Earlier this month, Cadillac reaffirmed its plans to offer an all-electric vehicle lineup in the Australian and New Zealand markets, with the Cadillac Lyriq crossover leading the charge. The luxury marque’s efforts also include the construction of the new Cadillac Experience Center Sydney, set to become the brand’s first retail outlet in the country. Now, GM senior vice president and GM International president Shilpan Amin is providing additional insight into why General Motors believes Cadillac can succeed in Australia.
According to a recent interview with Australian publication CarExpert, Amin pointed to a confidence in the product offerings and the legacy of the Cadillac brand as reasons to expect success.
“Design matters. Capability and technology matter. We’ve got a 122-year history around leading and technology and design, and that longevity will matter,” Amin said.
The GM International executive characterized the Australian market as “very strategic” for the automaker, saying that The General sees “a lot more opportunity there” as it launches the Cadillac brand. GM has confirmed that it will build new customer experience centers in Melbourne and Sydney, and Amin added that the Cadillac brand is set to be a “partner in the communities for a time to come.”
“Our intention is we’re gonna celebrate the next 122 years as a brand,” Amin said. “And so the commitment is not just into what products we have now, but then future products come along with that.”
GM currently offers a range of products in Australia, including the C8 Corvette, which is built in a right-hand-drive configuration at the GM Bowling Green plant in Kentucky before it is shipped over. GM also offers the Chevy Silverado 1500 and Chevy Silverado HD, both of which are configured for right-hand drive by GM Specialty Vehicles (GMSV) before they are sold to the public. GMSV is expected to offer the GMC Yukon in the Australian market by 2025. GMSV replaced Holden as GM’s brand in the Australian market, as GM Authority reported in 2020 after uncovering a trademark filing.
“I think to have relevance around the world, being in markets like Australia, which value a lot of the technology that we develop for places like Europe and the U.S., it’s a close proximity to create value on the technology that you roll out,” Amin said. “And so that gives us the scale behind developing even more technology in the future. You need places that have common technology valued to be able to stay at the lead in natural technology.”
Subscribe to GM Authority for more Cadillac news, GM business news, and around-the-clock GM news coverage.
Comments
All depends on how they define “Success”….
I always wondered why the horizontal DRLs (?) on Cadillac EVs are never on except when the turn signal is engaged. It looks good always on like in this picture of the Lyriq
It’s amazing that Chinese, Korean, Japanese etc manufacturers can design, build and market right hand drive vehicles from the factory, however most, not all US vehicles have to be converted in Aust. This results in far greater cost to the Aust/NZ consumer, and in the mean time the other manufactures sell vehicles here in far far greater numbers than GM. And to think just 20 years ago every second vehicle on Aussie roads was a GM HOLDEN. The really bad management continues…..
I personally DO NOT think GMC/Chevrolet has the flexibility that Toyota has to make these vehicles SPECIFICALLY for Australia unless they see fit….otherwise they would be losing money. As a consumer we may not understand it, but otherwise it makes perfect sense…
RAM for example is studying RHD production from the factory, and the C8 comes w/RHD FROM THE FACTORY also, and is sold in Japan where it competes with the Lexus LC….and the UK as well (and other markets including Australia). So if RAM implements this successfully (they were the first US pickup to arrive in Australia/NZ)…Ford and GMC/Chevrolet may make RHD Full size trucks from the factory in the future (and maybe even SUVS…).
Most of the vehicles that Chinese, Koreans and Japanese vehicles make are light commercial vehicles that generally cannot tow above 3500 tonnes without breaking their chassis…..so there is a demand for vehicles that can tow heavier loads in the bush.