Which cars to electrify is a decision faced by every traditional auto maker these days.
General Motors
is taking a double-barreled approach.
Monday, GM (ticker: GM) announced that an all-electric version of its huge, luxury SUV, the Cadillac Escalade, was coming, adding to the company’s growing electric lineup.
Details about the Escalade IQ are thin. GM declined to provide additional information about pricing or timing. An electric Escalade arriving in 2024, either as a 2024 or 2025 model year, is a good bet.
By the time the Escalade arrives, GM should have all-electric versions of the Chevy Silverado, Equinox, and Blazer. All those vehicles have gasoline versions, too.
GM also has an electric version of the GMC Hummer. That is a name with long history for U.S. car buyers, although the gasoline powered Hummer isn’t produced any longer.
GM also makes the Cadillac Lyriq and will soon produce the ultraluxury Cadillac CELESTIQ. Those are EV-only offerings.
GM has EV versions of popular models as well as EV only nameplates. How traditional auto makers make the transition to EVs isn’t an easy decision. Building awareness of a new brand can be a costly challenge. GM sold about 1,000 Lyriq crossovers in the first quarter of 2023, up from 86 in the fourth quarter of 2022. The Lyriq started shipping in the second half of this past year.
Ford Motor
(F) has chosen a different approach. It is making EVs out of only existing products including the Mustang, the F-150 and Transit vans. The strategy has yielded results. Ford, for instance, sold 5,407 Mustang Mach E vehicles in the first quarter. Ford sold 14,741 gasoline-powered Mustangs in the first quarter.
Toyota Motor
(TM) is handling the transition in yet another way. In the U.S., Toyota’s only battery-electric EV is called the BZ4X. Toyota chose a new name versus calling it an EV version of, perhaps, a Rav-4. (The BZ4X is a little longer than a Rav-4.) Toyota sold almost 1,700 BZ4X in the first quarter. It sold more than 100,000 Rav-4s.
Time will tell what strategy turns out to be the most efficient way to transition. Ford’s early success in EVs—it was the number two producer behind
Tesla
(TSLA) in 2022—might indicate that U.S. buyers don’t have trouble associating gas brands with EVs.
If that is the case the Escalade should be a big seller. GM sold 9,228 Escalade SUVs in the first quarter and 40,247 for all of 2022. The Escalade is Cadillac’s best selling nameplate.
GM shares were up 0.4% in midday trading. The
S&P 500
was up 0.1%. The
Dow Jones Industrial Average
was down about 0.3%.
Write to Al Root at [email protected]
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