Detroit – General Motors The Detroit automaker on Thursday unveiled a new $80,000 performance version of its all-electric Cadillac Lyriq as it aims to become the best-selling luxury electric car brand in the U.S. this year
Cadillac hopes to achieve this goal by expanding its electric vehicle lineup, such as the high-performance Lyriq-V, Escalade IQ SUV and the upcoming entry-level Optiq crossover.
“We will position Cadillac to be the best-selling luxury electric vehicle brand in the United States in 2025. Let me say it again: the best-selling luxury electric vehicle (brand) in 2025,” Cadillac Vice President John Ross said at a media briefing. “The sky’s the limit for what we can do in luxury electric vehicles.”
But “luxury” space may not be as clear-cut as it seems. After Ross’ comments, Cadillac said it would not include Tesla As a “luxury” manufacturer, though, there are several products priced in the same range as some of Cadillac’s offerings. A brand spokesman said Cadillac considers brands such as Audi and Mercedes-Benz as its core competitors.
2026 Cadillac Lyriq-V
Cadillac
“Tesla has a handful of models in its lineup that might qualify as luxury cars, but they continue to do things interesting The branding element,” Ross said.
Excluding Tesla, which leads the U.S. electric vehicle market by a wide margin, Cox Auto Report Cadillac sold nearly 30,000 electric vehicles last year, trailing only BMW with about 51,000. Audi and Mercedes-Benz are also close to Cadillac. By comparison, Tesla sold an estimated more than 633,000 electric vehicles in the United States last year, Cox said.
Historically, the automotive industry has been made up of “mainstream” brands like Chevrolet and luxury brands like Cadillac. But many brands, including Cadillac and Tesla, now offer vehicles in a wide price range.
Tesla pricing ranges from about $42,500 for a Model 3 sedan to about $100,000 for a vehicle like this cybertruck and Model S plaid. By comparison, once Cadillac’s electric vehicles go on sale, the Optiq is expected to cost $54,000 and the Escalade IQ will cost more than $150,000. Cadillac also offers custom cars worth over $300,000 It’s called Celestiq.
As background, Kelley Blue Book reports average transaction price Late last year, a new electric car cost $55,544. That doesn’t include consumer EV incentives, such as federal tax credits of up to $7,500.
Cadillac expects to have five electric vehicles on the market by the end of the year, up from just three now. That would rival Tesla in the number of electric vehicles the brand has, but Tesla is still estimated to have gained nearly 50% of the U.S. EV market last year
Regarding the Lyriq-V, Cadillac says the vehicle is expected to have 615 horsepower, 650 foot-pounds of torque and a range of 285 miles when fully charged. 0-60 mph is expected to take just 3.3 seconds.
The Lyriq is Cadillac’s first mass-produced electric vehicle to be added to its high-performance V-Series lineup. The Lyrq-V is largely similar to the regular model, but includes unique badging and enhanced performance parts and other accessories to improve driving dynamics.
GM said the Lyriq-V will start at $79,995 and will be sold in the United States, Canada and other countries, with production starting in early 2025 at GM’s Spring Hill manufacturing plant in Tennessee.
