Days after GM announced that Cadillac would become its lead electric vehicle brand, the automaker teased a few images of its first planned EV.
Cadillac isn’t sharing any other details beyond the images — no name, no specs, nothing. That information will be revealed “closer to launch,” the company says. But Cadillac is positioning itself to become an aggressive player in the nascent EV market as it seeks to pivot from mass-market EVs to the luxury end of the spectrum.
In addition to revealing the all-new XT6 crossover at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this week, the company hinted at both a future Escalade and an upcoming performance sedan. “Overall, Cadillac will introduce new models at the rate of roughly one every six months through 2021,” the company said.
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The images suggest that Cadillac’s first EV will be a crossover. The vehicle will use GM’s “BEV3” next-generation electric vehicle platform, which is meant to be flexible for use in many different vehicle types, and will accommodate front, rear, and all-wheel drive configurations. GM plans to create a number of battery configurations to be used in different vehicles. This could mean a shorter development cycle, which will help GM respond to consumer demands and the actions of competitors.
GM recently crossed the 200,000th electric vehicle threshold that triggers a slow phaseout of the $7,500 federal EV tax credit over the next 15 months. The parent company of Chevrolet and GMC is the second automaker to pass this mark, with Tesla having sold its 200,000th vehicle in the US last summer.