[9] Replacing the smaller Cadillac STS and larger DTS,[10] production began in May 2012 at the Oshawa Assembly Plant and launched in June as a 2013 model.

Marketed with left-hand drive in the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, and the Middle East (except Israel), the XTS was also assembled by Shanghai GM, with production beginning in February 2013.

General Motors exhibited a concept sedan called the XTS Platinum at the 2010 North American International Auto Show after privately unveiling the vehicle to automotive journalists on August 11, 2009.

[12] The concept was all-wheel drive and was powered by a 3.6 L (220 cu in) V6 plug-in hybrid system estimated at 350 hp (260 kW).

[13] Its interior was based on hand-cut-and-sewn materials and uses Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) displays in place of traditional gauges and screens.