Demand for luxury electric vehicles (EVs) appears to be falling overseas, but that hasn’t stopped Cadillac from pushing on with its electric-first relaunch in Australia. Due to arrive before the end of 2024, the Lyriq is Cadillac’s only model confirmed for a local launch, and it’s being benchmarked against circa-$130,000 electric SUVs such as the BMW iX , Audi Q8 e-tron , and Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV . These EVs aren’t volume sellers in Australia, totalling 853 sales in the first half of 2024.
Audi recently announced it’s planning to end Q8 e-tron production early , directly referencing “a global decline in customer orders in the electric luxury class segment”. This doesn’t worry Cadillac though, with General Motors Australia and New Zealand managing director Jess Bala telling Australian media the Lyriq isn’t intended to sell in high volumes. “You’re right in the aspect that it’s a premium luxury vehicle, but that’s absolutely the intent of it,” said Ms Bala.
“From our standpoint, it’s still intended to be a niche entry. We’re not going after mainstream volumes. “We’re going after that higher end luxury premium space where we think we can really deliver not just the stunning car that matches the brand and delivers on the brand promise, but also the customer experience that will go along with that.
” Since going on sale in the US in mid 2022, Cadillac has sold almost 13,100 examples of the Lyriq according to GM Authority . However, approxima.