Cadillac softens stance on going EV only

Aussie-bound luxury brand Cadillac is the latest carmaker to soften its stance on adopting an electric-only range, saying it will instead “give customers the choice” as global demand for EVs drops.

Cadillac had previously committed to selling only electric cars by 2030 but global chief marketing officer Melissa Grady Dias has today said the brand will instead be flexible as it transitions away from combustion power.

“We are going to have EVs available and we’re following customers at this point,” she told Australian media in an exclusive round-table interview. “If you look at the trajectory of the EV market, we're gonna be following and we're going to give customers the choice.

16

“The past 90 days have been a little insane. And if I look at 90 days and try to predict into what's going to be happening in six years, I absolutely cannot.”

Today’s news follows similar comments from Cadillac’s global vice president John Roth, who recently told the Detroit Free Press that “EVs and ICE, we want to be clear, will coexist for a number of years.”

Cadillac is the latest in a growing list of brands to walk back from self-imposed hard deadlines for adopting ranges powered solely by electricity. Mercedes-Benz recently backtracked on its plans to be EV-only by 2030, while Ford and GM have both recently delayed major investment into new EV manufacturing plants.

"In Australia and New Zealand we are 100 percent EV for Cadillac"

“What I can tell you is that when the market is ready, whether that's in two years or whether that's in six years for EV, we have what I believe are absolutely the best and very competitive EV vehicles to meet those needs,” added Dias, acknowledging that the transition to electric power is likely to ebb and flow.

“We’re following customers,” she said. “And I think as any good brand does we listen to our customers and follow them.”

When asked if the change in sentiment could open the door for petrol-powered Cadillacs to come to Australia, GM’s managing director of Australia and New Zealand Jess Bala said: “No, in Australia and New Zealand we are 100 percent EV for Cadillac.”

16

Jess Bala, GM Managing Director of Australia and New Zealand

After an almost 50 year absence, Cadillac will return to Australia roads later this year when it launches the all-electric Lyriq SUV.

Set to be a rival for luxury players like the BMW iX and Audi Q8 e-tron, the Lyriq is planned to launch in late October and will be the first model in what is predicted to be a three-strong SUV range in Australia.

The smaller Optiq SUV and the larger seven-seat Vistiq are also tipped for Australia, with the Escalade IQ also a possibility.