DETROIT — General Motors expects a majority, if not all, of its Cadillac cars and SUVs sold globally to be all-electric vehicles by 2030, according to a company executive.
Cadillac President Steve Carlisle on Thursday said the brand will phase out current models of internal combustion engines based on market demand. He expects an inflection point for electric vehicles for the brand to occur in the mid-2020s.
"We're going to enter that decade as an internal combustion engine brand. That's where we are. We've never been better positioned as an internal combustion brand," he said during a media event Thursday in Detroit. "It's a decade we're also going to exit as a battery-electric brand. There's a lot that's going to be going on for Cadillac in the '20s."
Cadillac is expected to release its first all-electric vehicle as early as 2021 in China, followed by the U.S., as part of GM's plans to debut 20 new all-electric vehicles globally by 2023. The company previewed the crossover in January.
"It's the end of the ICE age for Cadillac," Carlisle said referring to internal combustion engines.
Cadillac Escalade
Carlisle also confirmed that the company expects to offer a large electric SUV similar to the Escalade, if not under the iconic SUV's name. He said unlike today's vehicles that have "CT" or "XT" monikers and a number for their names, future all-electric vehicles will have traditional names such as Escalade.
Cadillac on Thursday announced that the next-generation Escalade, a gasoline SUV on the same platform as GM's recently unveiled Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban SUVs, will make its global debut Feb. 4 in Los Angeles.
The redesigned 2021 Escalade, according to Carlisle, is expected to be the third vehicle to feature Cadillac's Super Cruise driver-assist system that's similar to Tesla's Autopilot system. The highway driving system is currently exclusively available on the Cadillac CT6 sedan. An updated version is expected to debut on the Cadillac CT5 sedan, followed by the Escalade.
Record sales
Cadillac, according to Carlisle, expects to achieve its second consecutive year of record global sales, including its first retail sales increase in the U.S. since 2013.
Global sales for Cadillac were up 8.8% through the third quarter of this year, including a 10.9% rise in China despite an increasingly volatile market. Retail sales, which exclude less-profitable fleet sales, were up 2.4% in the U.S. year to date, he said.
Cadillac sold 381,859 vehicles globally in 2018, including 205,605 vehicles in China and 154,702 units in the U.S.
Cadillac's growth in recent years has been fueled by the addition of several crossovers in the U.S. as well as an expansion in China, which surpassed the U.S. to become Cadillac's top sales market in 2017.