GM’s Spring Hill, Tennessee, factory has started producing the electric crossover 2023 Cadillac LYRIQ. It is the luxury brand’s first electric vehicle.
After GM originally said that the LYRIQ wouldn’t begin production until late 2022, production has officially begun. As a response to criticism that its new EVs were taking too long to reach customers, the automaker set an early 2022 start date on the LYRIQ through an accelerated development schedule.
Cadillac will regain leadership, become a tier one luxury brand again, and become highly desirable from both a design and engineering standpoint, according to GM President Mark Reuss in a press conference on Monday.
The LYRIQ, which made its debut back in August 2020, is expected to start at $59,990 – though there aren’t information about its trim levels and options yet. GM intends to deliver 300 miles of EPA-rated range with the LYRIQ’s 100.4 kWh battery pack and rear-wheel drive. The LYRIQ will have 340 horsepower and 324 pounds of torque.
In public fast chargers, the LYRIQ can be charged up to 190kW, and the home version can be charged up to 19.2kW (with the right equipment), adding up to 52 miles of range per hour. The car will include Super Cruise, the hands-free driver assistance system that originated at Cadillac but is now found in other GM vehicles. There are also a slew of other features, including an active noise cancellation system, LED headlamps, and a 33-inch touchscreen display that stretches from the left of the driver all the way across the dashboard.
GM is also using Ultium technology to power the LYRIQ, which is being used to power the automaker’s next-generation lineup of EVs as well as the Hummer EV. To reduce cobalt dependency, GM modified the chemistry of its Ultium battery cells. Additionally, the LYRIQ’s battery electronics are built directly into the modules, removing nearly 90 percent of the battery pack wiring.
240,000 people have expressed interest in the LYRIQ, according to executives. Customers who have indicated an interest in the vehicle but haven’t put any money down have simply indicated an interest. When the order bank opens on May 19th, GM anticipates a high number of those hand-raisers will become actual customers.
This is good news for GM, which said it would launch 30 EVs globally within three years using 35 billion dollars. GM prepared its Spring Hill, Tennessee, manufacturing facility – its largest in North America – to build the LYRIQ and other electric cars with $2 billion in investment.
With Ultium battery technology, which is also used to produce the LYRIQ and GM’s other electric vehicles, GM will be able to scale its battery-electric operations and reduce costs. Ultium’s modular design allows it to produce 19 different battery and drive configurations.
In addition to the LYRIQ, the upcoming BMW iX SUV, Volvo XC40 Recharge and C40 Recharge, Audi E-tron, Mercedes-Benz EQE, Rivian R1S, Maserati Grecale, and the new Volvo XC40 will also compete to lure customers to electric vehicles.
