Introduction

This summer, another landmark in the North Bund of Shanghai officially opened. With curiosity, I stepped into the Cadillac IQ Space in North Bund Riverside Park, which was unlike the crowd flocking to the popular check-in spot. My attention was drawn to the display in the Cadillac IQ Space. At first, I didn’t even realize it was a showroom because there was not a single vehicle for sale. Instead, there was a vintage LaSalle car, a lunar rover, and a Ultium pure electric platform model, like a pop-up store with educational features.

Perhaps it was just opened, and I didn’t find the layout odd because I thought that they might display a CT6 PLUG-IN in a few days. So, I waited eagerly for the Cadillac IQ Space to move to Long Ning Riverside Park beside my unit, yet the vehicle was still missing from the showroom.

However, today is the day! Cadillac LYRIQ starts pre-selling officially in the Chinese market. The pre-sale price starts at CNY 439,700, and the four-wheel-drive version will be introduced later.

Is CNY 439,700 expensive?

What do luxury brand mid-size SUVs bring to you? In the past, luxury brand mid-size SUVs were almost positioned at the million-yuan level. But as the popularity of automotive products increases and the segmentation of various markets becomes more precise, luxury brand mid-size SUVs are not as unreachable as they were in the past. Two years ago, the launch of the Cadillac XT6 expanded the price range of luxury brand mid-size SUVs to CNY 400,000-550,000. Now, the LYRIQ stands on the new track of the pure electric market.

At this level, we can buy the representative luxury brand mid-size SUVs, such as the FAW-Audi e-tron and NIO ES8, which are priced at CNY 546,800-648,800 and CNY 476,000-558,000, respectively.

So, is the pre-sale price of CNY 439,700 expensive? Let’s take a look at the basic parameters of the LYRIQ.

• Length, width, height: 5,003 x 1,977 x 1,637 mm and wheelbase: 3,094 mm.- Rear-wheel drive with a maximum power of 225 kW and a maximum torque of 440 N·m from a permanent magnet synchronous motor.

• Acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 6.9 seconds, with a top speed of 190 km/h.

• Equipped with a 95.7 kWh ternary lithium battery, CLTC range of over 650 km, and energy consumption of 15.6 kWh per 100 km.

Compared to the positioning of large SUVs in luxury brands, the basic parameters of the Cadillac LYRIQ are not particularly impressive. However, considering that the users who buy this car need to spend 439,700 yuan of their hard-earned money, let’s take a different perspective on the value of this car.

Good things come to those who wait

Exterior design

The exterior design of LYRIQ largely preserves the design and details of the concept car from April of this year. The difference in appearance between the two can even be put into the “spot the differences” game. In other words, Cadillac has directly produced the concept car for sale.

If you cover the badge of LYRIQ, you can immediately recognize it as a Cadillac. The electrification design has made significant changes compared to existing fuel models, but the overall design language still retains the essence of Cadillac. This also puts a great deal of pressure on the designer, who must make revolutionary changes while maintaining the traditional style. In order to match the American style, LYRIQ offers seven colors to choose from, three of which are special colors.

Hardware

In addition to the huge changes in appearance, the interior can also surprise people. The first thing you see when you sit in the car is this 33-inch LED display screen, with 9K resolution, 271 PPI pixel density, and 3375 backlight zones, this screen has reached the top level of hardware quality.

The Cadillac LYRIQ uses the currently most advanced Snapdragon 8155 on-board chip and supports 5G networks for chip development. Compared with other models equipped with Snapdragon 8155 chips, we believe that the experience of LYRIQ’s on-board unit will not be inferior. As for the actual effect, please wait for our real shots at the Guangzhou Auto Show. At that time, the Cadillac LYRIQ will make its debut on the China exhibition platform.

Talking about the LYRIQ’s auxiliary driving, the LYRIQ is equipped with an enhanced Super Cruise super intelligent driving assistance system, which is standard. Last year, we conducted a complete evaluation on Super Cruise on the Cadillac CT6, and even today, this set of auxiliary driving still maintains a good level. The enhanced version on LYRIQ now has the added feature of lane change instructing and automatic lane change. In the future, automatic entry and exit ramp functions will be added through OTA updates, which means that the LYRIQ is equipped with navigation-assisted driving assistance.

Compared to several new players in China, this NOA system may not come very early, however, the experience of this driver assistance system is still worth testing on our 42Mark track to see where the specific upgrades are made, and whether compared to new players, they will surprise us.

The LYRIQ is expensive, but its configuration is more competitive compared to two other competing models.

Pre-sale Equity

LYRIQ is currently available for pre-order on the IQ app and IQ Mini Program, with a deposit of 1,190 yuan. Customers who place the order before the end of April 2022 can enjoy the following policies:

• 10,000 km of public charging credit;

• Daily sign-in mileage red envelope on the app;

• Free specific body color;

• Priority delivery.

Both new forces and traditional car companies undergoing reform are opening their stores in major supermarkets, and the new retail model of direct sales is gradually being accepted by everyone. Cadillac, too, will bring LYRIQ into Cadillac’s IQ Space after its release, increasing exposure and user contact opportunities. In the future, there will be more and more IQ Spaces appearing in various corners of the city.

In conclusion

Compared to the new forces, LYRIQ’s late arrival means that it is well prepared when facing old luxury brands.

As the first pure electric product under the Ultium platform, it has the two advantages of high energy efficiency and intelligence. In addition, Cadillac has already begun laying out direct sales channels for direct sales before LYRIQ went on sale, and the Ultium Shanghai Jinqiao plant has also started production. The Pan-Asia Automotive Research Center was deeply involved in the research and development of the Ultium platform. In the future, the battery cell and other key components will achieve 100% localization.

From development to supply chain, and then to sales, LYRIQ’s listing not only signifies Cadillac’s determination but also symbolizes General Motors’ reform determination in the pure electric market.

The Ultium platform adopted by LYRIQ is the first pure electric vehicle platform developed by General Motors for the pure electric market. Their goal is to launch more than 30 pure electric vehicles globally by 2025, with over 20 models entering the Chinese market thanks to in-depth localization. At a prior communication meeting, Cadillac stated that before 2025, their investment in electric and self-driving businesses would increase to $35 billion, and SAIC-GM will also invest over 50 billion RMB in electrification. With the launch of LYRIQ, General Motors’ pure electric product line will be fully deployed.

Just last week, General Motors CEO stated that by 2025, after launching 30 pure electric vehicles, GM’s electric vehicle sales in the United States can catch up with Tesla. This also indicates the determination of the underestimated GM to become a leader in electrification reform. Times are changing, and General Motors, which has been in business for over a century, produced mass-produced electric vehicles EV1 as early as 1996, and whether GM can continue to make efforts after LYRIQ to start the reform remains to be seen how much determination and courage is behind it.

After the pre-sale price was just announced, the community of our Cadillac LYRIQ in the garage suddenly became lively. Some people say that its rival is BMW iX3, Mercedes EQC, NIO ES8. Who do you think LYRIQ’s rival is when you see this?

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.