Cadillac to offer month-to-month car swap service

Cadilllac will offer customers the ability to park up to 18 new cars in their driveway every year, with its new ‘Book by Cadillac’ ownership scheme structured more like a mobile phone plan than a vehicle purchase.

The Book by Cadillac service, launched by the US luxury brand in New York this week, costs $US1500 ($A2010) a month. Under the terms of the service, customers can access up to 18 Cadillac-badged vehicles a year for up to 30 days at a time. The exception is the CTS-V performance sedan, which will be limited to a loan of just five days – so Cadillac can share more of the performance car love around.

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But the best bit is that Cadillac will deliver the car to customers, fully detailed and with three-quarters of a tank of fuel on board. At the end of the loan period, they will come and pick it up, and even swap it for a different one.

Included in the monthly price are most of the running costs associated with owning a car, including registration, insurance, maintenance and repairs. There’s no limit on the number of kilometres users drive the cars, either.

“Book by Cadillac is an innovative new option targeted at a growing class of luxury drivers searching for access to various cars over time, depending on their individual needs, coupled with a hassle-free white-glove exchange,” Uwe Ellinghaus, Cadillac’s chief marketing officer, said.

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Under the scheme, users will be able to book their car via a smartphone app. As soon as they pick it up, they can then book the next one.

“Members can just as easily take to the winding roads in a performance V Series and enjoy a back-mountain winter ski trip in an Escalade in the same week,” Cadillac said.

“Alternatively, they can keep an SUV during the winter months and switch to a performance sedan during the summer, with each vehicle picked up and delivered to their doorstep.”

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Cadillac is on Australia’s radar, with company executives saying in 2015 that GM’s luxury brand would arrive here by 2019.

Holden’s Lang Lang proving ground has hosted some of the development of the Cadillac CT6, a Holden Commodore-sized four-door sedan, including a twin-turbo version of the high-performance 3.6-litre V6.

The Cadillac CT6 is expected to arrive in Australia as a replacement for the extended-wheelbase Holden Caprice, which ends production later this year.

Cadillac has committed to maintaining a range of rear-drive models that will focus more on driver engagement and enjoyment than fuel savings.