Sedans remain a dying breed. Last month, General Motors announced that it would discontinue the current Cadillac CT4 entirely after the 2026 model year, while promising to replace the CT5 with a new sedan within the next few years. Now, a report alleges that GM is planning to offer another passenger car—but the details are a bit murky.
According to GM Authority, citing “sources familiar with the matter,” the Detroit automaker is developing “multiple variants” of its new sedan platform. We know the platform will be able to accommodate combustion power, but it’s unclear how else GM plans to utilize the architecture.
We already know one car will serve as the next-generation CT5 replacement, but the word “variants” could mean a few different things. Maybe GM is developing different versions of the CT5—like a new V-Series Blacking—another Cadillac sedan, or something else entirely. Is it time to resurrect the Buick Grand National? At a minimum, can we at least get a new Malibu?
With its chief competitor, Stellantis, now doubling down on a combustion lineup, GM could head down the same path. The new platform that underpins Cadillac’s next sedan will be able to accommodate a gas engine, which, hopefully, means it will be able to fit a new V-8.
Photo by: Chevrolet
GM Authority also previously reported that the automaker will update its Alpha 2 platform for the new models, which underpin the current CT5 and CT4, as well as the discontinued sixth-generation Chevrolet Camaro. The CT5-V Blackwing on sale today features a supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 that produces 668 horsepower, so we have high hopes for whatever GM has planned.
When GM announced it’d kill the CT4 and introduce a new sedan, it also revealed it would build it at its Grand River Assembly plant in Lansing, Michigan. The company currently builds the two Cadillac sedans, and that’s it. GM likely needs to maximize production at the factory, and one sedan model likely won’t cut it.
Although sedans no longer sell as well as they once did, many automakers continue to offer a range of passenger cars. There are fewer options for consumers, but the fact that GM isn’t completely ending sedan production provides a glimmer of hope that the future won’t be filled with just crossovers, trucks, and SUVs.