Cadillac Maintains Ambiguity

Cadillac introduces a new range of electric vehicles but does not intend to abandon internal combustion engines.

Cadillac’s Vice President, John Roth, met with the press this week in Detroit to present the brand’s long-term strategy. It was an opportunity to celebrate the beautiful and well-deserved success of the fully electric Lyriq, but also a clever exercise in backtracking on the brand’s goal of moving away from internal combustion engines by 2023.

Although Cadillac plans to introduce a new complete range of electric vehicles, it does not intend to abandon internal combustion engines for the time being. In Cadillac’s defense, current sales figures indeed support such a mixed strategy.

General Motors’ luxury division does plan to expand its electric vehicle offerings in the coming years with the addition of new models such as the luxury sedan Celestiq, the large SUV Escalade IQ, the entry-level Optiq, and the 7-seater Vistiq. An ambitious and smart electric strategy, but Cadillac asserts that models with internal combustion engines are here to stay. Until when? The recent slowdown we are witnessing in the electric vehicle industry has led some automakers to rethink their electrification strategies. So, is it an extension of the lifespan of current internal combustion engine models or the development of new models? Everything remains quite vague.