Cadillac's electric shift begins with launch of 2023 Lyriq SUV

GM plans to start taking orders in September for the 2023 Cadillac Lyriq, a striking electric SUV coming early next year at a starting price of $59,900.

Why it matters: The production version of the Lyriq, which debuted Wednesday, marks the beginning of the luxury brand's phaseout of gasoline-powered vehicles by 2030.

The big picture: The Lyriq, which looks remarkably similar to a show car unveiled last year, features GM's new modular Ultium battery system.

• Ultium will also power upcoming electric models like the GMC Hummer pickup and SUV, Chevrolet Silverado pickup and Cruise Origin robotaxi.
• GM plans to launch 30 EVs globally by the end of 2025, two-thirds of which will be available in North America.
• The company has committed $27 billion to develop electric and autonomous vehicles in the next five years, including construction of two giant battery factories in Ohio and Tennessee.

Details: The rear-wheel-drive Lyriq will launch with a 100 kilowatt-hour battery pack that will deliver an estimated 340 horsepower and more than 300 miles of driving range with a full charge, Cadillac said.

• Officials said all-wheel-drive performance versions will come later.
• The $59,900 price tag is substantially lower than other luxury EVs, including the $71,000 Jaguar iPace, $66,995 Audi e-Tron and $79,990 Tesla Model X. Tesla's smaller Model Y starts at $39,990.

Charging alternatives include fast charging at public stations (adding up to 76 miles of range in 10 minutes) and a 19.2 kW home charger (adding 52 miles of range per hour).

Yes, but: The Lyriq lacks at least one convenience found in a Tesla, the leading purveyor of electric cars.

• Tesla has its own proprietary high-speed Supercharger network. Just plug in and the car is recognized, so payment is automatically billed to the owner.

• While the Caddy can be charged at a variety of non-Tesla public charging networks such as EVGo, Chargepoint or Electrify America, owners need to pre-register with each network and maintain an assortment of swipe cards, RFID fobs or phone apps for payment purposes.

What to watch: Cadillac officials say they intend to bring Tesla-like automated payment through a new Plug and Charge protocol already in use across EV charging networks in Europe.

• It's a mundane but important convenience: the technology identifies an EV to a charging network, which then validates the car and provides automated billing information to begin charging.

What's next: A new ad campaign featuring the 2023 Cadillac Lyriq debuts April 25, during the Oscars broadcast.

Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect that the Lyriq has an estimated 340 horsepower, not 240.