GM is back in Australia with EVs - here's what to expect, with SUVs, crossovers and sedans to take on Tesla, BYD, Ford, Toyota, Hyundai, Kia and other electric car makers
It opens up the floodgates for an entire portfolio of related Cadillac EV models to come to Australia, including the Celestiq flagship fastback sedan, as well as a slew of SUVs and crossovers in the future.
All are possible for Australia thanks to the Lyriq’s BEV3 EV architecture – dubbed Ultium –that has been designed and developed specifically with right-hand-drive (RHD) applications in mind.
Furthermore, with every other existing GM model currently produced out of the factory being left-hand-drive only - except for the Chevrolet Corvette - the Ultium architecture could see the arrival of more affordable EVs in the future for Australia from Buick and Chevrolet.
It will be a far cry from the trickle of re-manufactured trucks, as well as the Corvette, that has represented GM in Australia since the Americans pulled the plug on Holden in 2020.
“The Lyriq will be the first (GM) RHD EV to come to our markets… and the Cadillac portfolio led by Lyriq,” according to GM Australia and New Zealand (GMANZ) Managing Director, Jess Bala.
This month’s confirmation of the Cadillac Lyriq electric vehicle (EV) SUV is an entirely different ballgame for the American parent company that is the owner of the Holden brand.
“And it’s not only Lyriq. There are going to be more Cadillacs to come. We’re setting up a brand and a business, and it needs, obviously, more than just one entry… but we’re not confirming anything – other than Lyriq – today.”
By dint of its sub-Lyriq size, expected pricing and anticipated positioning, this will probably be Cadillac’s most important model once launched, as it will be thrust in the thick of the burgeoning mid-sizedEVluxury SUV market.
Unveiled the the recent Los Angeles Auto Show, details are sparse right now.
The Lyriq’s BEV3 EV architecture has been designed and developed specifically with right-hand-drive (RHD) applications in mind.
But the company proclaimed that the Optiq is charged with “expanding (Cadillac’s) global electric car portfolio”, adding that though it “…will act as the entry point for Cadillac’s EV line-up in North America”, the newcomer’s “spirited driving dynamics are designed to appeal to global luxury customers”.
Like the Lyriq, the Optiq should eventually offer single-motor/two-wheel-drive and dual-motor/all-wheel-drive configurations, courtesy of course of its Ultium base.
The same could also apply to the still-secret, full-sized and three-row Vistiq – or whatever Cadillac calls its Kia EV9-sized EV SUV. About the same size as the petrol-poweredseven-seater XT6 model released back in 2019 and offered elsewhere in Cadillac’s portfolio, further details are expected to drop sometime next year.
This three-pronged EV SUV scenario seems to make most sense as the long-lived GM luxury brand moves slowly and methodically into Australia.
The Chevrolet Blazer EV may also find its way to Australia.
But don’t discount the Celestiq – a large four-door fastback flagship and a technical and engineering showcase of where GM’s most advanced thinking is currently at. We’re talking a Mercedes-Benz EQS alternative, as the brand attempts to reassert itself as “The Standard of the World”, to use an iconic advertising tagline.
Stepping down from Cadillac, the Chevrolet Blazer EV and its slightly-smaller Chevrolet Equinox EV stablemate roughly correspond with the Lyriq and Optiq, but of course will be far-more affordable and accessible, so may also find their way to Australia.
According to GM Strategic Markets, Alliances and Distributors President and Managing Director, Ernesto Ortiz, the flexibility and versatility of GM’s new EV architecture means vehicles of any shape and size are a possibility in the future.
“Ultium… is one of our competitive advantages,” he said. “Ultium will enable our entire portfolio line-up, from crossovers, SUVs, full-sized pick-ups and also luxury cars that we will bring to market.”
The Celestiq is a large four-door fastback.
So, what does the introduction of Cadillac and potentially other future EVs mean for the GMSV?
Bala believes the two operations have broad enough appeal to coexist and thrive on their own terms.
“We’ve confirmed [GMC] Yukon Denali last week, and that will come through our GMSV business with our dealers,” she said. "It’s really dependent on customer experience, customer needs and customer wants.
“GMSV was set up to be a speciality umbrella brand, where we go after capability and performance – which is why Yukon fits over there, along with Silverado and Corvette – and Cadillac as a brand itself needs to stand on its own. Obviously, it will be a complementary business under the GMANZ business entity overall, but we do see that the customers are very different.”
In 2012, Holden released the Volt, an American-made, five-door hatchback.
Finally, GM is not entirely new to selling EVs in Australia.
In 2012, Holden released the Volt, an American-made, five-door hatchback based on Opel’s Astra small-car platform, using a 1.4-litre four-cylinder petrol engine to only charge up a battery to drive an electric motor connected to the front wheels.
Futuristic and frankly thematically very similar to the Nissan e-Power system that essentially achieves the same results in today’s X-Trail and Qashqai e-Powerhybrids, the Volt failed to find buyers and was discontinued by 2014.
Clearly ahead of its time, the Volt nonetheless showed GM’s willingness to pioneer electrification in Australia.
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