Cadillac is once again defending its full-size luxury Escalade SUV from assault by the hot-selling Lincoln Navigator, offering $10,000 discounts to some current customers to keep them from switching brands.

The discount, reported by Bloomberg, applies to lessees of 2016 model-year Escalades, with a $7,500 discount offered to owners, through May 31.

It's at least the second time GM has resorted to incentives to keep customers in its cash-cow luxury
SUV since Ford launched the all-new 2018 Navigator late last year. In November, Cadillac offered a $5,000 discount on the purchase or lease of the Escalade to any buyer who traded in a 1999 or newer Lincoln model.

Analysts have estimated that the Escalade produces nearly $1 billion in yearly profit for GM.

Escalade sales were up 14 percent in March and 8 percent during the first quarter, with retail sales up by double-digit percentages in both periods, higher transaction prices and market share expected to climb by 2 percent year-to-date, according to GM. That's impressive for a vehicle that has received only minor updates since the current generation went on sale for 2015.

While it still trails the Escalade in sales, the Navigator has been riding a 63 percent increase in deliveries this year, with new models lasting on dealer lots an average of only 10 days and average prices ballooning to $82,500, according to Bloomberg. Ford earlier this year announced it was pouring $25 million into its Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville to boost production of the Navigator and Ford Expedition.