The Cadillac Lyriq's debut has been a slow-developing affair so far, with production not up to speed, but that’s about to change. GM’s luxury brand says it is stepping up production of its electric SUV.
The reason is simple: more batteries are becoming available. Cadillac global VP John Roth said demand remains strong for the Lyriq, as it does for just about every electric vehicle in the luxury segment.
Production of the Lyriq had fallen well behind the brand’s original plans, due mainly to a problem with the assembly of the battery modules.
In 2023, Cadillac delivered 9,000 Lyriq EVs, after a slow start - in the first six months of the year, only 2,400 had been delivered, meaning that production almost tripled in the second half of the year.
Said Roth, “It's been a measured buildup and launch as battery modules have become available, and now that we're in a position with strong inventory, we're seeing great sales performance. He added that he had high expectations for that to continue.
The Lyriq now accounts for a quarter of all Cadillac sales, up from 12 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Consumers’ enthusiasm for the model was illustrated for us at the Montreal Auto Show, at which a dealer source told us that, during a model discovery day for potential buyers at the dealership, the day ended with over 50 new reservations.
“The luxury industry is I think operating at a little bit of a different level than the main market as it relates to EVs. We still see in the data, 60% of the consumer base, that their next luxury vehicle will be an EV.”
- John Roth, Gloval VP of Cadillac
While there has been a slowdown in demand in some parts of the world, mainly due to vehicle costs and interest rates, the luxury market is less affected. In Canada, demand for EVs continues to be strong.
This is good news for Cadillac, which is preparing to launch the Celestiq luxury sedan, as well as the Vistiq and Escalade IQ SUVs.