Introduced for the 2013 model year, the first-generation Cadillac ATS won't get a replacement. The luxury automaker just confirmed that the four-door sedan will be discontinued after the 2018 model year. The ATS was developed as a competitor for the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class, but it wasn't exactly successful against its German rivals in the U.S. Following sales of more than 20,000 units per year between 2013 and 2016, ATS deliveries dropped to only 13,000 examples in 2017. Cadillac will continue to offer the ATS Coupe model into the 2019 model year; a company spokesman told Motor Authority.

While the "ATS" badge will go into the history books, Cadillac isn't leaving the compact segment. Both the ATS and CTS will be replaced by the upcoming CT5, while a smaller, compact sedan, likely called the CT4, will be launched soon. The CT4 and CT6 will join the flagship CT6, and both will feature rear-wheel-drive configurations. Much like the ATS and CTS, they will also get higher performance V-Sport versions.

More changes are likely to happen at Cadillac in the coming months after GM fired president Johan de Nysschen, replacing him with Steven K. Carlisle, president of GM Canada.

The Cadillac ATS is assembled in Lansing, Michigan, but also in China, where it's being built by SAIC-GM. The lineup includes the performance-rated ATS-V and the ATS-L, the latter being a longer wheelbase variant for the Chinese market. In 2013, the ATS was named the North American Car of the Year.

References

Cadillac ATS

Read our full review on the 2013 Cadillac ATS.

Read our full review on the 2017 Cadillac ATS.

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