Cadillac on Thursday officially unveiled General Motors’ high-performance 2026 Lyriq V, a vehicle developed to challenge competitors such as the Audi Q4 E-Tron, Mercedes-Benz EQB and BMW IX in US EV sales.
The five-seater Midsize SUV is the first all-electric vehicle to carry the V-series badge.
The vehicle’s 102-kilowatt-hour battery pack allows for an estimated 285 miles of range.
John Roth, vice president of Global Cadillac, said in a news media briefing on January 14 that the company is confident the vehicle will take market share from comparable luxury EVs.
“We will make Cadillac the best-selling luxury EV nameplate in the United States in 2025,” he said. “The sky is the limit for what you can do in the luxury EV space.”
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GM doesn’t consider Tesla in its comparison, a Cadillac spokesperson said because of its pricing structure.
The motor can produce up to 615 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque, similar to the Vistiq 3-row luxury EV vehicle. But the Lyriq V is faster, hitting 3.3 seconds 0-60 in what Cadillac calls Velocity Max mode.
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Production will begin early this year at General Motors’ Spring Hill Manufacturing Plant in Tennessee. The Lyriq V is priced at $79,990, including destination freight and excluding tax, title and dealer fees. Vehicles are expected to hit dealer lots by mid-2025.
GM sold 49,084 new Cadillacs last year, a 35% increase from 2023. Lyriq, on the other hand, saw a big boost. This was a 210% increase in sales to 28,402 sold for the year.
By the first half of 2025, Cadillac will launch five all-electric vehicles. Lyriq V, Optiq, Escalade IQ, Vistiq, and Ultraluxury Celestiq sedans, plus all assembly lines. .
The company also added information about the Escalade IQ since it begins deliveries in November 2024.
Since then, more than 900 Escalade IQs have been delivered, meeting the company’s claim of having the longest range of any electric SUV on the market covering 460 miles, Ross said.
“I drove it for several months and it was producing over 500 miles of range,” Ross said. “We have already received rave reviews from customers who have been involved in these early deliveries.”
Jackie Charniga covers General Motors for the Detroit Free Press. Contact her at jcharniga@freepress.com.
