Prior to the August 2012 debut of the compact Cadillac ATS, the first vehicle produced on the GM Alpha platform, Cadillac's smallest vehicle was the mid-size CTS. The CTS was priced the same as compact competitors like the Audi A4, the BMW 3 Series and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class but was noticeably larger and heavier, comparable in size and weight to the mid-size BMW 5 Series. Although Cadillac believed that customers would favor a 5 Series-sized car at a 3 Series price, that assumption proved to be incorrect.
Prior to the ATS's launch in August 2012 on the GM Alpha platform, Cadillac's smallest vehicle was the mid-size CTS. The CTS matched the price of compact competitors like the Audi A4, BMW 3 Series, and Mercedes-Benz C-Class but had a more substantial size and weight profile, comparable to that of the mid-size BMW 5 Series.