Will GM electrical vehicles, Cadillac hit Australia? ‘Watch this house’

A giant electrical Cadillac SUV might be coming to Australia beneath the GM Specialty Automobiles banner in 2023… nevertheless it hasn’t been locked in simply but.

Senior members of the Common Motors workforce in Australia informed CarExpert there’s “lots of thrilling stuff coming this yr”. At the moment, the American large sells the Chevrolet Corvette and Silverado by way of its GMSV vendor community.

On the subject of Cadillac, a spokesperson for Common Motors merely stated “keep tuned”.

The luxurious model is pitched as a rival for BMW and Audi within the USA, and has been excessive on the want record for native fans since earlier than Holden’s exit from Australia.

The model’s flagship Lyriq electrical SUV has already been snapped in right-hand drive, and Common Motors not too long ago filed a trademark for the nameplate Down Below. On the time, GM stated it’s “frequent follow for GM to safe key emblems globally”.

That follow hasn’t seen it register every other Cadillac fashions with IP Australia, nevertheless.

The actual fact the Lyriq is an EV additionally seems to play into GMSV’s plans regionally.

Marc Ebolo, GM Australia and New Zealand managing director, informed CarExpert there’s a “lots of pleasure in the place GM goes by way of the electrification of the mannequin vary”.

“We’ll have extra to say this yr, that’s for positive,” he stated of The Common’s push into electrification.

GM has beforehand indicated there’s “sturdy demand for these merchandise within the worldwide markets”.

“We’ve the expertise, the investments and powerful monetary and business momentum to leverage alternatives world wide,” Shilpan Amin, GM senior VP and president of GM Worldwide, informed media in 2022.

GM additionally factors to the flexibleness of its Ultium platform as a manner it could possibly extra simply construct incoming EV fashions for extra markets.

The Lyriq is on the market with a alternative of single-motor rear-wheel drive and dual-motor all-wheel drive powertrains overseas, each mated with a 102kWh lithium-ion battery.

In North America, the US-built rear-wheel drive mannequin produces 255kW of energy and 440Nm of torque, and its all-wheel drive counterpart produces 373kW and 610Nm.

The rear-wheel drive mannequin has 502km of vary beneath the stricter US EPA take a look at cycle.

The luxurious SUV helps DC quick charging as much as 190kW, which might add about 122km of vary in simply 10 minutes. Cadillac may also provide consumers a 19.2kW residence charger that may add 84km of vary per hour.

The Lyriq measures 4996mm lengthy, 2207mm broad (together with the mirrors) and 1623mm tall on a 3094mm wheelbase.

That makes it roughly the identical measurement as an Audi e-tron or BMW iX. It begins at US$62,990 (A$92,891), undercutting these rivals by 1000’s of {dollars}, and aligning it with the Tesla Mannequin Y Efficiency.

Past the Lyriq, there are many Cadillac merchandise that may match properly into the Australian market after the demise of Holden and Ford’s regionally made giant sedans.

The Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing is a rear-wheel drive sedan with energy from a supercharged 6.2-litre V8 making 498kW of energy and 893Nm of torque, mated to both a six-speed guide or 10-speed computerized transmission.

GM estimates a 0-60mph (0-96km/h) time of three.7 seconds with the automated transmission and a high pace of over 200mph (321km/h).

The smaller CT4-V Blackwing eschews V8 energy for a twin-turbocharged 3.6-litre V6 engine.

It produces 352kW of energy and 603Nm of torque and can also be mated to both a six-speed guide or 10-speed computerized transmission and rear-wheel drive.

GM claims a 0-60mph (0-96km/h) time of three.8 seconds with the automated, with a high pace of 189mph (304km/h).

The highly effective pair of sedans seems much less more likely to make it to Australia, nevertheless.

Cadillac final formally offered autos in Australia in 1969, however 40 years later it got here extraordinarily near returning to the native market with the second-generation CTS.

It formally introduced the posh sedan’s launch in 2007 and obtained native certification for its sale, with a number of sellers signing as much as carry the model which might have been offered alongside Hummer and Saab fashions.

GM even imported a number of dozen CTS sedans, just for them to be diverted as the corporate cancelled plans to promote the model in January 2009 simply weeks earlier than they had been as a result of go on sale.

Since then, Cadillac hasn’t produced every other right-hand drive autos and has additional diminished its presence exterior of markets like North America, China and the Center East. For instance, it sells only one car in Europe, the small XT4 crossover.