors is said to be “getting its act together like you won’t believe,” but he nonetheless believes Cadillac must move to truly establish its own culture and policies.
“So, Detroit fans, I love your city, the success of Cadillac will be your success, the majority of our jobs remain in Detroit, and as we grow, these will increase too,” he adds. “But other than that – don’t mess with me.”
Regarding the choice to name Cadillac’s new flagship the CT6, de Nysschen dismisses the “armchair marketing experts” that have sounded off with their own opinions.
“Fortunately, I do not determine strategy based on the unfiltered observations of people who do not have a 360 degree understanding of the problem,” he quips.
Dismissing calls to lower prices that are currently on par with German rivals, the incoming brand chief recently cautioned that it could take 10 to 15 years before Cadillac can restore itself to one of the pre-eminent global premium brands — targeting an entirely different type of customer than the current buyer profile.
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