Many automotive manufacturers have taken to branding their all-new electric vehicles with a specific badge or designation. Mercedes has its “EQ” division. BMW is using the letter “i” followed by a letter or number. And Cadillac has chosen the suffix “-iq,” with the 2023 Cadillac Lyriq and upcoming 2024 Cadillac Celestiq the first to sport the new appendage. But what happens if the vehicle isn’t all-new?
Well, at other brands, some older gas models just get “EV” or “electric” added to the end of their name, much like the Hyundai Kona Electric or Kia Soul EV. And while recent reports suggested Benz would drop the redundant EQ branding, it seems Cadillac isn’t giving up on the -iq suffix. Even if it needs to be added to well-known models, like its flagship Escalade.
Surely the marketing team wouldn’t spring for an “Escaladiq”—that would be silly, right? And “Escalade EV” just doesn’t cut it for the luxury brand. Someone must have really wracked their brain IQ power on this one, because what Cadillac came up with was this, the recently announced “Escalade IQ.”
In a new teaser video late June, the brand gives us our first sneak peek of the Escalade IQ, to be revealed on August 9.
Learn more about the cars
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2023 Cadillac XT5
MSRP $45,998 to $59,098
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2023 Cadillac Escalade
MSRP $99,598 to $178,898
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2023 Cadillac CT4
MSRP $39,598 to $68,698
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2023 Cadillac CT5
MSRP $43,798 to $97,698
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2023 Cadillac Escalade ESV
MSRP $103,098 to $182,398
If you watched the above video in full screen (like I did) you may have noticed that video probably should’ve come with a strobe light warning, or something to that effect. If you didn’t, spoiler alert: all that’s shown is the silhouette of the front of the pre-production vehicle, which Cadillac calls the “illuminated black crystal shield.” It kind of looks like a nose (the Cadillac emblem) and a mouth to me; it’s a happy all-electric full-size SUV.
There are pretty much no other details to unravel just yet, but the company hopes to offer a fully electric lineup by 2030. If Cadillac is looking for names, I’ve thought of a few perfect ones: XT6 IQ, XT5 IQ, and XT4 IQ. (Time to take a break.)
I guess this also means an electric Lincoln Navigator can’t be far behind, right? I mean, there’s no better competition for the Escalade IQ than the Navigator EV? If you have any better naming strategies, comment below, or let us know how you feel about an all-electric Cadillac Escalade.
Keyword: Cadillac's all-electric Escalade IQ will debut August 9