GM is one of the few automakers sticking with its EV strategy, and that’s paying dividends for Cadillac.
Four years ago, Cadillac kicked off its electric era as it launched the Lyriq crossover. In the meantime, the whole industry has been grappling with the move toward electrification, but the Cadillac brand since launched the Optiq, Vistiq, Escalade IQ and the high-price, high-luxury Celestiq to further round out its offerings. As a result, it’s become one of the major EV players in the space, and it just crossed a major milestone of 100,000 cumulative electric sales since that initial launch point.
The company announced the milestone with fanfare, touting its industry recognition for design and technology. That said, while the outright volume may not seem massive compared to Tesla (globally, it sold 358,000 vehicles in the last quarter alone), one other angle to Cadillac’s momentum in the space is conquest. According to the company’s statement, roughly 75% of Cadillac EV buyers are completely new to the brand, with many coming in from other luxury automakers like Tesla, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Lexus.
Looking at the numbers, the latest models have been a boon to the Cadillac rand as a whole. Last year, it sold 12,187 Optiqs and 7,879 Vistiqs. That said, the real surprise there was the $130,000 Escalade IQ, which sold a whipping 8,115 units in its first full year. As Q1 2026 wrapped up in March, EVs represented about one-third of Cadillac’s total mix, though the gas-powered Escalade is still dominating the brand’s sales trajectory, as it’s done for years at this point.
