Cadillac Shows Off First Fully Electric Crossover On New EV Platform

More details will be announced as the automaker moves closer to launch.

Last week we learned that Cadillac was going to become the lead brand for launching the next generation of electric vehicles at General Motors. We learned that the Detroit automaker would be soon announcing a lineup to go head to head with Tesla.

The first announcement for this has come much more quickly than we anticipated. Late Sunday afternoon, Cadillac dropped the first images of what is going to be their first fully electric vehicle.

DETROIT — Cadillac furthered its recent product blitz today with the reveal of the brand’s first EV. This will be the first model derived from GM’s future EV platform. GM announced on Friday that Cadillac will be at the vanguard of the company’s move toward an all-electric future.

“Cadillac’s EV will hit the heart of the crossover market and meet the needs of customers around the world,” said Steve Carlisle, president of Cadillac. “It will represent the height of luxury and innovation while positioning Cadillac as the pinnacle of mobility.”

The Cadillac EV’s name and additional details will be revealed closer to launch. Today’s announcement is part of Cadillac’s aggressive product acceleration announced this week — in addition to revealing the all-new XT6 crossover, the company also hinted at both a future Escalade and an upcoming performance sedan. Overall, Cadillac will introduce new models at the rate of roughly one every six months through 2021.

GM’s future EV platform, which Cadillac will be the first to use, will be flexible, allowing the company to respond quickly to customer preferences with a relatively short design and development lead time. The Cadillac portfolio will eventually benefit from a variety of body styles that can be spun off this architecture.

The most advanced components within this platform are the drive units and battery cells, both of which are being designed for maximum usability throughout GM vehicle lineups in different countries. The EVs can be configured in front-, rear- or all-wheel drive, and the output of their battery systems will be adjustable based on vehicle and customer needs.

Faraday Future Teases Electric Crossover A Year Too Late

A little less than a year ago, would-be Tesla rival Faraday Future rolled into the Consumer Electronics Show with much fanfare and a modular electric supercar that is the very definition of “vaporware”. Suffice to say, everybody was underwhelmed, and Faraday took quite the schlocking from the press paddock, many of whom rightly called the company out for being all hype and no substance.

Since then, Faraday Future has kept a much lower profile, despite beginning construction on a billion-dollar production facility in Nevada, not far from Musk’s own battery gigafactory. But it looks like it’s ready to try and regain some of its lost momentum with the reveal of an electric crossover destined for production.

The brief teaser video reveals nothing about the unnamed crossover, though the cinematic styling suggests that whatever Faraday is building, it will be fast. That’s not normally something one associates with crossovers, but given the lasting popularity of the crossover bodystyle, it was probably a better move than trying to follow Tesla with a large sedan.

Indeed, almost everything Faraday does will be held up to the Tesla standard, which is mostly Faraday’s fault. The company is closely following Elon Musk’s EV automaker blueprint, right down to building its factory in the same state. By going straight for a crossover, rather than a sedan or sports car, Faraday is deviating somewhat from the trail blazed by Musk and co.

Yet at a time when veteran writers such as myself have seen, quite literally, dozens of EV makers come with bold promises of a better tomorrow, only to disappear with little more than a homepage mea culpa, you can’t blame me for doubting Faraday’s future. This could be the last chance for the automaker to convert doubters into believers before production begins, and without enough faith in the product, Faraday won’t be going far, no matter how big its battery is.