Cadillac BEVs could aid GM NVES compliance

AS AUSTRALIA’S New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) comes into effect, Cadillac’s all-electric line-up may provide strategic advantages for parent company General Motors’ broader operations in this market as the storied American luxury car brand prepares for the first Australasian customer deliveries of its Lyriq large SUV that will be joined next year by the Optiq medium SUV and Vistiq upper large SUV.

Confirming that the NVES will consider total emissions across all brands under the General Motors Australia and New Zealand umbrella, including GM Specialty Vehicles, GM ANZ managing director Jess Bala acknowledged that selling electric Cadillacs would be “a benefit” to the company’s overall compliance strategy.

However, Ms Bala reiterated the company line that “Cadillac here is going to be a luxury niche volume brand”.

“It’s not intended to be mainstream. We’re not targeting any sort of massive mainstream volumes … that’s not part of the plan, and that’s also how we’ll be able to win with our amazing customer experience as well,” she said.

This becomes particularly significant given GM’s Australian portfolio includes the popular V8-powered Chevrolet Silverado pick-up, Chevrolet Corvette sportscar (another V8) and upcoming GMC Yukon (also V8) upper large SUV that arrives during the second quarter of this year.

“But it’s not the sole reason for being,” added Ms Bala, without confirming whether anticipated Cadillac sales volume would be sufficient to offset the high emissions of the Silverado, Yukon and Corvette.

To the end of February this year, the Silverado and Silverado HD hold a combined 36.2 per cent of Australia’s full-size pickup segment, with the former finding 370 customers and the latter 210. Chevrolet also shifted 67 Corvettes in the same timeframe.

As an indication of potential Lyriq popularity, Audi sold 62 Q8 E-Tron models YTD, BMW found 58 iX buyers, Lexus delivered 18 RZs and Mercedes-Benz topped the charts with 131 sales of its EQE SUV.

“Our focus will still continue to remain on bringing cars to market that customers want,” said Ms Bala.

“And that’s obviously very much in the niche space, whether it’s a full-size truck, a Corvette, a soon-to-be Yukon, or now a luxury EV play with Cadillac as well.”

General Motors Australia and New Zealand confirmed to GoAuto that Cadillac “will not be reporting sales data this year” to VFACTS or its Kiwi counterpart.

This included deflecting questions about how many of the claimed 9000 local expressions of interest for the Lyriq have converted into firm orders.

Ms Bala said the company was “very pleased and happy with the interest that we’ve had” in the Lyriq.

“We have just recently started officially doing test drives and we’ve had some really amazing response as well from people that have now been in the vehicle,” she said.

“We’re very confident now that once people can actually get in the vehicle and drive it, that that interest is only going to climb.”

Regardless of how modest Australasian sales expectations may or may not be, strong performance in the US electric vehicle market appears to be bolstering Cadillac’s confidence as it navigates wavering demand and regulatory considerations during its all-electric export push.

Cadillac global vice president John Roth claimed that the Lyriq, which is the brand's first battery electric vehicle (BEV), is performing exceptionally well in its domestic market.

Mr Roth said the Lyriq is the top-selling electric luxury vehicle in 29 US states, including “places that you wouldn't think of, like Texas”.

“As we finished up the calendar year 2024 and you look at the kind of the industry numbers, as well as how we performed, Lyrq was about 18 per cent of our overall business. And as you look at the luxury EV landscape, it ran right around 11 and a half (per cent),” he said.

“When you have the right EV with the right attributes, range, styling – and that price equation that you all ask about quite often – (Cadillac) is making sure those three things are dialled in. We do really well in the marketplace.

“On a quarterly basis, we’re already seeing a jump in those sales percentages,” added Mr Roth, who took this as validation of Cadillac’s potential for export success.

“As we finish up March, I know we’ll have more to share, but early data, early indication, shows that the momentum we had both from an industry luxury, EV sales, but more importantly, how Cadillac was performing in the marketplace, shows that we have the right formula for success, not just for the US.”

Asked whether Cadillac would stick to its plans to become a BEV-only brand globally given the Trump administration’s rollback of environmental programs in the US, Mr Roth dismissed the matter as a blip in General Motors’ long history.

“I guess the way I’d look at it is, General Motors being what 116 years old, we’ve worked with every administration going back to Theodore Roosevelt,” he said.

“As you look forward, our job is to work with the administrations to make sure that we comply with all the regulations – not just in the US, but around the world – the policies that are decided, and the thing I have learned most in my 30-plus-year career with General Motors is we adapt and have the ability to shift and move as the market calls for it.

“We’ve had many challenges over the years, and we can demonstrate all of those different times that we had to be ready for a pivot, and we’re we have a great leadership team that is constantly looking and listening to the customer, but also watching what’s happening in the public policy space to make sure that we're always doing the right thing.”