An all-electric Camaro brand could be on the way, along with an Escalade subbrand. According to a Car and Driver report, GM is reportedly exploring the idea of making Camaro and Escalade into subbrands stocked with respective electric vehicle offerings.
This report comes only a week after Car and Driver also reported that GM was also looking into making Corvette its own subbrand with the possibility of four-door and SUV models. It’s certainly plausible for Corvette, Camaro, and Escalade to become their own brands as a way for GM to rebrand towards its fully electric strategy. Like Corvette, that means we might see the Camaro expand into something more than that nostalgic muscle car image that Chevy has established over the years.
More than a muscle car — The info comes again from Car and Driver’s “source inside GM” and details that we could see a Camaro SUV in two- and four-door variants, along with the more traditional 2+2 seater coupe and convertible offerings. GM is also reportedly looking into doing a “mid-price flagship sports car” that’s supposed to be somewhat tied to the Corvette. The Camaro brand is expected to be fully electric, to go along with GM’s plans to electrify the majority of its lineup by 2035.
As for Escalade, the source tells Car and Driver that GM was initially trying to reinvent the Cadillac brand, but opted for an Escalade subbrand instead. The standalone Escalade brand could include a three-row crossover and minivan, but also a luxury all-terrain model and a premium MPV designed for the Chinese market. This Escalade subbrand is also expected to be all-electric since Cadillac said that it would only bring EVs to market starting in 2021.
Too many SUVs — If the info turns out to be accurate, that means we could eventually end up with two Camaro-branded SUVs, an Escalade crossover SUV, and a Corvette SUV alongside the existing options from GM’s other brands. Just looking at the SUV lineup so far, that includes the Chevy Equinox and Blazer, the GMC Hummer SUV, and the Cadillac Lyriq, all of which are built on GM’s Ultium platform.
Clearly GM is focused on the EV future, and with that, it sees opportunities not only to pursue new tech, but new branding strategies as well. It’s clear that with ICE cars being phased out, nothing is off the table — not an SUV Camaro, or even a four-door Corvette.
