Cadillac LYRIQ Rekreeq Announces Official Price, Configuration, Delivery and Energy Supplement Information
On June 6, 2022, Cadillac LYRIQ Rekreeq announced the official price, configuration, delivery, and energy supplement information, and opened a large order with a value of 5,000 yuan, which is expected to start delivery in late September. In terms of price, Cadillac LYRIQ Rekreeq has three configurations, covering a price range of 440,000 to 480,000 yuan, and the price difference between each configuration is 20,000 yuan.
- Rear-wheel drive long-endurance luxury version: 439,700 yuan;
- Rear-wheel drive long-endurance noble version: 459,700 yuan;
- Four-wheel drive long-endurance noble version: 479,700 yuan.
The starting price of the rear-wheel drive long-endurance luxury version is consistent with the presale announced on November 17 last year, which is 439,700 yuan.
Since November last year, most pure electric vehicle manufacturers have raised their car prices due to chip supply shortages and the rising prices of battery raw materials. It is surprising that although the battery capacity of Cadillac LYRIQ Rekreeq has reached 95.7 kWh, the official has not adjusted the price due to the increase in battery cost.
Pan Mengmeng, Minister of the New Energy Strategy Department of SAIC-GM, also stated at the Cadillac LYRIQ Rekreeq LET’S TALK media communication meeting that they made a lot of efforts internally and still adhered to the price of 439,700 yuan.
At the same time, there is no reduction in benefits. The entry-level high-end configuration, plus direct sales, exclusive charging, etc., make Cadillac LYRIQ Rekreeq more competitive in terms of price. And some adjustments have been made to the performance, the acceleration from 0-100km/h has been improved from 6.9 seconds to 6.35 seconds, and the endurance has also increased from the original 650 km to 653 km. Such improvements are not easy to find in traditional luxury brands.
After today’s communication meeting, we also saw Cadillac’s determination to enter the new track.
Looking back at the LYRIQ parameters, LYRIQ built on the brand new Ultium platform is equipped with a 95.7 kWh battery pack, and the pure electric range can reach 653 km. Such tri-electric parameters are not inferior even compared to the new forces.
In terms of the cabin, LYRIQ also replaced it with Cadillac’s new generation of intelligent cabins, equipped with the Snapdragon 8155 car chip and supporting 5G networks. The large screen reaches 33 inches with 9K resolution and 271 PPI.
ADAS has also been upgraded with the new generation of Super Cruise super-assisted driving system, which has the function of signaling and changing lanes. Such functions are not dazzling at the time point of joining city roads, but Cadillac is still ahead of traditional brands.
How to choose among the 3 configurations?
Cadillac LYRIQ has three configurations in total: the rear-wheel drive long-range luxury edition, the rear-wheel drive long-range distinguished edition, and the four-wheel drive long-range distinguished edition. The difference between each configuration is 20,000 yuan. Even the entry-level luxury edition configuration is already very high, similar to the practice of the new forces, rather than lowering the selling price threshold like traditional car companies, which can be said to be high-end from the entry level.
There is no difference in the basic configuration of power level and intelligent software and hardware between the luxury edition starting at 439,700 yuan and the distinguished edition starting at 459,700 yuan. The standard configuration includes the full set of the brand new Super Cruise super-assisted driving system, 7.1-channel 1,400 W 19 speakers, 20-inch wheels, 33.8-inch curved instrument panel, inline headlights, and intelligent interconnection, etc. In other words, the entry-level luxury edition has already achieved a very high configuration, and it will also be the most popular configuration.
That extra RMB 20,000 can only buy limited features in the luxury version, but the RMB 459,700 privilege version added three-zone air conditioning control for the rear passengers, heated rear seats, Nappa perforated leather seats, electric sunroof, electric power steering, air quality management, and more paint colors compared to the luxury version. Strictly speaking, this RMB 20,000 mainly improves the care for the rear passengers.
Another RMB 20,000 will give you a zero to one hundred acceleration of 4.9 seconds and a four-wheel drive system on top of the privilege version, which is suitable for users who value power more. For users who don’t have a great demand for power, the rear-wheel drive version with 255 kW and 440 N·m can already meet the needs of most daily driving.
Peng Mengmeng, the head of SAIC-GM New Energy Vehicle Strategy Department, also said at the communication meeting: “Selling an additional LYRIQ will not reduce the sales of another NIO or other new forces in the same price range, because they have different positions in the market.”
Therefore, the number of orders reflects the needs of users.
What are the rights?
Compensation for delivery delay
At the same time as the release of the Cadillac LYRIQ, the delivery time of the vehicle has also been announced:
- Rear-wheel drive long-range luxury version will be delivered from late September to early October 2022;
- Rear-wheel drive long-range privilege version will be delivered from late September to early October 2022;
- Four-wheel drive long-range privilege version will be delivered from late December 2022 to January 2023.
Due to the worsening of the Shanghai epidemic since March, it was not until early June that it officially resumed work and production, and the 3-month lockdown also caused many car companies to encounter obstacles in release and delivery. The Cadillac LYRIQ is also one of the affected products. Due to the engineers being locked down at home, the development of the new generation Super Cruise advanced driving assistance system at a speed of 80 km/h on non-enclosed roads and the 360° panoramic image technology were shelved. Therefore, these two functions can only be gradually pushed to users through OTA updates by the end of December.
Of course, all of these depend on software delivery. In response to the software delay, Cadillac provides users with a compensation plan of 5 years of free maintenance, including one battery replacement, three brake fluid changes, two air conditioner filter changes per year, and one wiper blade replacement per year. According to Pan Mengmeng, these value-added benefits are worth about 9,000 yuan. This user compensation also reflects Cadillac’s sincerity. As a traditional luxury brand, Cadillac is also striving to learn from new forces how to better treat users.
Recharging and Energy Transfer
In addition to the vehicle itself and compensation benefits, Cadillac and SAIC General also have their own charging station rights, which distinguishes them from traditional manufacturers. LYRIQ owners can enjoy IQ Exclusive Supercharging Station services, and can make appointments and payments through the IQ App, which is one aspect that is superior to the current traditional automakers. The subsequent software experience is also worth looking forward to.
According to Cadillac, the 2022 IQ premium charging station will cover 25-30 cities with a maximum power of 120/180 kW. Last year, the Cadillac IQ charging station located in the basement of Lai Fushi on the northern Bund was built as a supporting facility for IQ space, and the Ultium high-efficiency energy logo is displayed on the charging station, revealing its identity.
The charging pile is provided by Star Charge and has a rated power of 90 kW. Although it does not have an advantage in rated power compared to the official stated 120/180 kW, Pan Mengmeng stated at the communication meeting that there are differences in capacitive ability in different locations. For users, it is very important to be able to charge their vehicles in some places, so Cadillac has made some compromises to seek balance. In the future, further communication will be conducted to achieve higher power for complete coverage.
Test Drive Time
For customers who haven’t made a decision yet, there is no need to rush. After the test drive, a deposit of 5,000 yuan can be made to make further decisions. Cadillac stated that test drives will start in late June or early July, and from now on, the Ruijie display cars and test drive cars will gradually arrive at all Cadillac IQ spaces across the country. As of now, there are 19 Cadillac pure electric IQ Spaces in operation, covering 12 cities. With regard to car purchasing, Pan Mengmeng stated that in addition to the IQ Space, a select group of existing dealers will also be chosen for direct sales, but only serving as a role to provide sales services to improve purchase convenience.
Conclusion
LYRIQ, as the first pure electric Cadillac for the Chinese market and a product of the Altium platform, is of great significance to General Motors. On June 1, SAIC-GM Buick has already announced that Buick Electra-X, a car from the Altium platform, will be launched this year, and the concept car has already debuted. Therefore, the upcoming delivery of Cadillac LYRIQ is a preview for users across the entire General Motors corporation, allowing them to experience the products of the Altium platform in advance.
The general goal is to launch more than 30 pure electric vehicles globally by 2025 with deeper localization, of which more than 20 will enter the Chinese market. By 2025, Cadillac will increase its investment in electrification and autonomous driving businesses to $35 billion, and SAIC General Motors will invest more than RMB 50 billion in electrification. LYRIQ is the first Ultium-powered product, and in addition to other Ultium-powered products, Poonamallee revealed that a larger and smaller product will be imported into Cadillac’s pure electric product line later on.
Poonamallee said that selling one more LYRIQ will not result in selling one less new force as the two have different tracks. Cadillac LYRIQ has the power to seize the pure electric market of traditional luxury brands, but it can be expected that in this month, as a mid-to-large pure electric SUV priced at 450,000 RMB, LYRIQ will face its most direct competitor, the NIO ES7. Both are mid-to-large SUVs designed for five people, with one being a traditional second-tier luxury brand and the other being a new luxurious brand. What kind of impact will the head-on confrontation of these two vehicles have?
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.