Cadillac to unveil the Lyriq, its first all-electric model

On Thursday night, General Motors' luxury Cadillac unit will unveil the Lyriq, a crossover that marks Cadillac's first foray into all-electric models.

Why it matters: The stakes are high because GM is putting Cadillac at the forefront of its expanding push into electric vehicles.

• Cadillac was once the top of the food chain the luxury market, but now lags after losing market share to Mercedes, BMW and others for decades.
• The Lyriq, which GM teased with a few images last week like the one above, will also be GM's first electric vehicle that uses the automaker's new Ultium battery system.

What they're saying: Edmunds analyst Jessica Caldwell, in comments circulated to reporters, says it will be a "challenging launch for Cadillac" — a brand she said has been trying for years to boost its image.

• "Although other aspirational luxury brands have already taken a pass at the [electric vehicle] space with electric SUV variants, no other automaker besides Tesla has tasted the joy of success in terms of sales and demand," she said.
• "If Cadillac does it right and can get consumers to view the Lyriq as competitive with Tesla and other European luxury brands, this could help give the brand a push in the right direction."