Cadillac won’t undercut luxury rivals on price; Lyriq launch timing firms

Cadillac won’t undercut its luxury rivals on price when it launches in Australia later this year, saying Aussie buyers can expect to pay similar money to an equivalent BMW, Audi or Mercedes-Benz.

After a 50 year absence, Cadillac will return to Aussie roads when it launches the all-electric Lyriq SUV and we now have some rough retails on exactly when it will arrive, how much it should cost and how it will be specced.

The Lyriq is a five-metre long large SUV pitched to rival the Audi Q8 E-Tron, Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV and BMW iX. A single-motor variant is available in America but Aussie cars will only be offered in twin-motor, all-wheel drive guise and will be highly specified, with nearly every available option included as standard.

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Such a rich specification will likely command a premium price, with Cadillac saying it has no plans to undercut its established rivals — similar to how Lexus and Genesis pitch their vehicles — in order the gain a foothold in the market.

“We are targeting the European luxury brands and our price will be right in the realm of where their entries or equivalent entries are,” said Jess Bala, GM’s managing director in Australia and New Zealand.

For reference, a comparable Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV is $145,000, while Audi prices the dual-motor Q8 E-Tron from $155,000. The BMW iX starts at $130,900, while the Polestar 3 range kicks off at $132,900.

Cadillac says it sees seven key brands as its core competition in the luxury segment globally: Audi, BMW, Land Rover, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Volvo.

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Timing wise, Cadillac revealed it’s targeting a local launch in late October however that date could shift pending any shipping or logistical delays.

“From a launch timing, we’re going to open our first stores later this year and then towards the end of the year, very early next year is when we will start having many more vehicles on the road,” confirmed Bala. “We actually have some of our own stock coming in within a couple of months and that will allow us to use more of the vehicles for our marketing events as well.”

Bala said Cadillac has already received “thousands and thousands” of expressions of interest in the Lyriq, which will be sold online or through boutique experience stores in a ‘direct-to-customer’ model similar to that used by Tesla and Polestar.

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As for local specification, Bala confirmed Aussie cars will “basically have everything loaded on it”, although buyers will have the freedom to choose from a broad colour palette for their exterior paint and upholstery.

“The way that we’re really going after is allowing the customers to customise their vehicle more specifically in the design side,” said Bala. “So body colours and things like that.

“The way we're looking at it is as from a luxury vehicle, it's going to basically have everything loaded on it and the customisation will come in the in the colour palette instead.”