General Motors wants to return to Europe. After the sale of Opel to the PSA group in 2017, the North American giant plans to re-enter the old continent with a range of highly profitable premium electric cars. Thus, we can expect the return of Corvette (which will become a separate brand from Chevrolet), Hummer… and Cadillac.
The American firm, which from 2030 will exclusively market electric cars worldwide, aims to become the technological spearhead of General Motors. It currently has a single zero-emission model, the Lyriq executive SUV (E segment), which will be joined next year by the Celestiq representation saloon (F segment).
However, it is most likely that none of these vehicles will achieve an outstanding sales volume in Europe, a region that likes more compact cars. For this reason, Cadillac is developing a medium SUV (segment D) with which to attack one of the most important categories in international markets.
Positioned immediately below the Lyriq within the Detroit automaker’s lineup, the new model will have to compete against the Audi Q4 e-Tron, BMW iX3, Fisker Ocean, Genesis Electrified GV70, Jaguar I-Pace, Mercedes-Benz EQC, and Tesla Model Y, as well as against the future Lancia Aurelia, Polestar 4, and Volvo EX60.
Cadillac will be 100% electric by 2030
The prototypes are already circulating heavily camouflaged; In addition, a sketch has also been released that could advance the main lines of the new model, which will maintain the design language already seen in the Lyriq, giving it a new twist through more athletic and compact proportions.
From a technical point of view, we can expect it to use General Motors’ Ultium platform; therefore, you will have batteries with high energy density cells. It will be available in front and all-wheel drive versions, and will possibly exceed 600 km of range under the European WLTP cycle, as well as 500 km under the US EPA cycle.
It is not clear if it will use a 400-volt electrical system like the Lyriq, or if it will instead make the jump to 800 volts, a technology that General Motors has been working on for some time. Its arrival on the European market will probably take place in the middle of the decade, although at the moment no specific date for its landing has been revealed.
