Detroit — By 2030, General Motors Co. expects the majority, if not all, of its Cadillac brand’s sales will be electric.
That means that by the close of the decade there could be no more internal-combustion Cadillacs, depending on how quickly consumers adapt to their electric versions.
“We’ll be in segments with both internal combustion and battery-electric for a period of time. but inevitably I would expect to see the internal combustion fade away and the electric start to dominate,” Cadillac President Steve Carlisle said Thursday. “We will be in a position to be 100% electric by the latter part of the decade.”
GM plans to have 20 electric nameplates by 2023. It is preparing for its zero-emissions goal by building its own battery-cell manufacturing plant in northeast Ohio in partnership with LG Chem. The Detroit automaker has pinned Cadillac as the leader of its electric push because luxury customers are more comfortable with the higher price-points and are seen as more open-minded to technology and electrification.
“We are at our best when we are leading in technology and innovation and we have been fighting to put ourselves back in that position,” Carlisle said.
In January, the automaker previewed a yet-unnamed Cadillac EV crossover that’s expected in 2022. Carlisle said there will be more information about the new crossover early next year.
GM also will unveil its next-generation Escalade in early February in Beverly Hills, California. The unveiling will coincide with Oscars week.
Carlisle confirmed that the brand would have an electric full-size SUV similar to the Escalade that could carry that same name. It’s been previously reported that GM is planning to build an electric Escalade at its Detroit-Hamtramck plant, which is also slated to build an electric pickup.
Even with a six-week strike by the United Auto Workers, Cadillac expects to end 2019 with a year-over-year increase in U.S. retail sales for the first time since 2013. The increase is the result of more product, with a full year of sales of the XT4 compact SUV, the introduction of the full-size XT6 SUV and enhanced marketing tactics.
Earlier this week in five pilot U.S. markets, GM launched Cadillac Live, a virtual-shopping experience with a live agent providing details and answering questions about the Cadillac lineup.
“We had more appointments and walk-throughs in one day than we normally do in a week,” Carlisle said, “so there’s an interest there for sure,”
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