As previously covered by GM Authority back in July 2022, there were rumors that General Motors may have been considering to bring the Cadillac luxury marque back to the Australia market. Now, it appears as though this will be the case, albeit not a conventional fashion.
According to a report from CarExpert, General Motors is planning to sell Cadillac models through boutique showrooms in Australian shopping malls instead of typical dealerships. Doing so will allow for a more luxury-focused shopping experience, and also help to differentiate Cadillac vehicles from the Australian-market Chevy Silverado and C8 Corvette, which are currently sold on General Motors Specialty Vehicles (GMSV) showroom floors.
It’s worth noting that Hyundai has taken a similar approach with Genesis, while The General took an analogous position with Cadillac in Switzerland.
Leaked Chinese photo of the upcoming Cadillac Optiq
“GM participates in select right-hand-drive markets around the world,” a GM Australia spokesperson said in a prepared statement. “We have previously said that the modular Ultium platform and EV architecture offer greater flexibility in vehicle configurations. We do not have any product announcements to share at this time, but stay tuned.”
Sources close to the matter claim that General Motors has been working for quite a few months to secure spaces at shopping centers in anticipation of an upcoming launch. Unfortunately, an exact date or which vehicles will be sold has been released to the public yet.
Interestingly, GM has applied to trademark the Lyriq nameplate Down Under, along with the Optiq and Escalade IQ. While the Detroit-based automaker claimed that the filings are standard practice, it would stand to reason that these would be the vehicles to mark Cadillac’s return to Australia.
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Comments
I hope mall traffic in Australia is better than the USA.
Australia has different demographics and I assume they don’t have gangs hanging out at the malls intimidating people.
This wont work.
I have seen this in Asia, most notably in Thailand. Siam Paragon has luxury and ultra luxury vehicle showrooms on I believe the 4th floor. Most of the biggies such as Ferrari, MB, BMW do.
seems to be working for Tesla.
And for Rivian & Genesis
While the missus is getting a new wardrobe, the lads are signing up for a new Cadillac? I can’t for the life of me figure out the thought process behind this decision, but hey, if it works in Australia then that’s great.
GM can’t fill EV orders in the US how are they going to expand? Imaginary cars do not make deliveries.
They are dreaming. It won’t work in Australia. They will need conventional dealerships to survive and sell worthwhile numbers.
Cadillac like it’s German counterparts, sell to a high end clientele. I can see that working. While Lexota HondCura NisFinity and GenKia are just rebadged schelp-mobiles, the Cadillac is truly beautiful