General M's bold electric vehicle plans have made plenty of headlines lately. The company announced an aspiration to convert its light-duty vehicle fleet to 100 percent EVs by 2035. Cadillac's conversion could come even sooner; the brand's global vice-president, Rory Harvey, has told the media that Cadillac would "be leaving the decade as an EV brand," ceasing ICE vehicle sales by 2030.
That may scare fans of GM's high-output V8 combustion engines powering Cadillac vehicles like the new Escalade and the new CT5-V Blackwing. But on the flipside, those plans still mean that Cadillac will be selling those vehicles for a long time.
Professional automotive forecaster LMC Automotive recently told Automotive News that Cadillac's current crossover lineup would be the first to make way for the EV push in 2025 or 2026. The CT4 and CT5 sedans (and presumably their performance variants, like the CT5-V and Blackwing models) will stick around until 2026 or 2027.
The combustion Escalade would likely linger around until 2029 — and even that date is flexible, depending on market conditions. So, if you like your tried-and-true 6.2-liter V8-powered (or, alternately, turbodiesel-powered) Escalade, there's a good chance you could buy one today, drive it around for eight years and pick up another one before Cadillac stops selling them.
However, the date being flexible also means that Cadillac could push the combustion Escalade's demise forward. And there may be a good chance of that happening by the late 2020s as EVs gain market share and grow more affordable and easier to live with, as charging options become more widespread.
For a while, at least, you'll likely be able to choose. Cadillac is widely expected to produce an electric Escalade alongside the current model within a few years' time. The Escalade, after all, may be the current Cadillac vehicle best-suited to EV conversion, with a large frame that can accommodate the battery pack weight and customers accustomed to paying well into the six figures to buy one.
The EV Escalade would perform better, offer a smoother and quieter ride and be more spacious. And if battery technology improves — which it almost undoubtedly will — the EV version could even be cheaper to buy by that stage. How many people — unless they are willfully stubborn — would still want a super-luxurious car with an obnoxious, polluting combustion V8 by the late 2020s?
