Caddy's back!

CADILLAC WILL BECOME THE FIRST STANDALONE GM BRAND IN AUSTRALIA SINCE THE AXING OF HOLDEN. THE POINT OF ITS SPEAR IS THE LYRIQ ELECTRIC SUV

- JEZ SPINKS

This time it should happen. General Motors' American luxury brand Cadillac will return to Australia - 15 years after the global financial crisis prompted a last-minute bail-out of a planned local launch.

The Cadillac Lyriq large electric SUV will spearhead the brand's global expansion, which will include Australia and New Zealand from late 2024, along with Japan, the UK, and parts of Europe.

Cadillac plans to be an all-electric brand by the end of this decade, with the reduced complexity of EV production making it easier for cars to be built in both left and right-hand drive configurations.

GM will split its sales operations set-up in Australia, with Cadillac established as a separate, EV-only brand while ICE models sit under the GM Specialty Vehicles (GMSV) banner that was introduced in 2020 following the demise of Holden.

GMSV recently announced the V8-powered GMC Yukon Denali large SUV would join the Chevrolet Silverado full-size pick-up and Corvette sports car ranges.

While the Yukon will join the Silverado as a model converted to right-hand drive by GM's local partner Walkinshaw, Cadillac will build RHD models at its US factories for export as it looks to establish itself as a truly global luxury brand.

GM Australia and New Zealand said several key factors made 2024 the right timing for the first official return of the 121-year-old Cadillac brand since its iconic tail-fin cars were sold locally in the 1960s.

"I think this time around the evolution that the Cadillac brand is taking is really bold with what we're doing," GM ANZ managing director Jess Bala told Wheels in an exclusive interview. "GM's investing a lot in EVs, which we've publicly talked about across all the brands, and for Cadillac in particular, as the luxury brand, it's really spearheading that.