Cadillac will reveal its first electric vehicle, the Lyriq SUV, during a virtual event on August 6th. The vehicle’s original April 2nd debut was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
GM, Cadillac’s parent company, announced the Lyriq at an “EV Day” event last March in Warren, Michigan, that showcased a new modular electric vehicle platform meant to power a wide range of the company’s electric models in the coming years. The Lyriq will be the first electric luxury SUV from Cadillac, with a sedan — the Celestiq — to follow. An early version showed off at the EV Day featured a 34-inch pillar-to-pillar screen, power doors, a long wheelbase, and lots of high-end materials.
Over a year ago, GM named Cadillac as the brand to lead the automaker’s push into an electric future. At the time, it made sense: the luxury brand needed an improved identity, and GM wasn’t going to pin all of its hopes on the slow-selling Chevy Bolt.
For years, GM was seen as lagging behind its competitors in the luxury EV market. Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, and BMW have all introduced high-end electric vehicles intended to compete with Tesla’s Model S, while GM had the Bolt and little else.
But the automaker, the largest in the US, has since picked up the pace, announcing plans to release 20 electric nameplates by 2023. All four GM brands — Chevy, Cadillac, GMC, and Buick — will be launching new EVs.
The Cadillac Lyriq will be the first vehicle built on the company’s new BEV3 architecture. Next will be the Hummer EV in both pickup and SUV formats. Also to come are a refreshed Chevy Bolt EV and a Bolt electric utility vehicle with a longer wheelbase, a compact Chevy crossover, two Buick SUVs, and the Celestiq. All of this is part of GM’s broader plan to spend $20 billion in capital and engineering costs by 2025.
