Aug 3, 2020 - Energy & Environment

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

Charging port of the upcoming Cadillac Lyriq. Courtesy of Cadillac.

Charging port of the upcoming Cadillac Lyriq. Courtesy of Cadillac.

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." 
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