An undated handout photo shows the new Cadillac Lyriq, one of the electric vehicles that General Motors Co announced on October 20, 2020 that their plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee, would begin production.
General Motors Co. | Reuters
DETROIT — General Motors is gearing up to bring Cadillac’s first electric vehicle to drivers by announcing Tuesday that it will begin production of customer units of its EV crossover, called the Lyriq, next week.
Cadillac’s vice president, Rory Harvey, says production of the car will begin as planned despite the coronavirus pandemic and an ongoing semiconductor chip shortage that is causing sporadic factory shutdowns.
“Lyriq was protected while we were working on it,” Harvey told reporters on Tuesday.
Starting at $59,990, the Lyriq is the first of the brand’s new range of electric vehicles and SUVs, as it plans to make all-electric vehicles by 2030. The timely start of production, despite serious problems, testifies to the importance of the car to the brand.
2023 Cadillac Lyric
Cadillac
Harvey said that after production begins on Monday at the Tennessee plant, Lyriq is expected to start reaching dealers by May.
Cadillac introduced this vehicle in August 2020 as one of the first vehicles to be released with the next generation GM Ultium electric vehicle architecture. The company called the car its new “technological spearhead” to compete with Tesla and other legacy automakers making electric vehicles.
Harvey said the company has seen “huge” interest in the Lyriq, citing more than 220,000 “hands up” or people who have asked for more information about the vehicle. He declined to comment on how many orders the company received for the car.
“Given the level of demand we think we have on Lyriq, we expect to see a pretty significant increase in capacity over the previous recording plan,” Harvey said.
An illuminated Cadillac crest on a Lyriq show car.
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