DETROIT — Cadillac is trolling the launch of the redesigned Lincoln Navigator by offering a $5,000 discount to customers who trade in a 1999 or newer Lincoln model for a new Escalade.
It's an interesting play for the General Motors brand in an attempt to retain its dominance in the full-size luxury SUV market. It's one that sibling brand Chevrolet should learn from and utilize against Tesla.
Chevrolet appears to be doing little to nothing to attract the hundreds of thousands of consumers who could wait years for a Tesla Model 3 into a Chevrolet Bolt EV — an all-electric car with comparable performance to Elon Musk's cars from "manufacturing hell."
I'm not saying put $5,000 on the hood and lose even more money on the Bolt EV, but how about matching the $1,000 refundable deposit for anyone on the Model 3 waitlist who purchases a Bolt EV instead?
Steve Majoros, U.S. marketing director of Chevrolet cars and crossovers, said the brand did some cross-market research in an early Bolt EV buyer study about whether people who purchase the car were interested or waiting for the Model 3. He said the results were "pretty interesting," though he declined to provide details.
"You can imagine it was a pretty healthy number," he said last week.
That seems to me like enough to borrow the play from Cadillac.
Yes, I know there are Tesla fanboys who would wait years to get into a Model 3. I even understand why. Tesla has created a powerful lifestyle brand similar to the likes of Apple or Jeep.
However, Tesla in August admitted reservations had dropped from more than 500,000 to 455,000 because of cancellations. So obviously, there are some people who have grown weary of waiting and likely need a vehicle to drive. Enter the Bolt EV.
Taking even a small amount of potential Tesla customers away from the brand would give Chevy a talking point against the Silicon Valley automaker.
The Bolt EV is an actual vehicle available to consumers today with readily available charging stations and service centers. That fact alone does not appear to have persuaded many potential Model 3 buyers to turn to the Bolt EV. But maybe a little cash on the hood would.
