GM to start selling Cadillac EVs in Australia and New Zealand

General Motors is taking its luxury electric vehicles Down Under starting with the Cadillac Lyriq.

GM's luxury brand will offer EVs in Australia and New Zealand, starting with a right-hand-drive Lyriq, the automaker said Thursday. The Lyriq will be available in both markets as a 2025 model, but when asked exactly when it will go on sale, Cadillac spokesman Mike Albano said the brand will have more to say about the start of sales next year.

“Cadillac is experiencing great sales momentum thanks to our strong product portfolio — and we are now expanding our business globally,” said John Roth, vice president of Global Cadillac, in a media statement. “The introduction of a right-hand-drive Lyriq will enable new opportunities in important markets where EV adoption is strong.”

On Oct. 5, GM announced that it is launching the all-electric, direct to consumer Cadillac business in Europe. The Lyriq will be the first vehicle to launch in six markets in Europe — starting with Switzerland, Sweden and France —with deliveries starting in the first half of 2024.

GM has said it will be selling only the Lyriq luxury and sports AWD models in Europe with the starting price of the Lyriq in Switzerland at about CHF 82’000 or $92,200. That price includes taxes and fees and the vehicle comes standard with a leather package, performance tires and a 22 kilowatt charging device.

GM launched the Lyriq, which uses GM’s Ultium propulsion system, last year. It is assembled at Spring Hill Assembly plant in Tennessee. Albano said GM plans for the right-hand-drive variant to also be made at Spring Hill.

According to a report in The Drive, the auto website of the Sydney Morning Herald, the Lyriq is expected to start selling in Australia next year "at fixed prices through its website or from two retail locations to be established in Melbourne and Sydney."

Albano did not provide a figure for how many Lyriq EVs Cadillac expects to sell in Australia and New Zealand, but said, "We don’t expect Lyriq to be a main-stream high volume product in Australia; it will be aspirational."

GM will launch the new Cadillac EV business out of three capital cities: Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland, GM said. The markets are at a "formative stage of the EV transition, presenting new opportunities for Cadillac," said Ernesto Ortiz, General Motors president and managing director of strategic markets, alliances and distributors.

“Lyriq is a clean sheet design from the ground up, engineered for right-hand-drive markets globally from the outset, with luxury and style front of mind," Ortiz said. "We have all the right factors in place, and this is the right time to make this announcement for Australia and New Zealand.”

More: Under fire, GM's Cruise suspends supervised car trips, expands safety investigation

More: Ford, GM, Stellantis couldn't land single vehicle on car, SUV of the year finalist list

Free Pressstaff writer Mark Phelan contributed to this report. Contact Jamie L. LaReau: jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. Read more on General Motors and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: GM to start selling Cadillac EVs in Australia and New Zealand