General Motors continues its steady shift toward electrification, with plans to convert its entire light-duty vehicle portfolio to EVs by 2035. While Cadillac was originally expected to spearhead this transformation by going all-electric by 2030, the brand has since revised its strategy. According to company Global Vice President John Roth, the luxury marque now prioritizes offering customers the “luxury of choice” with a mix of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles and all-electric options in order to better align with consumer demand. Still, it looks as though this mix will be heavily EV-centric, as the Escalade is now poised to become the luxury brand’s last remaining ICE vehicle in North America.
Unlike in China, where Cadillac has a completely different product cadence, the North American market is seeing a clear phase-out of ICE models when it comes to Caddy’s lineup. Every nameplate except the Escalade is either already discontinued or scheduled for retirement, with a long line of EV successors poised to take their place.
Here’s how the transition is unfolding across the luxury maruqe’s North American portfolio:
| ICE Model | EV Replacement |
|---|---|
| CT4: sunset / discontinued at end of current model's lifecycle | No planned replacement |
| CT5: sunset / discontinued at end of current model's lifecycle | Future EV model |
| CT6: sunset / discontinued after 2020 MY | Future EV model |
| XT4: sunset / discontinued after 2025 MY | Optiq |
| XT5: sunset / discontinued at end of current model's lifecycle | Lyriq |
| XT6: sunset / discontinued at end of current model's lifecycle | Vistiq |
| Escalade: continues into next gen | Escalade IQ/IQL: first generation |
GM Authority has been at the forefront of Cadillac’s EV ambitions, serving up a number of exclusives covering the discontinuation of the the Cadillac XT5 and XT6, the CT4 and CT5, and the XT4. Notably, the Cadillac CT6 was discontinued in the North American market following the conclusion of the 2020 model year, and doesn’t look like it’ll ever make its return.
Naturally, Cadillac has invested heavily in the EV segment, but looks to preserve the iconic Escalade SUV as the sole ICE holdout, at least in the near- to medium-term – which isn’t all that surprising considering the iconic full-size SUV continues to command a strong customer base. Nevertheless, the ICE-based Escalade will live on alongside its electric counterparts, the Escalade IQ and long-body Escalade IQL.
As always, keep it locked to GM Authority for more on Cadillac’s EV plans and everything else GM-related.
Comments
I said so long to Cadillac. Wanted something new to replace my XT5 with. I enjoyed that vehicle very much and wanted something new. Cadillac pushed a Lyriq my way, let me take it home for a long weekend, lopped $13,500 off the price, and I still passed on it. Lincoln had exactly what I wanted. I was a Cadillac customer since my first 2013 SRX. I’m also only 41 so not a real old man yet.
Mary’s giving all the Cadillac ICE customers to Ford. It’s not on you. That’s her decision. Try to enjoy!
If Cadillac offered a hybrid version or TTV6 version for the Lyriq I’d buy it but I can’t do full EV until the range far exceeds the ICE version it’s replacing. Not offering ICE alternatives of these IQ EVs is so infuriating. Lincoln is doing great with offering very good models and they have high horsepower.
Does Lincoln outsell Cadillac?
It’s obvious that Mary has killed Cadillac.
And is working hard to destroy the rest of the brands as well.
Don’t worry, she will be gone soon.
We boycott the new products and get used. She will realize her mistake but will SOON PAY…
Cadillac’s EVs are picking up thousands of conquest customers who had never bouggt a Caddy before. Cadillac’s ICE models were fading, with only the Escalade holding sales volumes.
She’s killed Buick as well in addition to Cadillac. She needs to go as CEO. GM needs a New CEO and Leadership and management all around. She’s ruined everything with this Electric and EV as well as SUV and Crossover BS. Hopefully Cadillac and Buick have bright futures ahead for them and hopefully they don’t end up joining Oldsmobile and Pontiac? That’s my one of my worries. Cadillac and Buick are two of my favorite GM brands. I definitely want them to have bright and successful futures with lots of interesting and exciting and great products and huge potential as brands including continuing Gas powered engines but also adapting and using Hybrid technology with Gas engines as well. Same with Lincoln Motor Company. Hopefully Lincoln makes it long term as well and doesn’t end up becoming the next Mercury. I Love Lincoln’s too. I’ll buy gas powered cars for as long as they’re available and have absolutely zero need or desire to buy anything electric. I’ll Never buy an electric car.
Fire mary barra, she’s worse than roger smith
Put a fork in it. With Lincoln running on fumes with its gigantic four vehicles lineup any semblance of a dominant US luxury car brand is dead.
Cadillacs EV models finally provide products that live up to what a true Cadillac should have been the last 50 years. True luxury with a serene drive and extraordinary power. And they’re finally competitive with other luxury models. The only ICE models that live up to the Cadillac name are the Escalade and CT4/CT5.
Can’t wait to see what Cadillac offers for CT5/CT6 replacements.
Drinking the EV koolaid aren’t we?
Or think of it as being a leader for future technology. Or you can keep drinking Trumps koolaid.
We have both a ICE Escalade and other ICE cars. We also purchased a Cadillac Lyriq. The EV is a nice car as long as you don’t want to drive it too far. Found sitting at a charging station for 45 min is not the best idea. You are a sitting duck waiting for it to charge compared to an our ICE cars that are ready to go in less than 5 min. Plus when we took it on a trip it was much longer because of continually stopping to charge the car. In addition in my ICE cars we could find a GAS station everywhere. Charging our EV’s we had to wait for chargers, had issues with broken chargers and when we did find one it was not where you would like to hang out for 45 mins.
Mary is truly truly destroying GM.
Another Trump obsessed psycho.
Seek professional help.
shut up (blank)hole.
Cadillac should carefully reconsider the decision to phase out ICE sedans entirely, especially given their current momentum in performance branding. The Escalade-V is impressive, but it doesn’t deliver the precise handling and track-ready finesse we’ve seen in the CT5-V Blackwing. With Cadillac moving into Formula 1, maintaining a strong performance sedan presence is crucial. Rather than replacing both the CT4 and CT5 with EV models, why not introduce one midsize sedan with both ICE and EV variants, similar to the current Escalade/Escalade IQ strategy? We haven’t yet seen how enthusiasts will fully embrace the Lyriq-V, and risking the hard-earned ‘V’ brand equity on an uncertain EV landscape seems premature. Keeping at least one ICE sedan would preserve Cadillac’s performance credibility while thoughtfully transitioning into electrification.
They won’t do that because it makes too much sense.
I just ordered a CT4V to replace my 21 model. But it’s been a fiasco. Are they making it/ aren’t they making it went on for months. Even though it’s finally ordered, I have little confidence it will be done anytime soon. Will quality control be any good or just rush it out and make space for EVs? Who knows. Cadillac is a mess. Ordering a new car shouldn’t be such an awful experience. The cross to all EVs will likely be the end of this wonderful marque
The CEO has to go before she buries GM. I have been a Cadillac consumer all my life. The infrastructure isn’t there for EVs. Not to mention, the dealers can’t sell these things. Hopefully, leadership will wake up before it’s too late.
Tesla, an all EV company sold 1.8 vehicles in 2024. GM sold 114,000 EV’s. So, statistically dimwited GM executives see room for their market share to grow with EV’s. However, their best selling vehicles are gas guzzling trucks and big SUV’s. When the latter starts falling off, they’ll have problems but we all like our big vehicles so they’re probably safe. In conclusion, they’re most likely swapping various ICE vehicles for various EV’s.
I think EV’s in general are in for a tough time and Cadillac is leading them off the cliff. With subsidies and mandates headed out, EV’s only real benefit is virtue signaling and customers are not willing to pay extra for that anymore.
You’ve obviously never rode in or driven an EV. They are faster, quieter and smoother. You can power your house with it during a blackout, and best of all they run on domestically sourced energy at a fraction of the price of gasoline.
Yes, I have driven several EV’s. The issue is to reap their benefits you have to have a house with a garage and you have to have the charger installed in your garage. So rule out everyone who rents. You can’t realistically tow and long travel is questionable. So most consumers realize this is not worth paying extra for. Might be good for suburban garage owners commuting to the city, but the rest of us, not so much.
I refuse to queue for anything. I’m sure as hell not going to wait in line for a charger while some Karen Rottencroch takes her merry time charging her Ionic 6 mobile turd!
My 2015 ATS and 2021 CT5-V will apparently be my last Caddys. After 20 years and 6 Cadillacs.
And your buying new “special” tires every 20000 miles.
And there you have it. The ICE sedans days are seriously numbered. Meanwhile over at Cadillac’s competition, I’m sure that ICE vehicles will continue to be offered. New book coming out, “How GM Killed An Icon Brand.” Available at bookstores very soon . It won’t be long.
The title should read “How Mary Barra and a Woke Board of Directors Killed an Icon brand”
Give it up… You can’t argue with this kind of ignorance. GM can’t seem to except the fact they lost all three houses of Government. If they don’t bend with the winds of change they are going to break!
GM upper management subscribes to the Roger Smith practice of “leadership”: take three years after your competitors to recognize there is a problem and another three years to fix it while your completion moves ever forward.
roger smith was a saint compared to this pos.
So we have two more years of the CT5 left? I need to buy one.
I have a 23’ ct5 Blackwing manual. My favorite daily driver ever! It has everything I need. Performance, luxury, and 4 door practicality with room for golf clubs and luggage.
If they quit making them i will be getting that last yrs model with the precision package. It’s a good bet to retain some value over time.
So sad to see such an iconic brand get killed by building vehicles no one wants. The market is speaking and this is not the direction they should be going in and losing incredible ICE cars such as the CT4 & 5 and the small SUVs will give everything to Ford/German/Japanese automakers.
In the ‘80s Roger B. Smith stubbornly took Cadillac to an all FWD lineup which wasn’t what luxury car consumers wanted. Cadillac sales plummeted. All those buyers went to the German marques and Lexus. Cadillac now sells half of what they once did in the US and the bulk of that is the body-on-frame RWD V8 Escalade.
Today Mary Barra is stubbornly pushing Cadillac to an all-EV lineup although there’s plenty of evidence to suggest the EV sector is only a part of the overall luxury car market today. In my opinion Barra is intent on finishing what Smith started and making Cadillac into a shadow of themselves.
In fact mary makes roger look like a masterpiece.
At least cadillac had the brougham.
Looks like my first Cadillac, ‘24 Radiant Red Tint Coat Premium Luxury, bought new in August , will now sadly be our last. No desire or need for EV in rural MS.
XT4, that is. Love it and discontinued.
This is good news to hear!! Makes me happy to read about how Cadillac is serious about electrification
wait until gm loses money, mary barra is even worse than roger smith.
Suicide, what a shame
So, thanks to the incompetence of Mary Buick Envision Made in China-Barra, this decision to make most Cadillac models EVs only means there is a 50% chance that Cadillac will join Pontiac, Oldsmobile and Saturn into GM’s museum of defunct brands and a possibility that GM may go bankrupt for the second time in less than 25 years. This scenario could be avoided if Mary Buick Envision Made in China-Barra is fired immediately.
She has to be fired or else.
Well I’m guessing the 6th gen ice escalade will be out late 2028 as a 2029 model
Cadillac is doomed to die a slow death. Not everyone will buy an EV, and they are pushing customers away very quickly with their limited auto offering. CT4 and CT5 don’t meet the needs of many. Good luck with your future, because this long time Cadillac customer left the building for Mercedes and BMW, who still give us what we want in a car.
Cadillac is selling the new xt5 and 6 in china , why not bring them over here. comments about killing cadillac ,they lost it in early 80s with the 4/6/8 ,diesel engines 1980 and then the cimmeron, The germans took over
The twice recalled 1982 4.1L V-8 did not help their reputation.
R.I.P. Cadillac