Cadillac launches the third generation of the CTS
- Cadillac launches the third generation of the CTS. This model is classified as a “E segment” car according to the European segmentation and a "luxury compact car" according to the the United States segmentation. It competes with Mercedes E Class, BMW 5 Series, Audi A6 and the Lincoln MKZ (formerly Zephyr) on North American, European, Chinese and Russian markets.
- The first generation Cadillac CTS was launched in 2002 to replace the Cadillac Catera (rebadged Opel Omega) which had not been successful. This first generation CTS quickly established on the U.S. market where it dominated it ahead of the E-Class and 5 Series (61,000 sales in 2005) during a while.
- In 2007 the second generation of the CTS was launched. It also dominated the market during a while, ahead of the E-Class and 5 Series (59,000 sales in 2008). In 2012, however, it came behind the two German cars.
- This is the reason why a third generation appeared in 2013, this time clearly inspired by the line and the calendar of the Mercedes E-Class. It is to be noted that the Lincoln MKZ and Audi A6 are less sold since 2002 than the three leaders in this category.
