GM Exporting Caddy to South Africa
General Motors Corp. will begin exporting Cadillacs to South Africa in the fourth quarter, along with a small number of Cadillac models to Australia in late 2007. The vehicles exported to South Africa will hail from the GM assembly plant in Lansing, Mich., and will be outfitted with right-hand drive to comply with South African regulations.
Jim Taylor, Cadillac general manager, said the push comes as part of Cadillac's continuing effort to build up its sales in markets in Europe, Asia, and elsewhere in the world. The effort will require patience, he said. Nevertheless, Cadillac sales in China, where GM started selling its luxury brand in 2005, have more than doubled this year. Taylor added Cadillac sales in Russia also have picked up significantly this year.
Taylor said GM is making a concerted effort to re-establish Cadillac as a global brand. European luxury brands are now all over the world and Japanese luxury brands, such as Lexus and Infiniti, also have been expanding into new markets. Cadillac's expansion into South Africa is being helped by GM's decision to build a South African assembly plant for right-hand versions of the HUMMER H3, he said. New Cadillac dealerships in South Africa have showrooms for selling HUMMERs as part of GM's strategy to sell both Cadillacs and HUMMERs in the same dealerships outside of North America, Taylor said.
Joe Szczesny (the carconnection.com)
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