The Lyriq is a hugely important vehicle for Cadillac. The brand's first venture into all-electric vehicles also happens to be the very first General Motors vehicle underpinned by the BEV3 platform. The Lyriq further spearheads the Detroit-based automaker's return to the European continent.
To make a long story short, GM sold its European business – comprising German marque Opel and British sibling Vauxhall – in 2017. The buyer was none other than Groupe PSA, which became Stellantis after the merger with Fiat Chrysler.
Back in October 2023, the American automaker announced that it would start its electric journey in the Old Continent with the Lyriq in – of all places – staunchly neutral Switzerland. Cadillac plans to expand to five additional markets by the end of 2025, including Sweden and France. In this part of the world, the Lyriq can be purchased online in a similar fashion to Tesla's direct-to-consumer model. After Switzerland and EV-centric Sweden, the next European country to welcome the Lyriq is France.
According to General Motors Europe big kahuna Jaclyn McQuaid, the order books will open March 23. The chief executive officer and president of General Motors Europe didn't mention specifications or pricing, which is a bit weird. Even so, we do have an idea. Remember Switzerland?
Over there, Cadillac lists the Lyriq with a starting price of 82,000 francs and a delivery window of May to June 2024 for orders placed today. At current exchange rates, 82,000 CHF is 93,175 USD, making the Euro-spec Lyriq a lot pricier than the Lyriq for North America. For the 2024 model year, the Lyriq starts at 58,590 dollars in the US of A.
Photo: Cadillac
There is, however, a significant difference between the American and European versions. More specifically, Europe gets the dual-motor setup by default. Rated at 388 kW and 610 Nm or 520 horsepower and 450 pound-feet of torque in old money, the Lyriq needs 5.3 seconds to reach 100 kilometers per hour (62 miles per hour). The 102-kWh battery pack is good for up to 530 kilometers (329 miles) in the WLTP's combined test cycle.
The high-voltage battery is covered for eight years or 160,000 miles (around 100,000 miles). By comparison, the new vehicle warranty is four years or 100,000 miles (just over 60,000 miles). Extremely well equipped from the outset, the Lyriq for Europe is rocking a 19-speaker audio system from AKG, wireless charging for one's mobile phone, and Google built-in features to boot.
The biggest problem of the Lyriq, however, is pricing. Despite being a far more luxurious vehicle than the Tesla Model Y Dual Motor Long Range, 82,000 CHF is way too much compared to 50,980 CHF or 57,925 USD at current exchange rates.
Adding insult to injury, the Model Y Dual Motor Long Range is faster, quicker, and slightly better in terms of driving range. Tesla's Swiss website lists 5.0 seconds, 217 kph (135 mph) instead of 210 kph (130 mph) for the Caddy, and no more than 565 km (351 mi) with the standard 19-inch alloy wheels.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News