Cadillac previews new global EV crossover

DETROIT — The "vanguard" of Cadillac's shift toward all-electric vehicles will be a global crossover that will arrive after the brand's current three-year product rollout.

Cadillac President Steve Carlisle showed renderings of the vehicle Sunday during the unveiling of the brand's new XT6 crossover on the eve of Detroit auto show media previews.

GM positions Cadillac as a pioneer again

Carlisle said the all-electric crossover will be the "foundation for an entirely new kind of Cadillac" that will be "targeted at the heart" of the global luxury market.

"While I can't divulge all of our secrets, I can tell you it will be sold globally and will arrive as the vanguard of the product wave that follows our current three-year product assault," he said.

The EV’s name and additional details will be revealed closer to launch, Cadillac said.

General Motors CEO Mary Barra said the crossover “is just the tip of the iceberg” for what Cadillac plans to offer in the future.

The new EV platform will be flexible and allow the company to "respond quickly to customer preferences with a relatively short design and development lead time," GM said Sunday, adding Cadillac's product lineup "will eventually benefit from a variety of body styles that can be spun off this architecture."

GM said the platform's most advanced components — the drive units and battery cells — are being designed for "maximum usability throughout GM vehicle lineups" in multiple countries.

"The EVs can be configured in front-, rear- or all-wheel drive, and the output of their battery systems will be adjustable based on vehicle and customer need," GM said.

Cadillac pipeline

Cadillac's product cadence includes a new or redesigned vehicle on average every six months through 2021. It started last year with the Cadillac XT4 compact crossover, followed by the large XT6. Two new sedans and the next-generation Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV are expected to follow.

Cadillac design chief Andrew Smith said the crossover will be the first Cadillac vehicle based on the automaker’s next-generation EV platform, which is expected to launch in 2021.

The rendering of the EV was released days after GM disclosed Cadillac would be the lead brand in the automaker's push toward an all-electric future. Cadillac will be the first brand to feature a vehicle on the automaker's next-generation EV platform.

Carlisle called Cadillac the “pinnacle of mobility,” playing off the brands Project Pinnacle dealership program.

The EV is also expected to play a major role in Cadillac's prospects in China, where the brand's annual sales topped 200,000 for the first time in 2018, and automakers face government mandates to build and market EVs.

The new platform will be a major part of GM's plans to launch at least 20 new all-electric or fuel cell-powered vehicles by 2023.

GM, in a presentation to investors and analysts on Friday, reconfirmed the flexibility of the new architecture, which it says will be profitable. One slide provided to investors shows 11 potential model types — from small crossovers and cars to vans and seven-passenger SUVs. No pickups were featured in the presentation.

GM President Mark Reuss on Friday said the new platform, known as BEV3, is the reason the company is "so bullish" on its EV plans.