How Cadillac Australia is hoping to buck the electric car downward trend
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With a premium price and product, Cadillac is hoping it will stand out from the sea of new electric vehicles coming to Australia.
Cadillac is gearing up to launch in Australia with the 2025 Lyriq electric vehicle (EV) later this year, but with customers cooling on electric cars, will it put the burgeoning brand in peril?
Not according to General Motors Speciality Vehicles (GMSV) boss Jess Bala, who believes Cadillac's premium positioning should insulate it from softening sales.
"We're bringing in a niche luxury brand, not a mainstream brand and that was always the plan and remains to be our plan," she said.
"We want Cadillac to be a brand that's sought after, not something that you see everywhere because you don't get that luxury exclusivity if you see a tonne of them out and around.
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"That will play to our advantage.
"We do want that to be something that people aspire for, it's that emotional purchase."
The Lyriq large SUV will be offered in two trims, the Luxury and the Sport priced at $117,000 before on-road costs and $119,000 respectively, which undercuts its stated rivals BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi.
For reference, the Audi Q8 e-tron starts at $140,600, the BMW iX is available from $130,900, and the Mercedes-Benz EQE is positioned from $134,900.
But the three big premium players aren't the only brands Cadillac will need to contend with, as a bevy of new arrivals are incoming to the Australian market at nearly all price points, including self-described premium brands such as Zeekr, Xpeng, and Jaecoo.
However, the bulk of electric car activity is at the lower end of the price spectrum, as major brands such as Tesla, Ford, Jeep, MG, GWM, and BYD shuffle positioning to try and stimulate EV demand.
The overall EV market in Australia has decreased 6.8 per cent to the end of September compared to the same period in 2023, while the total market is up 3.1 per cent.
Bala said despite what is happening in the wider market, Cadillac's focus is now to come to market and convince buyers why its product is the right for them.
"While what's going on in the industry from an EV standpoint right now is amazing with all of the brands and new entrants coming, it's certainly a buyers' market, and so our job now is to really show people why we are the right brand for them to get a luxury EV," she said.
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