If you have been frustrated while waiting to get your hands on a Cadillac Lyriq electric SUV, this should finally be some good news. The big cheese at Cadillac says there are a lot of them on the ground with more on the way now that most of the production bottlenecks have reportedly been resolved.
Cadillac Lyriq Sales So Far
Cadillac delivered only 86 Lyriqs in 2022 in the U.S., and the pace remained slow in the first part of 2023. However, it picked up in the final months, bringing deliveries to around 9,000 units by year’s end. Of those, 3,800 were in the last quarter, said Vice President of Global Cadillac John Roth. This increase made the Lyriq the best-selling electric compact luxury SUV in the U.S. Furthermore, in China, sales were up 60 percent.
The Lyriq accounted for 25 percent of GM’s EV sales in January in the U.S., up from 12 percent in the final quarter of 2023—an encouraging sign of growth, according to Roth. The demand was always there, and now there is sufficient availability of inventory to meet it.
The Lyriq does not qualify for the available federal EV tax break under the revised Inflation Reduction Act; however, GM now offers a $7,500 incentive to customers who purchase most versions of the EV. Notably, the Lyriq starts at $59,985 before any incentives. The automaker continues to work to become eligible for the federal tax break by making changes to its supply and production processes. GM has indicated that it is close to making the Cadillac Lyriq and the Chevrolet Blazer EV SUVs eligible soon.
Long Time Coming
The production Lyriq was first unveiled in 2021, generating a wave of enthusiasm. Buyers of limited edition Debut Editions placed their deposits in April of that year. When order banks reopened in May 2022, the 2023 model year sold out within hours, highlighting the demand. It just took time for production to catch up.
However, the rollout has been painfully slow, partly due to the product’s newness as Cadillac’s first EV, which required careful handling given the importance of first impressions. Production started at the Spring Hill Assembly plant in Tennessee in March 2022 with the rear-drive model, adding the second motor for all-wheel drive a year later. The Lyriq’s batteries are sourced from GM’s joint venture plant with LG Energy Solution in Warren, Ohio, where production bottlenecks were reported due to equipment shortages for module manufacturing.
Barra Frustrated, Progress Being Made
In December, GM CEO Mary Barra expressed her own frustration with the prolonged rollout of its new EVs that had some customers waiting up to a full year for their ordered Lyriq. Notably, the Lyriq came to market with surprising speed, with its launch actually pulled ahead by nine months during the pandemic and semiconductor chip shortage, when many vehicle programs were delayed.
With a strong order bank, a steep launch had been planned but could not be executed due to supply chain, production, software, and quality issues. Barra mentioned that the production issues and module shortages had largely been resolved, with production expected to ramp up quickly in the new year as suggested by the January sales figures. Furthermore, issues related to the recently-announced stop-sale of the similar Chevy Blazer EV should not affect Lyriq production.
Moreover, Roth indicated that Cadillac has started hand-building Celestiq EVs for customers, with the first deliveries expected this year. He did not specify how many had been ordered, citing confidentiality for the exclusive customers of the bespoke electric car priced over $300,000.
