Australia and New Zealand will be the first two markets to receive the factory-built right-hand drive 2025 Cadillac Lyriq battery electric vehicle following its global reveal in Melbourne on November 15.
The brand attempted to launch itself into the local market with the factory-built right-hand drive CTS sedan in 2009, but this was postponed indefinitely following the slump of the luxury car market that year.
Now General Motors is eyeing up the rapid electric vehicle transition within the two Antipodean markets and will open a Cadillac Experience Centre as a destination point for luxury car buyers in Sydney, Melbourne, and Auckland.
GM ANZ managing director Jess Bala says the all-electric Cadillac portfolio in Australia and New Zealand would begin with the Lyriq crossover vehicle and grow with more entries.
“Cadillac will be in a position to offer a fully electric portfolio by 2030,” Bala says. “Launching our Cadillac EV business in Australia and New Zealand positions us well to be able to select the right models for these markets – just as we are doing with Lyriq.”
(pictured)Ernesto Ortiz, General Motors president and managing director of strategic markets, alliances, and distributors, Jess Bala, GM Australia and New Zealand managing director and John Roth, vice president of Global Cadillac.
“Cadillac will be in a position to offer a fully electric portfolio by 2030,” said Bala. “Launching our Cadillac EV business in Australia and New Zealand positions us well to be able to select the right models for these markets – just as we are doing with Lyriq.”
General Motors will open a Cadillac Experience Centre in Auckland, as well as one in Sydney and Melbourne to facilitate this. In a sit-down with media event Bala would not be drawn on what form the centres would take, other to confirm ‘it will not be a traditional dealership.’
Together with an online presence that will enable customers to explore and buy, Bala says these will be the foundations of the retail strategy for the Cadillac EV business in Australia and New Zealand.
“Our Experience Centres will be destination locations, where customers can discover more about Cadillac as a modern luxury brand and explore, test drive, and buy a Lyriq,” Bala says.
“Whether customers want to shop fully online or in-store, we will provide experiences that engage the senses, anticipate desires, and enable our customers to go on extraordinary journeys,” she says.
Cadillac global vice president John Roth says the introduction of a right-hand-drive Lyriq will enable new opportunities in important markets where EV adoption is strong.
The car itself is big – sized marginally bigger than an Audi etron – at nearly 5-metres long. While not confirmed, the only drivetrain option expected for Australasia is all-wheel drive with dual motors outputting a combined 370kW and 615Nm. Range is rated at 506km from the 100kWh battery.
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