Cadillac's EVs are attracting new buyers, including more customers trading in Teslas
DETROIT — Cadillac's expanding all-electric vehicle lineup is attracting a notable number of new buyers to the American luxury brand, including an increase this year of Tesla owners trading in their EVs.
The General Motors brand reports nearly 8 out of every 10 customers purchasing a Cadillac EV are new to Cadillac, with around 10% of those customers trading in a Tesla. That includes roughly 25% of customers trading in a Tesla this year for a Cadillac Lyriq SUV, up from prior levels of about 10% to 15%.
'We see the opportunity to increase the conquest rate for Tesla, absolutely,' Brad Franz, Cadillac director of global marketing, told CNBC during an event for the Vistiq three-row SUV — the brand's latest EV to hit U.S. showrooms.
That increase in customer conquesting, as the industry refers to it, comes as Cadillac offers a relatively full lineup of EVs and as Tesla faces declining sales and boycotts this year amid CEO Elon Musk's support of President Donald Trump and his actions as part of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
Cadillac declined to speculate on if Musk's politics played into Tesla owners' thinking, saying the carmaker is 'building great Cadillacs that are conquesting customers from other brands on the merits of the products.'
Cadillac's current EV lineup includes an entry-level crossover called the Optiq, the midsize Lyriq SUV, the Vistiq, the Escalade IQ full-size SUV and soon a $300,000-plus bespoke Celestiq car. It also offers a performance variant of the Lyriq and a larger version of the Escalade IQ.
'The portfolio is the key,' Franz said. 'We've always had good interaction with Tesla customers, but in the past, that's been in that 10% to 15% range [for Lyriq]. So, certainly, we're seeing a good jump in conquest rate.'
While Cadillac has had some luck luring Tesla owners, there's still room for improvement.
No Tesla vehicle is in the top 10 of any cross-shopped Cadillac EV over the past six months, according to Edmunds.com, meaning the majority of those customers aren't searching for Teslas against a Cadillac. The consumer vehicle research and data firm reports the top cross-shopped vehicles on its website for Cadillacs are largely other Cadillac EVs, as well as other domestic nameplates.
A potential reason for that could be that Tesla owners are not actually cross-shopping against their vehicle, just trying to find a new one, according to Joseph Yoon, Edmunds' consumer insights analyst.
'People leaving Tesla cars now, they're, in my opinion, making a very deliberate choice to get out of that car,' he said. 'If your priority is to get out of the Tesla ASAP, then they're not, technically, cross-shopping Tesla for their next car.'
Yoon said it's common for vehicles from the same brands to be highly cross-shopped, adding the data is from its website and not representative of dealer trade-ins.
Edmunds reports the top cross-shopped vehicles for the Cadillac Lyriq — the brand's EV sales leader — are the Cadillac Optiq, Acura ZDX, Ford Mustang Mach-E and BMW 1X. They are followed by the Kia EV9 and the Chevrolet Blazer and Equinox EVs.
For Tesla models, Edmunds reports other Tesla models top consumers' cross-shopping searches, as well as many Honda, Hyundai and Kia vehicles. The Chevrolet Equinox EV, GMC Hummer EV and Ford Mustang Mach-E are in the mix as well, depending on the model.
Yoon also noted that although Tesla and Cadillac may offer vehicles in similar price points, Tesla's top-selling models — the Model 3 and Model Y — are more mainstream cars than luxury.
Cadillac's target this year is to be the bestselling luxury EV brand, which does not include Tesla, although there is a valid argument that the more pricey Model S and Model X are luxury vehicles.
'Cadillac is leading the way with our EV lineup,' Franz said during the Vistiq event. 'We're really poised for success. We're going to take this portfolio, now that Vistiq is rounding out the SUV portfolio, and become the No. 1, tier-one EV luxury brand.'
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