Neglect all the pieces you understand about Cadillac. Neglect wings, lashings of chrome and fuel-sucking engines.
The fashionable Cadillac is a really totally different model with its crosshairs educated firmly on luxurious rivals – and Tesla. Cadillac is pondering large with its new breed of electrical automobiles.
Whereas it has walked again on its everything-electric-by-2030 promise – it seems combustion engines may preserve firing in its native American past that deadline – the corporate remains to be planning an EV-only onslaught Down Underneath.
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Cadillac’s Australian relaunch kicks off late in October with the Lyriq SUV.
The mid-sized five-seater will present an electrical various to the likes of the BMW X3, Mercedes-Benz GLC and Audi Q5.
It additionally competes with $100K-plus electrical automobiles such because the BMW iX, Lexus RX and Audi Q8 e-tron.
Pricing is but to be introduced for the Lyriq however the model has beforehand hinted it may very well be greater than $130,000.
It will likely be bought on-line and thru a handful of “expertise centres”, the primary of which opens in Alexandria in Sydney on October 30.
So don’t count on the Lyriq to be as prolific because the Tesla Mannequin Y, which is an identical dimension however lower than half that value.
Positive, Tesla will indirectly be on the hit listing for Cadillac. It’s the dominant model within the EV area and appeals to aspirational consumers.
However Cadillac is focusing extra on constructing a wholesome model long run and one which lures consumers in search of one thing totally different.
Whereas Cadillac globally is working in direction of an EV-only line-up someday within the early 2030s, in Australia it’ll solely promote electrical automobiles.
Past the Lyriq, there’s a contemporary inflow of latest arrivals.
None have been confirmed for Australia but, however the firm says extra are on the best way.
”There might be a broader vary portfolio … a full portfolio,” stated Shilpan Amin, the president of Common Motors Worldwide, which is taking care of the model’s enlargement into different markets.
He says Australia is a strategic marketplace for Cadillac.
“We’re not able to make an announcement about another portfolio entries,” he stated, including “we see much more alternative there”.
High of the wishlist would absolutely be the Escalade iQ, the all-electric model of Cadillac’s most well-known mannequin.
Whereas it shares the brash styling and opulent cabin therapy of the V8-powered Escalade, the iQ makes do with electric-only propulsion and sits on GM’s Ultium structure, reasonably than adapting the petrol-powered platform for electrical.
There’s no right-hand-drive program accredited for the Escalade iQ however like all automobiles based mostly on the Ultium electrical structure, it’s been engineered to have the steering wheel on the precise.
“If there’s shopper demand I might like to deliver all of them there (future EV Cadillacs),” stated Amin, including that making a enterprise case stack up was rather a lot simpler with EVs
”It provides us entry to a much wider portfolio.”
Extra practical quick time period arrivals could be the Optiq compact electrical SUV and the Vistiq seven-seat giant SUV.
The Optiq would possible be priced under the all-important luxurious automobile tax threshold (at the moment $91,387), in flip giving entry to the perimeter advantages tax (FBT) incentive.
Cadillac additionally has its radical Celestiq flagship that’s designed to tackle Rolls-Royce on the very prime of the market.
More likely to put on a circa-one-million-dollar price ticket in Australia, the Celestiq would clearly be a really low quantity machine.
Cadillac has additionally proven off the one-off Sollei idea that could be a drop-top model of the Celestiq.
And Cadillac has stated it want to do a excessive efficiency hypercar, one thing showcased within the Opulent Velocity idea.