- It’s a new fiscal year for all the automakers and some are making out better than others when it comes to EV sales.
- General Motors, in particular, had a challenging year on the EV front and continues to struggle with its Ultium battery platform.
- However, good news is on the horizon for Cadillac, as a few key changes to its battery production make the Lyriq eligible for the $7500 tax credit.
The turn of the new year is an exciting time filled with new chapters, resolutions, and the promise of fresh offerings across industry lines. This is largely true for automakers, too, as they round up year-end sales figures and push toward new horizons, at least in their own words.
But this January was met with some tempered excitement for more reasons than one. Amid an alleged EV sales slowdown, automakers celebrated returns to pre-pandemic sales figures while contemplating how to act on EVs in the short term. Specifically, General Motors posted middling EV sales figures in 2023, save for one model.
Initially slated for production in 2020, a combination of the pandemic, teething software issues, and semi-conductor chip shortages delayed Lyriq production a number of times.
In a bit of a shocking turn, GM’s second best-selling EV in the US (behind the outbound Bolt and Bolt EUV) was the Cadillac Lyriq. Overall, 9154 Lyriqs were sold in 2023, making up 12% of GM’s 75,883 EV unit sales last year. By comparison, over 62,045 units of the Bolt and Bolt EUV were sold in 2023.
Following a much anticipated but delayed arrival, the Lyriq was finally enjoying its moment in the sun, so to speak.
But the turn of the new year brought another set of challenges for the domestic automaker, as new guidance for the consumer EV tax credit qualification arrived. And the Cadillac Lyriq no longer qualified, at least initially.
Built on GM’s Ultium EV platform, production and assembly of the Lyriq occurs at the company’s Spring Hill facility in Tennessee. As such, Cadillac had already won half the battle when it came to receiving the $7500 credit, but specific sourcing standards surrounding battery materials stood in GM’s way.
Cadillac will notify Lyriq owners about their incoming updates in March.
“In early January, Lyriq temporarily lost eligibility for the clean vehicle credit, due to the US Treasury’s updated guidelines,” a statement from GM reads. “As a result, GM’s supply chain team moved quickly to pull ahead a sourcing change for two minor components, allowing Ultium Cells to build qualifying cells.”
GM has yet to say how exactly it changed its cell production techniques so quickly. However, GM was offering $7500 off the Lyriq’s sticker price in lieu of the tax credit. This benefit will continue to be offered until the first tax credit-eligible Lyriq models hit the market, GM says.
Unlike other Ultium platform products, the Lyriq is focused on a luxury experience, true to its Cadillac name.
Once the Lyriq is tax credit eligible, the price will go back to $58,590 starting MSRP, without the tax credit baked into the pricing structure. Beyond the return of the tax credit, Cadillac is also updating the Lyriq in a few key ways for the new year. Namely, GM is making improvements to Super Cruise and adaptive cruise control availability, benefiting the Lyriq alongside.
“Lyriq is the cornerstone of Cadillac’s electric future, delivering what luxury customers are looking for in an EV,” said John Roth, global vice president of Cadillac. “Last year, it was the best-selling compact luxury EV SUV, capturing 33% of the segment. By offering this incentive, we expect to maintain momentum and reinforce our commitment to the future of EVs.”
Although Roth refers to the Lyriq as a “compact” luxury electric SUV, it is at least a foot longer than the Mercedes EQB, Audi Q4 e-tron, and Volvo XC40 EV. Wards Intelligence classifies the Lyriq as a midsize luxury crossover, competing with the Mercedes EQE CUV, BMW iX, Audi Q8 e-tron, and Lexus RZ.
With 9154 deliveries in 2023, the Lyriq trailed the iX (17,301), Q4 e-tron (10,750 sales), EQB (10,674), and EQE CUV (10,431). Lyriq sales outpaced the Q8 e-tron (8551), RZ (5386), and Volvo’s EVs. While the Toyota bZ4X is not a luxury vehicle, it outsold the Lyriq with 9329 units.
Does the standardization of chassis platforms make EVs more or less special? Why or why not? Please share your thoughts below.
A New York transplant hailing from the Pacific Northwest, Emmet White has a passion for anything that goes: cars, bicycles, planes, and motorcycles. After learning to ride at 17, Emmet worked in the motorcycle industry before joining Autoweek in 2022. The woes of alternate side parking have kept his fleet moderate, with a 2014 Volkswagen Jetta GLI and a 2003 Honda Nighthawk 750 street parked in his South Brooklyn community.
