Cadillac->ke18 has been on fire lately with new vehicles like the Escalade->ke245, CTS->ke1200 and ATS->ke1735, but a big void in its lineup just so happens to be one of the faster-growing segments: small premium utility vehicles. Even worse, Reuters is quoting Cadillac president Johan de Nysschen as saying that the automaker is still at least four years away from bringing such a vehicle to market.

These small, luxury crossovers are extremely popular right now in key global markets that include the U.S., China and Europe, and just about all luxury automakers – including Lincoln – have recently introduced such a product such as the 2015 Lexus NX, 2015 Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class, 2016 BMW X1 and 2015 Lincoln MKC. Based on Cadillac’s new naming structure, the small utility vehicle will likely wear the XT3 moniker, slotting beneath the third-generation SRX, which is expected to go into production later this year possibly called the XT5.

There is no word as to what platform Cadillac would use to underpin this new utility vehicle, but between the rear-drive ATS and a new rear-drive subcompact sedan under the ATS, there is a pretty good chance that the sub-SRX utility vehicle could be rear-drive based. If that’s the case, then it just might be worth waiting for, as most other competitors in this segment are based on front-drive platforms. As far as pricing goes, there is also plenty of room beneath the current SRX’s $37,605 starting price to position it competitively in the market.

Some good news for Cadillac is that once it gets this new utility vehicle onto the market, it should be able to compete on a global scale right out of the gate. Having come from Audi->ke14 (before his short stint at Infiniti->ke36), de Nysschen knows the importance of diesels in Europe and was quoted as saying "if you want to play in Europe, you better have some diesels.” The report says that Cadillac will begin offering diesel engines in its new models starting in 2019, which seems to match up with de Nysschen’s four-year timeline.

Click past the jump to read more about Cadillac's future compact SUV.

Why it matters

Cadillac is already late to the game when it comes to offering a small, premium utility vehicle, and if this report is true, Cadillac is going to be way behind when it comes to this fast-growing segment. The upside here is that Cadillac seems to be on a roll when it comes to releasing small, rear-drive-based models, which could be the case with what should become the 2017 Cadillac XT3. Pair that with de Nysschen’s almost guarantee of diesel-powered models, and you have the making of a truly standout small utility vehicle.

Cadillac Escalade