Cadillac Lyriq Will Cost Less Than Everyone Thought

Aug. 13, 2020 11:45 AM ET by Jay Traugott Pricing / 13 Comments

Is it 2022 yet?

Cadillac will soon enter the all-electric vehicle market and must get everything right in order to succeed. The Cadillac Lyriq, due to go on sale in late 2022 as a 2023 model, was recently revealed in near-production form and both its styling and figures are impressive. This Audi e-tron competitor will come equipped with a 100-kWh battery, a near 50/50 weight distribution, and a driving range of over 300 miles on a single charge. That latter figure will need to increase by launch time; the Tesla Model X can already hit 351 miles. But there is still one piece of information Cadillac has not provided: an exact price.

Previously, it was reported the Lyriq will begin at less than $75,000, but Cadillac President Steve Carlisle recently stated it'll be quite a bit less.

Automotive News reports that while speaking at the JP Morgan Auto Conference, Carlisle said the following: "This car will need to be priced similar to how the industry prices midsize lux SUVs today, maybe a slight premium at the outset. It's a price that won't be high five digits. It won't start with a seven and it won't start with a six." Translate: likely somewhere in the mid-$50,000 range.

Those who might have only been considering buying one could have more motivation to do so now. It's also worth bearing in mind California and New York both cap state EV tax incentives at $60,000, and both are guaranteed to be big markets for the Lyriq. It'd be bad business if those residents were unable to qualify, especially since GM vehicles are no longer eligible for federal tax incentives.

Although not all luxury vehicle customers are ready to make the switch to an EV, Carlisle added the brand is fully aware of that. "We're putting extraordinary efforts here into creating conditions for adoption. Every indication is that consumers are getting increasingly ready. It takes a whole ecosystem approach." That ecosystem is one of the reasons why the Lyriq won't hit the streets until late 2022.

GM recently announced it's joining forces with EVgo to add 2,700 EV fast-chargers to an existing network over the next five years. The additional charging stations should help ease any remaining range anxiety fears.