Cadillac is going electric – every new vehicle will be all-electric starting now

[MEDICALJMP]

Cadillac is going electric – every new vehicle will be all-electric starting now
Fred Lambert
- Apr. 21st 2021 2:15 pm ET

@FredericLambert

GM CADILLAC

127 Comments

GM’s Cadillac brand is going electric, as the automaker confirmed that every new vehicle will be all-electric starting now.

Today, Cadillac unveiled the production version of the Lyriq, its first all-electric vehicle.

Yesterday, the company held a virtual unveiling of the electric vehicle, during which it also announced plans to move the brand into only releasing electric vehicles.
Rory Harvey, head of Cadillac, said that from now on, the brand will only unveil all-electric vehicles.

The executive did note that the brand’s lineup of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles is fairly fresh, and therefore, they plan to keep selling more gas-powered cars for the foreseeable future.
However, he expects that Cadillac will not be selling any ICE vehicles by the end of the decade:

“We will be leaving this decade as an EV brand, as things stand today, which means we will not be selling ICE vehicles by 2030.”

Therefore, the Cadillac brand should be all-electric a little bit ahead of the rest of General Motors, which recently announced the aspiration to be electric-only by 2035.
GM is also bringing back Hummer as an all-electric sub-brand of GMC, starting with a new pickup truck and an SUV to follow shortly after.
As for Cadillac, the Lyriq is going into production early next year, and it will be followed by the Celestiq, which GM has been teasing over the last year.

Electrek’s Take

This is a commitment that I like to see: only bringing new vehicles to market that are all-electric.
I can’t blame an automaker for selling their ICE vehicles since the vast majority of their production capacity and supply chain is built around those, but if you are unveiling a brand new vehicle program powered by an internal combustion engine, you are making a big mistake.

All new work done on new vehicle program in the industry today should be all-electric.

As for the timeline to phase out ICE sales, there are a lot of different opinions.

I think Cadillac phase out to zero by 2030 is not a bad one, but I’m of the opinion that they are going to have a tough time selling any ICE vehicle after 2025, especially if the Lyriq and Celectiq are as good as they are claiming to be. It is looking good for the former with the specs and price tag announced earlier today.

https://electrek.co/2021/04/21/cadillac-going-electric-every-new-vehicle-all-electric-starting-now/

—_————————————————-

At least GM is starting to get the point.

 

[Luke42]

I've thought Cadillac should have announced this in the 2012-2015 timeframe.

When Cadillac was chasing BMW, they brought engineers to a marketing fight. They built a car that drove like a BMW (the ATS-V), but nobody cared -- because BMW drivers seem to be ultimately to be interested in perceived-status.

Getting into a technology-fight with Tesla seems like a more winnable battle than a branding-fight with BMW. Granted Tesla has a 10-year head-start, an advantage in the economies-of-scale, and the home-field advantage, but people like me could be persuaded to switch by better engineering. It's the right battle to be having.

Bringing EVs to market is about the only thing that could possibly make me care about Cadillac as a brand. And, yet, here we are! ?

 

[Crissa]

Transport Evolved points out that Cadillac has strong perceived value in the domestic market, and so are smart to design their ads to continue that association.

-Crissa

 

[Ehninger1212]

I like the new Lyriq. We are building a Cadillac dealership right now. They have the largest push towards EV's of any traditional brand I have seen so far. Half of the entire shop (35 stalls) is dedicated to EV service and maintenance, for comparison, most dealers are installing one.. MAYBE two stalls dedicated for EV's.

I also think the price point is right on the money, I mean.. this same dealership also has a wine vending machine..

 

[Sirfun]

I like the new Lyriq. We are building a Cadillac dealership right now. They have the largest push towards EV's of any traditional brand I have seen so far. Half of the entire shop (35 stalls) is dedicated to EV service and maintenance, for comparison, most dealers are installing one.. MAYBE two stalls dedicated for EV's.

I also think the price point is right on the money, I mean.. this same dealership also has a wine vending machine..

I just wish the EV designers would take advantage of the fact EV's don't need all that frontal area. EV's could have extremely low COD and get away from those ugly massive grilles. If there isn't an engine under the hood take advantage of that. Just like mid engine cars, put the hood lower and design a beautiful efficient vehicle.

 

[Ehninger1212]

I just wish the EV designers would take advantage of the fact EV's don't need all that frontal area. EV's could have extremely low COD and get away from those ugly massive grilles. If there isn't an engine under the hood take advantage of that. Just like mid engine cars, put the hood lower and design a beautiful efficient vehicle.

Yeah I meant from the perspective of the brand pushing the importance of EV's.

However, I agree.. I think CANOO might be the first company that is really using the EV platform to the full extent from a design perspective.

 

[rr6013]

Yeah I meant from the perspective of the brand pushing the importance of EV's.

However, I agree.. I think CANOO might be the first company that is really using the EV platform to the full extent from a design perspective.

KIA existing platforms in Int’l markets are in a position to adopt some of CANOO refinements. This would move its vehicles upmarket into new sectors its currently not serving.

KIA would be able to electrify off CANOO a vehicle its already designed, experienced building, selling and expand its customer base in the process. KIA was CANOO’s entrenched competitor had it succeeded to market.

 

[Diehard]

Transport Evolved points out that Cadillac has strong perceived value in the domestic market, and so are smart to design their ads to continue that association.

-Crissa

Used GM cars have kept cost of my transportation extremely low over the years. I got my two year old Olds V8 Aurora for 1/3 of the price. I can sell my Saturn Sky Redline for same price I payed for after several years of ownership. That is not true about all GM cars but many. This may be quite a bargain after couple of years.

 

[Luke42]

this same dealership also has a wine vending machine..

That's great for their target demographic!

TIL I'm not part of Cadillac's target demographic.

 

[FutureBoy]

When Cadillac was chasing BMW, they brought engineers to a marketing fight. They built a car that drove like a BMW (the ATS-V), but nobody cared -- because BMW drivers seem to be ultimately to be interested in perceived-status.

So I have a thing about BMW's.

Maybe 25 years ago, I was stuck in traffic downtown Seattle. It was at night, we were all moving 1/2 a car length at a time, sitting for minutes on end. Suddenly about 5 cars in front of me, a woman jumps out of a BMW and goes running across a gravel parking lot in front of a large brick building. The BMW suddenly pulls up on the sidewalk, the driver gets out and starts chasing the woman. She was trapped in the parking lot. When he catches her up against the building, he starts hitting her with his fist. Within seconds, a bunch of other cars pull onto the side walk and multiple big men get out and grab him. Cops get called.

All that to say, from that moment on, BMW in my mind has always stood for Beat My Wife. I refuse to buy a BMW. And I find that whenever I see someone driving a BMW that I immediately judge them negatively. I get that it's my personal bias. I get that I am stereotyping. But this is a serious case of 1 bad apple.

Now, I have to say that even before the above incident, I thought BMW drivers were basically stuck up and unfriendly. But even more so since the incident.

 

[Diehard]

So I have a thing about BMW's.

Maybe 25 years ago, I was stuck in traffic downtown Seattle. It was at night, we were all moving 1/2 a car length at a time, sitting for minutes on end. Suddenly about 5 cars in front of me, a woman jumps out of a BMW and goes running across a gravel parking lot in front of a large brick building. The BMW suddenly pulls up on the sidewalk, the driver gets out and starts chasing the woman. She was trapped in the parking lot. When he catches her up against the building, he starts hitting her with his fist. Within seconds, a bunch of other cars pull onto the side walk and multiple big men get out and grab him. Cops get called.

All that to say, from that moment on, BMW in my mind has always stood for Beat My Wife. I refuse to buy a BMW. And I find that whenever I see someone driving a BMW that I immediately judge them negatively. I get that it's my personal bias. I get that I am stereotyping. But this is a serious case of 1 bad apple.

Now, I have to say that even before the above incident, I thought BMW drivers were basically stuck up and unfriendly. But even more so since the incident.

Apathy can help you enjoy a wide range of cars but you need to work on it if it does not come to you naturally .

If you want to generalize without scientific evidence, you have to expand to all luxury fancy brands not just BMW. Once I needed a jump in front of a school. Mercedes, BMW, Volvo, Lexus ..... none of them would even make eye contact with me. one rolled up the window so they could not hear me asking for help. Finally this lady with four screaming kids packed into an old Camaro that was held together with duct tape saw me from a distance, went out of her way, came by and asked, "what do you need honey?" She had her own jumper cable and got me rolling in less than a minute. Now I have a thing for cars with duct tape on them.

I just stayed away from German cars because of fear of repair cost. Otherwise, I have liked every VW I have driven. I came really close to getting a Diesel Touareg once but chickened out. BMWs were always too harsh for me and I hated the fact that GM quit being GM and dumped what was great about them to become more German. I really miss the old Buick and Oldsmobile ride. I take the extra floatiness over handling any day.

 

[Luke42]

So I have a thing about BMW's.

Maybe 25 years ago, I was stuck in traffic downtown Seattle. It was at night, we were all moving 1/2 a car length at a time, sitting for minutes on end. Suddenly about 5 cars in front of me, a woman jumps out of a BMW and goes running across a gravel parking lot in front of a large brick building. The BMW suddenly pulls up on the sidewalk, the driver gets out and starts chasing the woman. She was trapped in the parking lot. When he catches her up against the building, he starts hitting her with his fist. Within seconds, a bunch of other cars pull onto the side walk and multiple big men get out and grab him. Cops get called.

All that to say, from that moment on, BMW in my mind has always stood for Beat My Wife. I refuse to buy a BMW. And I find that whenever I see someone driving a BMW that I immediately judge them negatively. I get that it's my personal bias. I get that I am stereotyping. But this is a serious case of 1 bad apple.

Now, I have to say that even before the above incident, I thought BMW drivers were basically stuck up and unfriendly. But even more so since the incident.

My first brand-experience with BMW was being cut off by reckless BMW drivers on the Capital Beltway as a new driver. It's a first-impression that's been hard to shake over the 25 years since.

I don't bring it up much because the BMW fans like to fight for the status they thought they bought with the car. ?‍

I won't be buying (or maintaining) a BMW any time soon. I'll take my chances with a Honda, thanks.

Tesla is interesting despite their high cost, not because of it. I'll pay a premium for technology, but not for "status".