XT5

Make
Cadillac
Segment
SUV

Lincoln, the luxury division of Ford Motor Company has been a massive player in the limousine and hearse game for ages, with the Panther platform forming the base of these vehicles for decades. Lincoln has recently announced the discontinuation of its Continental and will be stepping out of the limo game as well, leaving a gap in the market. Cadillac is now looking to fill the vacuum left by Lincoln with some new products of its own: recent spy photos have shown the Cadillac XT5 undergo testing in six-door format, which mirrors Lincoln's traditional MKT offering.

Cadillac's latest limo is still in early development but serves as a good indication that it is aiming to take over from where the MKT left off. Cadillac is no stranger to the limousine game, and just last year the manufacturer had a dedicated livery program with its XTS sedan, which was offered in five variants, including a hearse, armored sedan, and of course a stretched limousine. With the canning of the XTS in 2019, the limo version also came to an end, opening up the floor to the XT5. Cadillac is also planning a stretched version of the XT5 to compete with the Lincoln Nautilus.

The MKT might be gone, but Ford has a number of solid options to choose from when it comes to possible replacements. The Nautilus is one of the front-running contenders and also presents a solid case for hearse and armored vehicle applications, but the Aviator and Navigator can't be excluded despite their rear-wheel-drive layouts which would increase the cost of production by a fair margin. It is truly the end of an era for Lincoln and the dawn of a new one for Cadillac which has a strong heritage of building world-class limousines. This could signal a race for dominance by some of America's biggest names, but a little bit of competition never hurt anyone.