Sedans Still Winning: Cadillac CT5 Is Brand's Best Selling Vehicle

Sedans may not be as popular as they used to be, but the global sales of Cadillac's recently refreshed CT5 don't lie.

By: Peter Holderith

Jan 22, 2024 at 11:51am ET

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Sedan sales have been on the downswing for some time. The general public now prefers high-riding crossovers and SUVs for a number of reasons. That doesn't mean nobody wants low-slung four-doors, though. The recently refreshed Cadillac CT5 is a prime example of the format's endurance. The car was Cadillac's number one seller globally in 2023 thanks mostly to the two major sedan markets left standing: The United States and China.

In a recent press conference, the vice president of global Cadillac, John Roth, noted that strong global deliveries have pushed the CT5 to these heights. It's worth noting that the vehicle's success isn't just a result of a sales slump in other models, either. The brand's overall sales rose almost over 9% in the United States alone.

Roth noted that the CT5's success was not a singular result of the Chinese market's taste for sedans. However, when we inquired about a global sales breakdown, a spokesperson for the automaker said "We don’t break out sales data across our global regions" and that "China is our largest CT5 market and about 20% of CT5 sales come from North America." Go figure.

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In the U.S., deliveries of the car rose around 17% in 2023 to 18,593 units, second only in growth to the all-electric Lyriq. The only other internal combustion-powered sedan Cadillac still sells, the CT4, didn't have as good of a year. Deliveries decreased by around 1.4% in North America to 9,144 units.

This is likely why the CT5 just got refreshed while the CT4 didn't. The fate of Caddy's compact sedan, built to take on the 3 Series in an era when that was still relevant, is unclear. It would be a shame to see it go, but brands like Ford have cut out sedans entirely. It's plausible that in a few years, there will only be room for one ICE sedan in Cadillac's lineup.