Sales exec will help Cadillac in Europe

MUNICH, Germany -- General Motors has appointed an executive to help Cadillac better coordinate its operations in Europe.Last month, in an announcement made internally, GM named Wolfgang Schubert as its executive director of sales and marketing for Cadillac, Hummer and Corvette in Europe.GM executives will not say that sluggish sales of the BLS are the sole reason behind Schubert's appointment to the newly created position.But Gerard Jansen, COO of Cadillac and Corvette Europe, said "performance of the BLS" was one factor in the addition of Schubert at Cadillac Europe's headquarters in Amster dam, the Netherlands."He will help in overall positioning," Jansen told Automotive News Europe in a telephone interview.Jansen said Schubert will help coordinate strategy among GM Europe's headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland; GM's head office in Detroit; and Kroymans Corp., the Dutch importer and distributor for Cadillac, Corvette and Hummer.Schubert comes from GM's Brussels office, where he coordinated European Union affairs for the automaker.In his new position, Schubert will report to Jonathon Browning, vice president of sales and marketing for GM Europe.Jansen said Schubert's primary tasks will include: Increasing fleet and leasing sales for the BLS. Coordinating media buying for Cadillac. Finding synergies on sales and marketing with other GM Europe brands.Jansen said Schubert's position formalizes relations with GM Europe and Cadillac and Corvette Europe."It is an organizational change," Jansen said.The timing of the announcement coincides with the BLS' sluggish sales this year. Jansen said Cadillac has recorded about 1,000 registrations of the BLS since it went on sale in March, which is below expectations.GM had hoped the introduction of the BLS, dubbed the "baby Cadillac," would help its luxury division nearly quadruple its European volume by the end of next year.James Vurpillat, Cadillac's director for international marketing and brand development, said with a full year of BLS sales next year, Cadillac could sell 8,000 units, up from 2,019 units in western Europe last year, according to JATO Dynamics in the United Kingdom.Vurpillat said sales of the BLS could account for three-quarters of Cadillac volume, with as many as 3,000 units devoted to fleet sales."The role of the BLS is to change the mind-set of the European consumer," Vurpillat told Automotive News Europe last March.Cadillac's European entry began with the introduction of the CTS sedan in 2003. The BLS is the first Cadillac to appear in the luxury mid-sized car segment and the first to feature a turbodiesel engine.GM declined to make Schubert available for an interview. You may e-mail Jason Stein at jstein@craincom.de

Sales exec will help Cadillac in Europe

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