The battery-powered Celestiq sedan, which starts “at $300,000 and up,” is tasked with more than restoring Cadillac to its former glory; it must now back up its executives’ bold claim to “re-establish the iconic brand as the world’s standard.”
But at more than three times the average transaction price of a vehicle from General Motors’ luxury brand, it’s hard to imagine many of those monstrous Cadillacs – no matter how highly customized – will be. quietly charging behind the garage door in the suburbs.
As the market enters an era where lower-priced EVs pack 300-mile range along with incredible horsepower and torque, who needs a bespoke EV?
Cadillac is betting on it.
Luxury brand GM, which plans to follow the market in phasing out gasoline engines by 2030, is trying to get where its luxury rivals are dominating. Executives boast that the brand will build less than two Celestiqs per day on average, when it goes live producer by hand at the GM Engineering Center outside Detroit in December 2023.
But will customers take the bait?
The Cadillac specs revealed Monday doesn’t seem spectacular enough to justify the price. Built on the same Ultium platform that underpins all of General Motors’ future EVs, the Celestiq will feature a 600-horsepower, dual-motor, all-wheel-drive setup that can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 3.8 seconds – crawl compared to some Teslas, Porsches and Ford Mach-E Mustang GT Performance models). Cadillac estimates that the sedan can go 300 miles on a full charge, which will be the industry standard by the time the Celestiq arrives.
High-tech features include a smart roof four quadrants, adjustable3D printed steering wheel and the latest version of Cadillac Ultra yacht Advanced driver assistance system.
The vehicle, which is available at select “waitlist only” Cadillac dealerships, will come with a concierge to help decide on colors, trim and materials. So far, the brand’s “whispering facts” have shown “a wide range of high net worth individuals would consider wanting to own a vehicle like this,” said Rory Harvey, Global Vice President. of Cadillac said.
Cadillac has not determined how many “Ultra low volume” Celestiqs will build but said it expects to sell mostly in North America, followed by China and the Middle East.
Executives were encouraged this spring by high demand for the company’s first electric car, Cadillac Lyriq SUV $60,000 expected later this year, that forces it to close its 2023 order book sooner than expected.
“I believe we primed the pump,” said Harvey. “We now have very solid foundations to take the brand to the next level.”
However, is there still demand for a Cadillac with a starting price of 5 times? Executives said they believe buyers are willing to spend more, noting that a fully loaded Escalade V, a high-performance version of Cadillac’s large SUV, costs $150,000, and Some Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing models will enter six-figure territory.
“We believe we have the ability to generate customer demand at this higher price point,” said Harvey.
Cadillac is expected to begin delivering the Celestiq to customers in 2025, with high hopes for a revival.
“Cadillac was at one time considered the world standard,” says Harvey. “We believe in terms of this vehicle, it gives us the ability to start winning back some of those positions.”
