Cadillac prices first full EV at just less than $60,000

DETROIT — The 2023 Cadillac Lyriq, the midsize crossover that will begin the brand's march toward a fully electric lineup, will start at half the price of a 2022 GMC Hummer pickup, Cadillac says.

The Lyriq will have a base price of $59,990 including shipping, Cadillac said Wednesday as it revealed the production version. General Motors plans to begin building it in the first quarter of 2022 at Spring Hill Assembly in Tennessee.

Rory Harvey, vice president of global Cadillac, said the Lyriq pricing structure is "very, very competitive" with luxury EV peers.

Prices for the Lyriq and other electric vehicles have to be similar to gasoline-powered models to replace the current lineup with EVs by 2030, GM North America President Steve Carlisle said in August, hinting at the Lyriq's price tag. The Hummer will cost $112,595 in its first model year, with less-expensive versions slated to follow.

GM has pledged $27 billion toward electric and autonomous vehicle development and plans to have 30 EVs available globally through 2025. The automaker is aiming for an all-electric light-vehicle lineup by 2035, and Cadillac is the lead brand for the EV changeover.

"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," Harvey said during a media briefing.

Cadillac will launch a new ad featuring the Lyriq during the Oscars telecast Sunday, April 25.

The production Lyriq is nearly identical to the show car Cadillac unveiled in August.

"Everybody knows that Cadillac is great at doing show cars. What we really wanted to do here was basically to deliver the show car … and that's every small detail," Andrew Smith, executive director of Cadillac design, said during the media briefing.

Compared with the show car, the production Lyriq has slightly smaller wheels and different door construction. The production vehicle also comes with five seats vs. four in the show car and two cupholders instead of just one, Smith said.

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.

"Lyriq represents a clean-sheet design that sets the standard for the future of Cadillac," said Smith. "The objective I gave my team was to design the Lyriq with the level of detail that they would a show car. The customer should feel like they're driving in the future."