Over the past while, Cadillac has been running laps around its crosstown rival Lincoln. It really wasn't much of a competition at all. Though Cadillac is still winning overall right now, Lincoln is gaining ground quickly. This becomes clear if you take a look at sales info for the first half of 2014.
Over the first half of the year, Lincoln sales have increased 16.3% when compared to last year's sales. At the same time, Cadillac has seen its sales decrease by 2%. The trend becomes more interesting when you look at the specific vehicles in each brand's lineup.
The Cadillac ATS has seen sales decrease by 22.3%. It has been losing sales to vehicles like the Mercedes-Benz CLA, which undercuts the ATS' price. The Cadillac XTS has also seen sales decrease by 21.8%. The really scary thing about that is that these were Cadillac's second and third best selling vehicles last year.
On the Lincoln side of things, the MKZ saw sales rise by 31.4% in the first half of the year. That's incredible! It also speaks to a longer term trend in this classic rivalry.
Sure right now Cadillac is outselling Lincoln, but if the trend continues the way it is, that sales lead could be lost over the coming years. With people not buying the ATS as much, it will be harder for Cadillac to upgrade loyal customer because they won't have those customers in the first place.
Just to have a full disclosure, here are the sales growth stats for both companies' full lineups.
ATS - Down 22.3%
CTS - Up 5.8%
XTS - Down 21.8%
SRX - Up 20.3%
Escalade - Down 2%
MKZ - Up 31.4%
MKS - Down 8.3%
MKT - Down 15.6%
MKX - 12.4%
Navigator - Down 4.6%
