A trio of new trademark applications hint at Cadillac’s potential Australian launch line-up
The odds of Cadillac relaunching in Australia are looking increasingly likely following the submission of three new Cadillac-related trademark applications with the local intellectual property office, specifically surrounding the Optiq and Escalade IQ nameplates.
For anyone not up to speed on these model names, the Cadillac Optiq is an upcoming large battery-electric SUV, while the Escalade IQ is the looming EV version of Cadillac’s iconic full-size SUV.
All three trademark applications – Optiq, Cadillac Optiq and Escalade IQ – were submitted on July 12 exclusively under Class 12 (anything motor vehicle-related), further increasing the likelihood of Cadillac being relaunched in Australia in the near future, possibly even by the end of this year.
Their submission comes in the wake of General Motors having already secured the Cadillac Lyriq nameplate in our market, meaning Cadillac could ultimately launch here with a three-pronged EV line-up comprising mid-size, large and extra-large SUVs.
“I can’t comment on that at all,” GM Australia and New Zealand managing director Marc Ebolo told carsales in March when we asked him directly about the chances of Cadillac being launched as an EV brand locally.
However, last year GM gave the strongest hint yet that it would return to right-hand drive markets, as part of a “regional ambidextrous strategy” for its GM International (GMI) division, which includes markets outside the Americas and China, such as Australia.
GM is investing more than $US35 billion in electric and autonomous vehicle technology “to deliver the industry’s best EV portfolio with vehicles that are fun to drive and capable, at every style and price point”.
“As for growth, GM is implementing once-in-a-generation transformational investments which will reshape mobility – and we are developing our plans to bring those technologies to our markets,” said GM in a statement when it invited international media to drive its EVs in Michigan in July 2022.
“GMI presents a lot of opportunities for us to grow the business… A diverse region like GMI brings GM global scale that will enable us to transform the auto industry all around the world.
“This transformation will happen at different paces across the markets within GMI and we’ll be engaging different parts of the value chain as we make this transition – from sales to production to supply chain to partnerships, to customer service and much more.
“Stay tuned for announcements later this year and in the beginning of next year. We aren’t making any announcements about right-hand drive at this time but stay tuned.”
General Motors backflipped on its plan to launch Cadillac in Australia at the 11th hour back in January 2009, when imports of the large CTS sports sedan were instead sent to New Zealand, before it axed local Commodore production in 2017 and killed off Holden in 2020 – when the GMSV brand was established to sell locally converted Chevrolet Silverado pick-ups, Camaro muscle-cars and the Corvette supercar.
GM has flip-flopped several times since its about-face on Cadillac’s Australian launch more than decade ago, suggesting it would introduce the CT6 sedan here in 2015, before later that year ruling out Cadillac for Australia or any other right-hand drive market before 2030, then pulling back that estimate to at least 2021 or 2022.
When it was revealed in 2020, GM said the Cadillac Lyriq would be the first of at least 20 new electrified models from the US car-maker by 2023.
Since then in North America it has launched the small Bolt EV, the Silverado EV, the GMC Hummer EV pick-up and SUV, and the Cadillac Lyriq, which is the first production model to use GM’s latest BEV3 modular EV architecture and Ultium lithium-ion pouch-style batteries developed with LG Chem and Honda.
Based on GM’s ground-breaking new Ultium EV platform, the Lyriq was revealed as the first battery-electric model from Cadillac in August 2020, and will be a key plank in the 120-year-old US car-maker’s plan to be an EV-only brand by 2030.
Thanks to leaked intel out of China, we know the larger Cadillac Optiq measures 4822mm long, 1912mm wide and 162mm tall, and rides on a 2954mm wheelbase, making it roughly the same size as the current-gen Kia Sorento.
Meantime, the bigger and inevitably more expensive Lyriq casts a 5003x1978x1635mm shadow and rides on a 3094mm wheelbase, while the combustion-powered Escalade (the IQ version hasn’t debuted yet) has Toyota LandCruiser-dwarfing dimensions of 5382mm, 2059mm, 1948mm and 3071mm.
Local competition for the Optiq will inevitably include the all-conquering Tesla Model Y, upcoming Polestar 4, Ford Mustang Mach-E and Lexus RZ, whereas the Lyriq is primed for battle against more upmarket offerings like the Polestar 3, BMW iX and Audi Q8 e-tron.
The Escalade, meantime, would be in a class of its own, given it dwarfs the 300 Series, Nissan Patrol, Hyundai Palisade and Jeep Grand Cherokee – none of which are available with EV power.
The similarly-sized GMC Yukon, which also appears Australian-bound, could technically be classed as an in-house alternative for the Escalade, but the two models would likely be offered at different price points, especially considering the more luxurious Cadillac’s EV drivetrain.
Leaked photo source: cnevpost.com
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Keyword: Cadillac relaunch builds steam as more nameplates are secured