It looks like Cadillac’s (GM) electric vehicle (EV) transformation is nearly here.
Cadillac confirmed it will begin production of its LYRIQ EV SUV next week, on March 21, at its newly-reconfigured plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee.
The automaker, once deemed “the standard of the world,” will start delivering LYRIQ EVs to customers this summer, with the all-wheel drive version deliveries beginning in early 2023.
Cadillac will also start taking new orders for both the LYRIQ and LYRIQ Performance AWD on May 19. Cadillac had initially sold out its first-run of LYRIQ pre-orders, which totaled around 200,000.
Cadillac will work through those existing pre-orders first, with the company expecting 10% of these pre-orders to convert to purchases. Interestingly, Cadillac said in a statement to Yahoo Finance, “70% of the [LYRIQ] Debut Edition customers are new to Cadillac and are coming from other luxury and more mainstream brands.”
From a production standpoint Cadillac, like almost all other automakers, is trying to ramp up EV production. While initial production was planned for around 3,000 vehicles in 2022, Cadillac said demand remains high. In a statement, “Since [its] reveal, the interest in the LYRIQ has been very strong. Therefore we will continue to explore adding additional volume.”
Last month Reuters reported Cadillac had expanded initial production of the LYRIQ to 25,000 vehicles this year, up significantly from the prior plan.
From a specifications point of view the rear-wheel drive LYRIQ Debut Edition will come with 100 kWH battery, giving it “more than 300 miles” range, Cadillac says, though this figure has not been EPA tested. This rear-wheel drive model will have 340 horsepower and 325 lb-ft of torque. With a base price just under $60,000, the LYRIQ is competitively priced with Tesla’s (TSLA) Model Y, now starting at $63,000 after recent price hikes.
Finally, Cadillac also confirmed its CELESTIQ EV sedan will start production next year, meaning a proper reveal of the car will likely happen sometime this year.
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Pras Subramanian is the senior autos reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on Twitter and on Instagram.
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