Sales of Caddy’s XT4 are down 12 percent this year though the model is less expensive for 2025
- Cadillac will end production of the XT4 SUV at its Fairfax, Kanas, plant in January.
- The site, which also loses the Chevy Malibu this month, will build the new Bolt EV next year.
- XT4 sales are down in 2024 and the SUV lost its base model for 2025.
Cadillac is killing off its smallest and cheapest SUV, the XT4, which starts at just under $38,000. Production will officially grind to a halt at GM’s Fairfax plant in Kansas come January 2025, marking the end of the line for the first – and only – generation of the crossover after seven years on sale. This decision leaves buyers with two options: upgrade to the larger, pricier XT5 – which starts at nearly $44,000 – or take their business to rival brands.
The reality is they’re already shopping elsewhere and Cadillac knows it. XT4 sales are down 12 percent this year despite the model receiving a makeover for the 2024 season that brought sharper styling and a Lyriq-style dashboard featuring a curved infotainment display and Google integration.
The Fairfax facility was due to build both the XT4 and Chevy’s new Bolt EV – scheduled to begin production in late 2025 – next year, but parent company GM says the plant will now only be used to make the Bolt. Fairfax currently also builds the Chevrolet Malibu sedan, but production of the mid-size sedan ends this month.
GM had already announced in September that almost 1,700 jobs would be lost at the site while it underwent a $390 million transformation into a modern EV center. The layoffs begin on November 18 when 686 full-time workers and 250 temporary staff are shown the door, followed by another 759 job cuts on January 12, Reuters reported.
The automaker does intend to get the workers back on site later in 2025 for the start of Bolt production, but that’s a long time to wait without a paycheck.
Cadillac cut like-for-like XT4 prices by between $400-700 for 2025, but it also dropped the base model, effectively bumping the minimum spend from $39,090 to $41,990. The latest versions offset that burden by coming equipped with the Active safety package – adaptive cruise, lane-keeping, surround-view camera – that was previously a $1,825 option.
The XT4 only lasted a single generation, having made its debut in 2018 as Cadillac’s take on the Chevrolet Equinox. It’s also built in Shanghai, China, where production is expected to continue.
