Latest news with #EscaladeIQ
The Drive
3 days ago
- Automotive
- The Drive
The Cadillac Escalade IQ Is So Big It Has a Two-Way Intercom System
The latest car news, reviews, and features. The Cadillac Escalade IQ is big in every sense of the word, from its wheels (24 inches, standard), to its length (224 inches, or 228 inches for the even bigger Escalade IQL), to its power (up to 750 horsepower). Many large vehicles use microphones up front to boost the driver's voice through speakers at the very back. The all-electric Escalade produces no engine noise for passengers to contend with, so you might assume such technology wouldn't be necessary. But the Escalade IQ still offers it and, what's more, goes a step further than most vehicles by mic'ing up the rear of the SUV for full two-way communication. The Escalade IQ and IQL come standard with a 21-speaker AKG audio system that feeds in the first-row mics, so third-row passengers aren't left out of the conversation. This isn't an unusual feature among big SUVs and minivans, and Cadillac improves on it by incorporating additional mics in the way back on the optional 38 and 42 speaker setups, so that the driver and passenger riding shotgun can hear the rear of the car just as well. Second-row occupants even have the option to turn their mics off from their dedicated screen to enjoy more private conversations, if only slightly. Cadillac via YouTube Cadillac calls this feature 'Conversation Enhancement.' To us, it sounds more like intercom. The Escalade IQ is less of an SUV, then, and more of an office building that just happens to be on wheels. And this feature isn't exclusive to the electric version, either; Cadillac also offers it in the gas Escalade, where it's even more valuable on account of the powertrain. Although the Escalade IQ is an EV, passengers still have road noise to contend with. Sometimes, ambient noise can become even more noticeable without the hum of an internal-combustion engine to accompany it. On the flip side, automakers have become very good at neutralizing noise in modern luxury cars, using what's effectively a large-scale version of the same tech that makes noise-cancelling headphones so good at, well, cancelling noise. The Vistiq and Celestiq also offer Conversation Enhancement, even though they're smaller than the Escalade. It would be weird if the Celestiq missed out; it's Cadillac's crown jewel after all—the brand's no-expense-spared moonshot that serves as a showcase of all of GM's luxury technologies, including the ones nobody really needs. And if Cadillac eventually sells that gorgeous Sollei convertible concept, you'd probably want it there, too, so the rushing wind in your hair doesn't drown out the chatter. Cadillac Got tips? Send 'em to tips@
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
There's been a rise in Tesla owners switching over to Cadillac EVs, exec says
Cadillac said it's seeing a rise in Tesla owners switching to its Lyriq EV models. Cadillac has expanded its EV lineup, and California registrations have increased by 60% year over year. The automaker's growth comes as Tesla had a tough first quarter and experienced declining registrations in multiple markets. Cadillac appears to be eating into Tesla's customer base. The automaker told Business Insider it's seen a rise in Tesla owners switching to its EV brand. The company said its EVs have a conquest rate of about 75% — or the percentage of sales coming from customers switching brands — with 10% being former Tesla owners. Cadillac told BI its first EV model, the Lyriq, launched in 2022 and is seeing a roughly 80% conquest rate, with 25% of buyers coming over from Tesla. At a recent event showcasing its Vistiq model, Cadillac's director of global marketing, Brad Franz, told CNBC the company has seen "a good jump" in the rate and that General Motors' luxury vehicle division has "always had good interaction with Tesla customers," with the Lyriq conquest rate of Tesla owners ranging from 10% to 15%. Franz told CNBC that the figure is now on the rise as the car brand expanded its luxury EV lineup, and it sees potential for even greater growth. Cadillac has added three additional EVs to its portfolio in the past 6 months, including the Escalade IQ, Optiq, and Vistiq. Cadillac told BI it's not targeting any brand specifically and its mission is to "build great Cadillacs" that capture buyers based on the quality of its products and delivery on brand promise. The luxury brand reported a 21% increase in retail sales, with its EV segment up 37% in the first quarter of the year. In California, a crucial market for EVs that's often seen as a bellwether state for the broader market, industry data shows Cadillac registrations jumped about 60% year over year, rising from 1,000 to 1,609 in the first quarter of 2025. Tesla, which remains the EV market leader in the US by a large margin, has seen its sales decline recently in several countries. The same data shows that Tesla registrations decreased 15% year-over-year in California, although its Model Y and Model 3 remain the top two selling EVs in the state, and the Model Y continues to be the best-selling car overall. Tesla did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. The rise in Cadillac EV ownership comes as Tesla faces a rocky start to the year. The EV giant fell short of revenue expectations in the first quarter, reporting a 9% year-over-year decline. Tesla's automotive revenue dropped 20% year over year, and the company backed away from its 2025 "return to growth" forecast for its auto business. Tesla reported first-quarter deliveries numbers below analyst expectations and 13% lower than the same period last year. Tesla CFO Vaibhav Taneja said in the company's earnings call last month that the assembly line changeover for the refreshed Model Y impacted delivery numbers. Anti-Tesla hostility also "had an impact in certain markets," he added. Following months of boycott efforts aimed at Tesla, the automaker and SpaceX both saw declines in brand reputation, according to the Axios Harris Poll 100. Tesla dropped to 95th place, a decrease from its ranking in 63rd place last year and eighth place in 2021. Other automakers scored higher on the list compared to Tesla, with Ford landing at 60th and Volkswagen Group at 53rd. Amid continued political backlash against Elon Musk and a challenging EV landscape, Cox Automotive data from April reveals Tesla's used-car sales volume rose 27% month-over-month, meaning that more Tesla owners are trying to sell their vehicles. The surge boosted its share of the used EV market to 47%, according to Cox Automotive's data. Musk said in a recent interview at the Qatar Economic Forum that while the company has "lost some sales, perhaps on the left," Tesla also gained sales from the right. "The sales numbers at this point are strong, and we see no problem with demand," Musk said, adding that the stock price is the best indicator of where the company stands. Despite Tesla stock plummeting over 50% in March and being down 10% year-to-date, the automaker's share price is up 43% this month as the billionaire has taken a step back from his DOGE involvement. While Tesla sales continue to drop in Europe, which Musk described in the forum as its weakest market, the automaker has seen some positive momentum. Cox Automotive data shows that Tesla was among the few manufacturers reporting month-over-month growth in EV sales. Tesla's market share increased by over 3% in April, according to the data, driven by 25,231 sales of the Model Y. Read the original article on Business Insider Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Insider
22-05-2025
- Automotive
- Business Insider
There's been a rise in Tesla owners switching over to Cadillac EVs, exec says
Cadillac appears to be eating into Tesla's customer base. The automaker told Business Insider it's seen a rise in Tesla owners switching to its EV brand. The company said its EVs have a conquest rate of about 75% — or the percentage of sales coming from customers switching brands — with 10% being former Tesla owners. Cadillac told BI its first EV model, the Lyriq, launched in 2022 and is seeing a roughly 80% conquest rate, with 25% of buyers coming over from Tesla. At a recent event showcasing its Vistiq model, Cadillac's director of global marketing, Brad Franz, told CNBC the company has seen "a good jump" in the rate and that General Motors' luxury vehicle division has "always had good interaction with Tesla customers," with the Lyriq conquest rate of Tesla owners ranging from 10% to 15%. Franz told CNBC that the figure is now on the rise as the car brand expanded its luxury EV lineup, and it sees potential for even greater growth. Cadillac has added three additional EVs to its portfolio in the past 6 months, including the Escalade IQ, Optiq, and Vistiq. Cadillac told BI it's not targeting any brand specifically and its mission is to "build great Cadillacs" that capture buyers based on the quality of its products and delivery on brand promise. The luxury brand reported a 21% increase in retail sales, with its EV segment up 37% in the first quarter of the year. In California, a crucial market for EVs that's often seen as a bellwether state for the broader market, data from California's Auto Outlook shows Cadillac registrations in the state jumped about 60% year over year, rising from 1,000 to 1,609. The same data shows that Tesla registrations decreased 15% year-over-year in California, although its Model Y and Model 3 remain the top two selling EVs in the state. Tesla's Model Y is also leading as the best-selling car overall. Tesla did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. The rise in Cadillac EV ownership comes as Tesla faces a rocky start to the year. The EV giant fell short of revenue expectations in the first quarter, reporting a 9% year-over-year decline. Tesla's automotive revenue dropped 20% year over year, and the company backed away from its 2025 "return to growth" forecast for its auto business. Tesla has also experienced declining delivery rates in a number of countries, and reported first-quarter deliveries numbers below analyst expectations and 13% lower than the same period last year. Tesla CFO Vaibhav Taneja said in the company's earnings call last month that the assembly line changeover for the refreshed Model Y impacted delivery numbers. Anti-Tesla hostility also "had an impact in certain markets," he added. Following months of boycott efforts aimed at Tesla, the automaker and SpaceX both saw declines in brand reputation, according to the Axios Harris Poll 100. Tesla dropped to 95th place, a decrease from its ranking in 63rd place last year and eighth place in 2021. Other automakers scored higher on the list compared to Tesla, with Ford landing at 60th and Volkswagen Group at 53rd. Amid continued political backlash against Elon Musk and a challenging EV landscape, Cox Automotive data from April reveals Tesla's used-car sales volume rose 27% month-over-month, meaning that more Tesla owners are trying to sell their vehicles. The surge boosted its share of the used EV market to 47%, according to Cox Automotive's data. Musk said in a recent interview at the Qatar Economic Forum that while the company has "lost some sales, perhaps on the left," Tesla also gained sales from the right. "The sales numbers at this point are strong, and we see no problem with demand," Musk said, adding that the stock price is the best indicator of where the company stands. Despite Tesla stock plummeting over 50% in March and being down 10% year-to-date, the automaker's share price is up 43% this month as the billionaire has taken a step back from his DOGE involvement. While Tesla sales continue to drop in Europe, which Musk described in the forum as its weakest market, the automaker has seen some positive momentum. Cox Automotive data shows that Tesla was among the few manufacturers reporting month-over-month growth in EV sales. Tesla's market share increased by over 3% in April, according to the data, driven by 25,231 sales of the Model Y.
NBC News
20-05-2025
- Automotive
- NBC News
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 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.'
CNBC
20-05-2025
- Automotive
- CNBC
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 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."
