Redesigned Cadillacs starting with Lyriq to be electric

DETROIT — The 2023 Cadillac Lyriq, unveiled in production form last week, sets General Motors' luxury brand on the path to a future without internal combustion engines. Every new or redesigned nameplate introduced in North America from now on will be an electric vehicle, a top executive said.

"We will be leaving this decade as an EV brand, as things stand today, which means that we will not be selling ICE vehicles by 2030," Rory Harvey, vice president of global Cadillac, said during a media briefing last week.

The EV-only commitment comes after GM said this month that replacing its entire light- vehicle lineup with EVs by 2035 was an aspiration, but not a guarantee. Cadillac's stance is more definitive.

Cadillac still plans to freshen gasoline-powered vehicles currently in its portfolio and could add performance variants such as V-Series to those models, Harvey said. But all next-generation vehicles will be electric.

Production of the CT4 and CT5 sedans is expected to end in 2026, with electric replacements coming in 2026 or 2027, said Jeff Schuster, president of global forecasting at LMC Automotive. Cadillac also will phase out its gasoline-powered crossovers — the XT4, XT5 and XT6 — in 2025 or 2026, as production of EV successors begins, LMC projects.

That would leave the Escalade SUV as Cadillac's last combustion vehicle.

Production of the gasoline-powered Escalade is slated to run through 2029, just ahead of Cadillac's all-electric deadline, Schuster said, adding that GM likely will build similar electric variants in conjunction with the internal-combustion version for up to several years.

Schuster expects GM's Factory Zero plant in Detroit to begin building electric SUVs the size of the Escalade and Escalade ESV in 2023.

"2030 is a hedge. It certainly could get pushed further out but it also could be pulled forward" if the traditional Escalade is phased out earlier, Schuster said.

GM, which plans to offer 30 EVs globally by the end of 2025, tapped Cadillac in 2019 to spearhead its transition to electric vehicles.

In the luxury space, "it's a competitive move," Schuster said. "It also is really trying to create a brand image for Cadillac. Because of those price points, the volume is lower. It's a safer bet."

Removing gasoline-powered vehicles from the Cadillac portfolio has long been part of the plan, he added.

"I suspect Cadillac going first was always going to be the plan," Schuster said. "The timeline and just how they get there is probably what has been evolving over the last several months."

Lyriq production is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2022 at Spring Hill Assembly in Tennessee.

The midsize crossover will have a base price of $59,990 including shipping, Cadillac said. That's far less than the electric GMC Hummer pickup, which will cost $112,595 in its first model year.

The Lyriq, powered by GM's proprietary Ultium batteries, will have a Cadillac-estimated 300 miles of range on a full charge and deliver an estimated 340 hp.

The crossover will feature one-pedal driving and regenerative braking on demand, which allows drivers to control how quickly they slow down or come to a stop using a paddle on the steering wheel.

GM's Super Cruise driver-assist technology also will be available.

The Lyriq features a low roofline and wide stance, along with a flow-through roof spoiler for enhanced aerodynamics and highway efficiency, Cadillac said.

The front end has slim vertical headlamps and a black crystal grille with lighting choreography that greets drivers as they approach.

"The great Cadillacs of the past are the ones that didn't look like the cars that came before them," Andrew Smith, executive director of Cadillac design, said during the media briefing. The Lyriq represents the first vehicle of Cadillac's design future, he said.

Cadillac hopes the brand appeal will draw customers to the Lyriq. The fact that it's an EV should be secondary, Smith said.

"We want to be a luxury brand, first and foremost," he said.