Cadillac is adding another electric weapon to its luxury car arsenal. The flagship GM brand confirmed it will introduce a battery-powered version of its Escalade SUV later this year, called the Escalade IQ.
The brief announcement came with just one teaser image of the badge and no technical details, though Cadillac’s engineers will certainly be deploying GM’s Ultium battery and motor tech, as seen in the GMC Hummer EV, Chevrolet Silverado EV and Cadillac’s own Lyriq.
Those vehicles are all built around a dedicated EV platform, including the Silverado, which is also available as a combustion-powered truck that rides on entirely different architecture to the EV. And it’s the Silverado/Hummer BT1 platform, a cut-down version of the Hummer’s BT1, rather than the smaller Lyriq’s BEV3 architecture, that would form the basis of the new Escalade.
The most powerful Silverado generates 664 hp, but given Cadillac’s status in the GM empire, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Escalade EV was available with the 1,000 hp triple motor drivetrain from the range-topping Hummer.
Caddy already uses the IQ badge on electric vehicles, though in the case of the Lyriq SUV and Celestiq sedan it’s rolled into the vehicle name, rather than added on. The company trademarked the names Escalade IQ and Escalade IQL in 2021, which suggests it is planning electric versions of both the standard and long wheelbase versions of the Escalade.
Those variants would seem to make up two of three new electric vehicles Cadillac has previously promised in 2023, while the third could be the junior Lyriq seen testing recently. The brand has already committed to an EV-only lineup by 2030.
