Others Delay, Cadillac Instead Increases Production Of Lyriq Electric SUV

Lyriq 2024. (Doc. Cadillac)

JAKARTA - In the midst of another vehicle manufacturer that was forced to delay production due to disruption of supply chains and limited parts, Cadillac, General Motors (GM) division, instead boosted the production of its compact electric vehicle, Lyriq.

The decision went hand in hand with the abundance of battery availability and high demand for luxury electric vehicles, although the company acknowledged there was a slowdown in demand for other types of EVs.

As reported by Reuters on January 19, Lyriq's production was previously hampered by the issue of assembly of battery modules, which limited the GM EV plan. Furthermore, this luxury vehicle only sold 2,400 units in the first half of 2023.

But according to John Roth, Cadillac's Global Vice President, 9,000 Lyriq units were finally successfully delivered in 2023, well above the initial target.

"The development and launch processes have been carried out in stages in line with the availability of battery modules. Now, with strong supplies, we see tremendous sales performance," said Roth, who also stated that he had "high hopes" for the continuation of the achievement.

Lyriq now accounts for a quarter of Cadillac's total sales, or an increase of 12 percent in the fourth quarter of the previous year. Roth also said that "luxury electric cars are actually operating at a different level from the main market in terms of EVs," adding that as many as 60 percent of consumers in the industry plan to choose electric vehicles as the next luxury vehicle option.

Cadillac continues to strengthen its EV line with the aim of offering a fully electric portfolio by 2030.

It is known, Lyriq is the first to use GM's new Ultium EV battery technology launched last year. This measurable technology allows GM to produce batteries of size ranging from 50.0 to 200.0 kWh. While Lyriq batteries offer a capacity of 102.0 kWh and offer an estimated distance of up to 505 km per charge in RWD models and 494 km for AWD versions.

For the US market, the basic variant is priced at 58,590 US dollars or equivalent to Rp914 million with a battery guarantee of up to 8 years of use.