Cadillac will leave the setting of actual transaction pricing to Pendragon as GM relaunches its global prestige brand in the UK after a gap of seven years.

Malcolm Wade, UK Cadillac & Corvette managing director, who describes his role as “not for the faint hearted”, accepts that the Cadillac CTS ­– on sale from this week – will not necessarily be sold at full list price.

“Pendragon has sole UK distribution rights, and it is as much in its interests as in ours for Cadillac to be a success this time,” says Wade, a former UK Volvo executive.

“Residual prices will be important to us, but we have only 450 CTS models to sell this year, and I expect a small rise in 2006. GM is committed to Cadillac, and we will rely on Pendragon to judge the balance between volumes and transaction prices, with RVs in mind.”

Wade is waiting to hear from Pendragon – which sells Cadillacs and Corvettes through Stratstone-branded outlets – when it will open dealerships in Birmingham, Cardiff and Manchester. Edinburgh and Leeds will follow within a year, and sales started in London’s Park Lane in November.

The CTS, priced from £24,850 to £29,850, and sold with a choice of 2.8- and new 3.6-litre V6 petrol engines, is built in Lansing, Michigan, at a plant that received a JD Power 2004 gold award for quality.

Trevor Finn, Pendragon chief executive, says: “We took part in the price-setting. The top CTS is, spec for spec in line with a BMW or Mercedes costing £7,000 more and we’re confident we can sell them at that price and that RVs will be strong.”