Cadillac is developing an electric crossover that will come out in the 2020-2021 timeframe, Cadillac president Steve Carlisle announced at an event on the eve of the 2019 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
Although at first glance it would appear to be a Tesla Model X competitor, Carlisle said it will actually be a volume vehicle priced against midsize utility vehicles. The two-row electric Cadillac will have a range of more than 300 miles and be offered with all-wheel drive and Super Cruise, a system that offers semi-autonomous driving capability.
The upcoming model will be the first vehicle from a new General Motors electric vehicle architecture that will spawn front, rear- and all-wheel-drive vehicles in the future.
Sketches shown on a screen show a shark nose and distinctive vertical headlights in what design chief Andrew Smith said will be the new face of Cadillac.
Inside is a square steering wheel that retracts into the dashboard to herald the eventual age of fully autonomous driving. A digital screen extends across the entire dash and large screens on the backs of the front seats can entertain those in the second row.
Even though it will be the first electric vehicle for Cadillac, it is just the start of an expanding portfolio. “We’re the leading brand for GM for electrification,” Carlisle said, and the brand will be the pinnacle of mobility for the automaker. The luxury brand has customers with the means and wherewithal to try new technology.
On Friday General Motors announced plans to make Cadillac GM’s “lead electric vehicle brand” and said the luxury brand would get the first vehicle from the automaker’s new BEV3 platform that will produce a family of electric vehicles of all body styles, with the first vehicle around 2021. GM is developing a battery system that will be adjustable to fit the range of vehicles to come. Last year, GM said it would double its investment in electric and autonomous vehicles.
This will be the first pure-electric vehicle for Cadillac, which has had the CT6 and ELR plug-in hybrids (the ELR is shown above). The Chevrolet brand has the Bolt EV which was the 2017 MotorTrend Car of the Year, but which consumers have been slow to embrace. Sales fell 23 percent in 2018 to 18,019.
Tesla made electric vehicles desirable, but the automaker is facing on onslaught of new competition from traditional luxury brands including Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and Porsche. Among domestic automakers, Cadillac joins the fray and Ford will have a Mustang-inspired crossover in 2020, but we await details of Lincoln offerings. FCA plans to introduce four electric Maseratis as part of its five-year plan while spun-off Ferrari has a supercar in the works.
Carlisle credited Tesla for popularizing electric vehicles and making everyone else up their game. Across its lineup, Cadillac will introduce six new vehicles in the next three years.
The 2020 Cadillac XT6 — a 2019 Detroit auto show reveal — is shown in the gallery below.
The post Cadillac vs. Tesla? Cadillac Electric SUV On the Way appeared first on Motortrend.
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