GM replaces Cadillac president after US sales decline

DETROIT – General Motors has replaced the head of its Cadillac luxury brand, which has struggled for years to compete against German and Japanese luxury automakers in the U.S.

The company says Steve Carlisle will replace Johan de Nysschen (de NICE-shen), who is leaving to pursue other opportunities.

Carlisle had been managing director of GM’s Canadian operations.

De Nysschen was hired away from Nissan’s Infiniti luxury brand and named president of Cadillac in August of 2014. He moved the brand’s headquarters to New York in an effort to give Cadillac more sophistication.

But although sales grew globally, they fell in the U.S., GM’s most lucrative market. Sales fell 8 per cent last year and dropped another 4.6 per cent through March.