Cadillac Becomes Latest Company To Backtrack On EV-Only Commitment

The American brand now says EVs and combustion cars will coexist for some time

03 May 2024

In something of a spreading industry trend, Cadillac has become the latest car manufacturer to walk back its original deadline for phasing out internal combustion engines in its cars, following similar moves by Mercedes-Benz, Bentley and Aston Martin.

The American brand was one of many manufacturers to pinpoint 2030 as the date when its whole lineup would go electric only, but as first reported by the Detroit Free Press, its global vice president, John Roth, acknowledged at a recent media event that this would no longer be the case.

“EVs and ICE will coexist for a number of years,” said Roth. “We want to make sure we have that luxury of choice in the marketplace.” This is a reversal of previous statements made by Cadillac high-ups, including now-departed president Steve Carlisle, who referred to 2030 as “the end of the ICE age for Cadillac” in 2019.

The move comes amid a dip in demand for electric cars in both Europe and North America, which is the main driving factor behind various other companies re-evaluating their EV commitments. Roth did clarify that “We are still on strategy of offering an all-EV portfolio by the end of the decade, and we’re going to listen to the customer and let them be our guide,” suggesting that the brand still plans to have EV versions of all its cars come 2030, but with combustion versions of some available alongside them.

Cadillac has been among the most proactive American brands in offering electric cars, with its current EV lineup consisting of the Lyriq crossover, enormous Escalade IQ SUV and ultra-luxury Celestiq saloon. On the other side of the coin, it still offers a range of high-performance combustion cars, most notably the CT5-V Blackwing, which is powered by a 6.2-litre supercharged V8 and comes with a standard manual gearbox.

Cadillac is currently eyeing a cautious re-entry to the European market and currently offers the Lyriq in Switzerland, France and Sweden. It’s unclear what a larger European return might look like at this point in terms of the balance between electric and petrol.

The first full sentence spoken by an infant Mike was a review of the ride quality of a Volvo 850. It was “Daddy’s car goes bumpy-bump on a bumpy road,” so would probably need proofreading a bit, but it was a start.