Ten Minutes with Uwe Ellinghaus, Cadillac Marketing Director

It was a significant auto show for resurgent American brand Cadillac, owing to the unveiling of the CT6 sedan that will be new top model of the brand's range.

After speaking with company president Johan de Nysschen, we sat down with marketing director Uwe Ellinghaus for a counterpoint.

Auto World News: Who put on the Tuesday night event?

Uwe Ellinghaus: There were several agencies involved to set it up. Our usual lineup...and a few others. Did you like it?

It was unlike most other GM events I've attended.

That's kind of what we wanted. I got a couple of comments regarding the very industrial location. You know what? I knew that beforehand, but I said, "it just feels right." This is the cool New York, not Midtown. For those who want the Upper East Side, because they are that snobby, my message is that there is no venue on the Upper East Side where you could have an event like this.

Why is the CT- renaming starting with CT6?

We said that this car needs to get across that it is the best of two worlds: the size and the luxury and the comfort of a 7-Series or an S-class, but also the agility and driving dynamics of midsize luxury, like CTS, a 5-Series, or an E-class. When we were discussing which is the right number, behind our new nomenclature that was already decided, the only question was: Do we call it CT5, 6, 7, or 8? We knew that whatever we would actually do would either lead to a comparison with Audi or BMW, even or un-even numbers. Our view was, and is, that we need to create a holistic view of our future portfolio. This car is not the end of our dreams, in terms of our car lineup, and we have discussions about an even bigger car than the CT6 is. I made a strong plea that, if we call it CT7, for example, it will inevitably be compared to the 7-Series. But it is only as big as a 7-Series short-wheelbase, which is a car that isn't available in China, which will probably be the biggest market for this car. So I was slightly concerned that a comparison to the 7-Series long-wheelbase could harm the success of the car, which simply isn't that big. That's why I said, learning from 20 years in luxury marketing, luxury brands under-promise and over-deliver. If we say CT6 instead of 7, but people say, "That's almost a 7!" that's fine. But if we say CT7, and they say, "That's not a 7!" we are in trouble.

You mentioned China. Is it a short-term strategy? What's after China?

Well, not India, if that's what you were hinting at, because some people still think that India will be the next China. I disagree, but that's not the point. I think that China will still see further growth, but of course their growth rate will go backwards, for a very simple reason: The luxury market in China has now a dimension that, where doubling the number of volumes is simply impossible, as we had it every other year in the past. So while we see more moderate growth figures, it will be the number-one luxury market going forward, and I don't think that the U.S. or Europe in total will catch up again. What I do think is that the Chinese market will mature much more quickly than people currently think. It's probably fair to say that the age is over in which the automotive industry can solve all its problems by [bringing] their cars to China. The Chinese audience is very, very demanding. They are traveling a lot. They see what brands are doing the world over. They are more and more questioning the value of premium brands. Like in the other, mature markets, if you don't have the product substance that they want, the brand image they desire, you will have a hard time being successful in China. In the early years, it looked like whatever you had to offer, product and brand-wise, somehow worked. This is not the case. The German luxury makes in China will be as ubiquitous as they are in suburbia in the U.S. and in Europe, and the appetite of Chinese luxury buyers to buy an alternative to the Europeans will be as pronounced in a couple of years as it already is in some other areas of the world. An American luxury brand will, going forward, have a competitive advantage. There's also great appreciation of U.S. culture in China, which is a certain extent surprising for many Americans given the political relationship which is not always tension-free, but nowhere else will you see '67 Eldorados in showrooms, but in China. Chinese love brands with heritage. Heritage creates authenticity. This is what their own domestic brands don't have. This is why we're playing the heritage card in China a little more than in other markets.

Do you see room for partnerships with other brands as you expand in the U.S. and in export markets?

I don't want huge brand cooperations that arouse the impression that we need any other brand to elevate our own image. I think luxury brands need to talk to customers with confidence. We have all the reasons to be confident. You see a couple of them parked on our little display. I am absolutely willing to discuss partnerships for events or cooperations, but more temporarily, and probably over time, so I don't want an alliance between Cadillac and any other luxury brand of any category. I just think that it always smells like, "Don't they have the guts to do it on their own?" That's something I want to avoid.

Looking at the Cadillac portfolio ahead, Johan says he's very excited.

So am I.

How far away is the car you're most excited about?

The cars I'm most excited about, after the CT6, are all on the SUV side. It's the next-generation SRX, which will be the XT5. As Johan surely mentioned, we are planning an SUV below the SRX, and between the Escalade and the XT5, both SUVs not truck-derived. Looking at the growth in the luxury markets the world over, including China, this is what we need the most. Not just from a volume point of view, but from a brand-building point of view. As the SUVs are lifestyle objects more than anything else-they have nothing to do with off-road driving any longer-and particularly younger customers like the versatility that they offer, and that you can get your leisure gadgets in there, as you can't in a sedan. Once we have a proper SUV lineup, and the iconic Escalade on top, this will elevate the brand further.

In a previous conversation, you mentioned there was too much equity in "Escalade" to change the name. Lincoln says the same thing about "Continental." Does it work for a brand like Lincoln, too?

In all due respect, the Escalade has brand equity like almost no other model underneath a brand or nameplate. I think its iconic nature is totally unique. In all due respect, I don't think that any of our competitors can claim the same. What I do still defend is that it was right to keep the name "Escalade" because of the equity, and not make it part of the new nomenclature-not least because it the only truck-derived addition to our portfolio, and probably always will [be]. I think the Escalade customers identify so much with the Escalade nameplate, and not just with Cadillac as a brand, that it would have been a tremendous mistake to disregard this equity and call it "XT10," or whatever it would be. Regarding names for cars, I think it is very difficult to communicate or elevate the brand name and let the brand be the driver of passion and get people to recognize all the names of the models underneath. I really think that an alphanumeric nomenclature that sorts the cars out, size and price-wise, underneath an emotional brand like Cadillac is a much better way forward.

Can you offer a status update on ELR?

That's a very good question. In the last few weeks, sales were pretty good, but it's totally fair to say that the car didn't live up to our volume expectations. I still think this is no precursor of the future of Cadillac regarding cars with alternative drivetrain. For a couple of reasons, the sales are where they are. We still need, going forward, cars with alternative propulsion systems. Going forward, it is much smarter to not position certain cars as saying, "This is our car with alternative propulsion," whether a plug-in hybrid or not, but rather offer this version in regular cars for those that want it-so that it becomes almost an option like all-wheel drive. It will become more and more demanded, but you cannot build a brand or a nameplate on it. Even Tesla, however successful they currently are, has built an entire brand around the electro-mobility concept. That's all great, as long as they are unique. Given their success, the entire automotive industry will definitely increase their efforts regarding alternative propulsion systems, and then [Tesla] becomes almost a hygiene factor than a differentiator.

When you're relocating to New York, which neighborhoods interest you?

I live in Hell's Kitchen, within walking distance from here. As they say, everything that is too ugly for New York ends up in Hell's Kitchen-whether it's me, a cruise ship, car dealerships, a car wash, parking lots, UPS stations, or whatever. Why did I choose this location? It's a little of how New York was 20 years ago. It's very diverse, very demanding, and very loud, but I just like that. I admit that, when I accepted this job, I was already told that there were plans to move to New York, but I didn't know where my office [would be]. That's why I said to myself, if I move to Midtown, I'll be within distance of my office, wherever it might be, making the commute easy. That's why I ended up there.

It's an interesting moment for Cadillac to move to New York, as the Hudson Yards luxury project is being finished and administrations and their priorities change. This is a long-term move for Cadillac?

Absolutely. This is a long-term move. We can't make this dependent on certain political prerequisites and policies that are in place. I still think that New York is, after all, the epicenter of luxury and the most cosmopolitan town in the world. Whoever governs New York will not take these elements away. It's also fair to say that we've really had a warm welcome from New York, and the local authorities and politicians have been grateful for our decision to move to New York. This also has something to do with that we are the only car brand in the world that has a hub in New York. Even the Germans, who are still in the area, are in suburbia, but that means New Jersey.

Do you see a bigger presence for Cadillac in greater New York City?

Yes, there's no doubt. As you might know, we have a showroom at 330 Hudson on the ground floor. We can't get many cars in, and we're not thinking of selling cars, but it will be a great brand experience. Going forward, and that holds true for Los Angeles as much as it does for New York, we need a strategy of how we tackle the potential of these cities better. The problem is [finding] a dealer who is willing to invest that much money that is required to set up a dealer in New York. Real estate costs a fortune. Labor is a fortune. Therefore, our competitors have decided to do it on their own, and open their own sales outlets. We are not necessarily thinking of doing something like that, but we do know one thing: We need to reach out to buyers in the two biggest luxury markets in the U.S., Los Angeles and New York. It is amiss that no one in New York drives a car. Nonsense. Greater New York is the second-biggest luxury car market, just after L.A.

There's a reason you can never find a parking spot here: Cars are parked in them.

It's so funny that people tell me, "Uwe, no one drives in New York."

Auto World News was on the ground and covering the 2015 New York International Auto Show. Check out our up-to-the-minute coverage of all the action in New York City, and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.