GM supports Cadillac Down Under

CADILLAC is definitely coming, despite huge pressure in the Australian market around electric vehicles and an oncoming onslaught of new players from China.

The promise from GM Australia and New Zealand managing director, Jess Bala, is that General Motors HQ is “100 per cent behind us launching Cadillac here”.

Speaking with GoAuto at a recent event, Ms Bala re-stated that there is an ironclad guarantee that GM won’t back out at the last minute… as happened last time with the Cadillac brand back in 2009.

“GM is 100 per cent behind us launching Cadillac here,” Ms Bala said.

“There's been a lot of time and investment that's gone into it already. Obviously, that includes having right-hand drive on these EV platforms for Cadillac. So that's a long-term investment that's been in the plan for some time.

“So to pull that back now would be a bit of a waste. I would say there's absolutely commitment. But like every company, regardless of industry around the world, you have to assess what's going on,” Ms Bala said.

“It's intended to be a niche luxury brand. We're not going after mainstream volumes. We're not going after where a lot of those brands are playing. We want to be exclusive. We want to be unique. We want to be an aspirational product and brand that you don't see everywhere, because that's how you become if you see it everywhere, you no longer can see it as aspirational and luxurious.

“So that's why we think Cadillac, again, is the right fit for here. When you combine that with where the brand's sort of pivoting to already has pivoted to from a fashion forward, edgier modern luxury brand. It's that part of it that really does suit Australia and New Zealand.”

Ms Bala said that she is conscious of the new Chinese EV uprising, with marques like Zeekr heading here imminently, and BYD rumoured to add some high-spec, high-price EVs under its Yangwang sub-brand. But she’s convinced Cadillac is a different offering.

“I wouldn't say (the business is) worried. No. I think it's a really exciting time in the industry, because what the Chinese brands are doing, regardless of whether they're mainstream or luxury, is really leading the way.

“Their innovation, their speed to market is very impressive. So, I mean, I think it's an exciting time.”

Ms Bala stated that Cadillac isn’t just coming to Australia to offset the high-emission, high-profit offerings in the Chevrolet Silverado range.

“We've got Cadillac coming, so we'll be selling EVs, which will help with that as well. It's not the reason for doing Cadillac. Cadillac's been in the plan for far longer than we knew about the emission scheme, obviously, but it will help our focus…. is, still, will be, and always will be, just bringing to market the right cars for our customers and recognizing those opportunities.

“We're very supportive of NVES. It's something that us, as a country, we need to do – but we can't force a shift to 100 per cent EVs overnight. Customers aren't ready for it. The country's not ready for it. So we have to find that balance between offering EVs in the way that customers want them, and we see that as Cadillac and what we're going to do there, but then still providing these sorts of vehicles, like Corvette, Yukon, Silverado, that customers still want as well.”

The Cadillac Lyriq five-seat luxury SUV is the first model to be launched in Australia, and pricing for that model is due “very shortly”, Ms Bala said.

The Lyriq should be here in the final quarter of this year.