The Cadillac Escalade will eventually become a battery-electric vehicle, according to brand officials.
Cadillac will follow the lead of some other luxury brands and become mostly, if not completely, an all-electric line-up of vehicles by 2030.
Officials at General Motors’ luxury brand have been suggesting this shift could happen, but Cadillac president Steve Carlisle confirmed the shift, although noted that it could offer battery-electric and internal-combustion versions of its Escalade full-size sport-utility vehicle.
GM expects to begin production of the large Cadillac electric SUV in late 2023 at its Detroit-Hamtramck plant as part of a planned $3 billion overhaul of the factory, Reuters reported.
(Cadillac expanding coverage of hands-free Super Cruise)
Although the China Association of Automotive Manufacturers recently predicted sales for 2019 would be down overall, Carlisle noted Cadillac expected to enjoy “low double-digit” sales growth in China in 2019.
As if that weren’t enough good news, Carlisle noted that retail Cadillac sales in the U.S. expected to rise for the first time since 2013.
The luxury brand will keep the pedal to the metal in China as it plans to introduce a compact electric SUV there in 2022. A similar version of that electric SUV will go into production in the U.S. in late 2023, Reuters reported. Cadillac showed a concept for a midsized electric SUV earlier this year.
Cadillac chief Steve Carlisle said the luxury brand will switch back to actual names for its products instead of the alpha-numeric system currently in place.
(First Look: 2020 Cadillac CT4)
Noting that “Escalade is an awesome name,” Carlisle confirmed plans to use names for its electric models and eventually phase out its alpha-numeric system for identifying its vehicles currently in place.
Cadillac will refresh its current gasoline-powered models one more time during the next decade then shift to electric models, he said, adding, “None of us knows how quickly the transition will take place.”
A key challenge for electric vehicles is driving range and Carlisle said Cadillacs will need a range of 300 miles to be competitive. Eventually, he told Reuters, “you need to be at 400 miles” with charging times in minutes.
(First Drive: 2020 Cadillac XT6. Click Here for our review)
In addition to the shift to an all-EV line-up, Carlisle also affirmed Cadillac also will expand the number of models equipped with GM’s Super Cruise semi-automated driving system.