Ordering for General Motors Co.'s first electric Cadillac opens this week on the 2023 Lyriq crossover with the $62,990 rear-wheel drive option getting an estimated 312 miles of range on a charge, the automaker said Monday.
Range will be released later on the $64,990 all-wheel drive option, which has a second drive unit. The prices are comparable with top competitors, including the $69,100 Audi e-tron with an EPA estimated 222 miles of range; the $71,300 Jaguar I-Pace, which also gets 222 miles; and the $62,990 Tesla Model Y with an estimated 330 miles.
GM's luxury brand, which is aiming to be all-electric by 2030, will start taking orders for the Lyriq on May 19 and delivering the debut edition this summer. Though it will be joining a market starting to get crowded with EVs, it's also a market with growing EV demand.
"None of these companies are able to meet the demand with the EVs that they've got," said Sam Abuelsamid, principal research analyst leading Guidehouse Insights. "They've all got more demand than they than they can supply, so I suspect that at least for the next year, Cadillac will be able to sell every Lyric they can build without too much difficulty. I don't see that as an issue."
Rory Harvey, global vice president of Cadillac, said demand for the Lyriq is "very, very significant" with "250,000 hand-raisers" for the product. Since this is the luxury brand's first EV, Cadillac leaders are "looking to see how many of the hand-raisers actually convert," Harvey said. GM has not released how many ordered the debut edition.
Cadillac remains GM's leading EV brand. Beyond the Lyriq, Cadillac has shown the hand-built Celestiq EV. Next up will be an EV the size of the XT4 SUV, Harvey said.
"The thing now is to actually start delivering these things in volume ... prove that they can actually sell." Abuelsamid said.
The 2023 Lyriq RWD and AWD models, with RWD deliveries expected starting this fall. Initial deliveries of the AWD model will start early next year.
Cadillac also announced a new charging program giving customers the option to choose either two years of unlimited public charging credits at EVgo charging stations or a credit of up to $1,500 toward home charger installation of a Level 2 charger or at 240-volt outlet through Qmerit. The offer is retrospective to the debut model.The offer is retrospective to debut options.
Lyriq has at-home Level 2 charge rates of up to 19.2 kilowatts, which can add up to 52 miles of range per hour of charge, GM says. It also features DC fast-charging rates of up to 190 kilowatts for an estimated 76 miles of range in about 10 minutes of charging.
Customers ordering a Lyriq will also have the option between two additional exterior colors: Opulent Blue Metallic and Crystal White Tricoat, in addition to the launch colors: Satin Steel Metallic and Stellar Black Metallic.
The 12-module, 100 kilowatt-hour battery pack delivers a Cadillac-estimated 340-horsepower and 325 pound-feet of torque in the RWD model.
The AWD model, with the second drive unit, offers an estimated 500-horsepower.The AWD model is also has a 3,500-pound trailering capacity.
Other features on the Lyriq include: a a 33-inch-diagonal advanced LED display, AKG Studio 19-speaker audio system and next-generation Active Noise Cancellation that helps cancel out undesirable sounds on the road.
Lyriq will also be the first Cadillac to have the next-generation Super Cruise self-driving technology, but it will not be active when the first customers take delivery this summer.
"They will come with all of the Super Cruise hardware in the vehicles. That hardware will be enabled and it will be triggered for an over-the-air update so that Super Cruise will actually be enacted and go live toward the end of the year for those customers that take delivery of their early vehicles," Harvey said.
GM is giving customers 100,000 reward points or a year of free charging for having to wait for Super Cruise.
GM's Spring Hill, Tennessee, plant launched production of the Lyriq in March. The plant received a $2 billion investment to build electric Cadillacs there.
Production of the Lyriq launched in Shanghai, China this month. Deliveries are expected in the middle of the year there.
