Automotive: Cadillac forced to abandon 100% EV plans by 2030 (2nd Update)

Another GM brand has had to eat its words. Cadillac announced that it will no longer pursue an exclusively electric vehicle lineup by the brand’s previously established 2030 deadline.

The company is still in the process of offering electric vehicles across all of its market segments, but remains ready to meet customer demand for internal combustion and hybrid vehicles.

According to the Detroit Free Press, the announcement came by way of Global Cadillac Vice President John Roth during a media event on Wednesday. Roth noted that while Cadillac will offer all electric vehicles by 2030, the brand will likely continue the sale of traditional combustion vehicles for some time after that.

This is a major departure for the brand, which has advertised its intentions to become the first fully-electric brand within the General Motors umbrella.

In fact, former Cadillac and GM of North America President Steve Carlisle had previously stated that 2030 would be “the end of the ICE age for Cadillac.” Current GM President Of North America Rory Harvey issued a similar sentiment back in 2021, stating outright that Cadillac wouldn’t sell gasoline powered cars after 2030.

Cadillac’s initial plans have been tempered by the reality of the electric vehicle market here in the United States. While EV sales continue to grow in the States, the rate of adoption has not kept pace with automaker’s plans for the end of the decade. Cox Automotive reports that while EV sales were up 2.6 percent during the first quarter of the year compared to 2023, they were down 15.2 percent compared to Q4 of 2023.

They’ll be based on a flexible EV architecture, enabling many body styles in front-wheel, rear-wheel and all-wheel-drive configurations

Most of the EVs will be introduced as Cadillacs, a chance to position the iconic-but-tarnished luxury brand once again as a tech leader

The first model, a Cadillac crossover utility, will debut in 2021.

A big focus will be on China, Cadillac’s top-selling market

Eventually, Buick, GMC and Chevrolet will share the electric vehicle architecture

What we’re hearing: GM President Mark Reuss is doubling the resources dedicated to EVs and AVs — not dollars, but brainpower

Its Cruise Automation self-driving unit is reporting progress on the AV front: CTO Kyle Vogt tweeted video of its driverless cars easily handling complex traffic in San Francisco ahead of this year’s launch of a commercial robo-taxi service

The bottom line: Today 75% of GM’s 4,000 powertrain engineers work on internal combustion engine technology, and 25% work on EVs. Soon, those numbers will be reversed

General Motors president Mark Reuss confirmed that Cadillac will become the company’s lead EV brand, shifting the emphasis away from Chevrolet who rolled out both the Volt and the Bolt with limited success.

Automotive News says Cadillac will become GM’s first brand to build a vehicle on the automaker’s next-generation EV platform, called BEV3, expected in 2021. The new platform is a major part of GM’s plans to launch at least 20 EVs by 2023. Why? Because most of the EVs are bought by wealthier consumers who lean toward premium brands.

GM hasn’t yet said whether that first Cadillac EV will be a sedan, coupe or crossover, nor where it will be built. In 2017, however, the company said BEV3 was flexible enough to underpin everything from compact crossovers to a large seven-passenger luxury sports utility vehicle and a large commercial van.