Cadillac's Electric Sedan: Everything We Know
The last decade has brought us several sedans from Cadillac that proved to be critical darlings but didn't see huge, mainstream sales success. It's tough to be a sedan in an SUV-driven world, after all. And as good as the Cadillac ATS, CTS, CT4 and CT5 have been—especially their V-Series and Blackwing performance variants—the stalwarts from Mercedes-Benz and BMW are pretty tough to unseat.
So now, as Cadillac prepares to sunset the CT4 and CT5, the word on the street is that whatever's next will move on from internal combustion entirely. Here's what we know.
Cadillac Electric Sedan: What Have We Heard So Far?
It's no surprise that General Motors seems to be moving on from that pair of Cadillac sedans, which replaced the ATS and CTS when they launched in 2020. Sales of the CT4 and CT5 were down 32% and 20% last year, respectively, making them the slowest-selling Cadillac models in 2024 aside from the barely-just-launched Escalade IQ.
Yet while Cadillac is focusing heavily on its lineup of electric SUVs, including the new Optiq and Vistiq models, it surely doesn't want to lose out in the EV sedan space. Thanks to better aerodynamics, a lower overall height, and less weight, EV sedans tend to carry the best range of any vehicle class; just look at Volvo's upcoming ES90, which should be good for 435 miles of range on Europe's WLTP cycle.
GM Authority was first to report that the CT4 and CT5 successors would likely be all-electric. "According to sources familiar with the matter, General Motors has no plans to offer a new generation of the Cadillac CT5 and Cadillac CT4 with an internal combustion engine under the hood," the outlet reported. "The two upcoming EVs are expected to be roughly the same size as the Cadillac CT5 and Cadillac CT6, and will be so-called 'low hip-point' (or low H-point) vehicles."
A pair of sedans could be quite interesting, especially since Cadillac has had trouble selling even one sedan in volume. But if this report is true, then the plan may be to offer buyers a choice of different sizes and price points for their needs.
What Will The Cadillac Electric Sedans Look Like?
Photo by: Cadillac
Here's what's really interesting: in the sedan game these days, you have to take risks to stay relevant. So GM Authority claims that these won't be traditional three-box sedans, but rather will have "a sportback profile similar to that of the Cadillac Escala Concept or even the Cadillac Celestiq."
The Escala Concept (not to be confused with Escalade) came out in 2016 and its design informed a generation of Cadillac's production cars. The Celestiq is a limited-production hyper-luxury sedan that will run you at least $340,000. So while these sedans could share similar design vibes, they should be vastly more accessible in terms of pricing.
2024 Cadillac Celestiq reveal
This is purely speculation on my part, but I wonder if Cadillac could dig into the 2022 InnerSpace Concept for future inspiration. While that was a fully autonomous concept vehicle shown off at CES a few years ago, it was a striking coupe-like design that could translate well to a production four-door vehicle or sportback sedan. But obviously, nothing is official for now.
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Cadillac Electric Sedan: Pricing And Specs Unknown
Beyond those reports—which admittedly, are plausible—we don't know much else. In terms of specs, platform and range, we would expect that a future Cadillac EV sedan would use GM's BEV3 platform and Ultium batteries and motors, as it uses similar power cells and architectures across all of its EV models these days. That would make it a cousin to the Cadillac Lyriq, Optiq, Chevy Blazer EV and Equinox EV, and more. It would be the first sedan on the Ultium platform besides the Celestiq.
Given that those are larger, less aerodynamic cars that can still manage 300 miles of range or more, we would expect that a future Cadillac EV sedan would deliver well north of that. Is 350 miles of range in the cards here? Again, this is purely speculation on my part, but that seems reasonable to expect given what we've seen of the Ultium SUVs so far and the way the market is trending.
Cadillac Electric Sedan: V-Series, Blackwing Likely?
Photo by: Cadillac
Considering the branding and motorsports success Cadillac has had with its V-Series and Blackwing performance models, we can anticipate these sedans will get similar treatments. Cadillac is already prepping the Lyriq-V with 615 horsepower, and that is pegged to be the brand's quickest car ever. We'd expect nothing less from a future high-performance Caddy sedan.
When Will It Go On Sale?
Cadillac InnerSpace Autonomous Concept
We have no details on any release date timing, unfortunately. But since the CT5 and CT4 models are still around and just got their 2026 editions, our guess is not anytime soon. If these EV sedans are greenlit for production, a launch closer to the end of this decade seems most likely.
The Competition
It's hard to say what these cars will be up against until we have pricing details, but we can take a few guesses. Right now, there are the Mercedes-Benz EQE and EQS sedans, both of which are likely to be phased out in favor of battery-powered versions of the standard E-Class and S-Class, likely to be given the "EQ Technology" name.
Cadillac InnerSpace Autonomous Concept
BMW has several next-generation EVs due out soon on its Neue Klasse platform starting with a 3 Series-esque sedan expected to be called the i3 and the iX3 crossover. A sedan similar to the 5 Series on that platform seems very likely, and it too could compete against these Cadillacs. There's also the aforementioned Volvo ES90 and wherever else Volvo takes its four-door lineup, and the updated Polestar 2.
Of the current crop of EV sedans, we have the Lucid Air, the Tesla Model S, the Audi A6 E-Tron and a few others. The Cadillacs would certainly have worthy competition in terms of range and luxury features.
What do you want to see from a future Cadillac EV sedan? Let us know in the comments.
Contact the author: patrick.george@insideevs.com
