Reuss said there are not yet electric SUVs that compete head-to-head with the Escalade IQ. Some brands might get close on price or also have three rows of seats but not offer as much content, he said.
“It’s going to be interesting to see what happens,” Reuss said. “But we feel pretty good about this as a plus-business halo for SUVs because we have built that brand Escalade, and Cadillac, quite a ways.”
The Escalade IQ doesn’t have a full rival “from a size, image and product standpoint” because the market for large, luxury, electric SUVs is still limited, said Jessica Caldwell, executive director of insights for Edmunds.
It’s possible that a prospective Escalade IQ buyer also could shop the Mercedes-Benz EQS or Tesla Model X, she said, but “these aren’t perfect competitors just because this market is so small.”
“You think electric vehicle, you don’t think big, beefy, luxuriously aggressive type of design, so I think that probably was the thin line they had to walk on — of keeping it true to what Escalade is, but then also obviously electrifying it and making it look futuristic and cool,” Caldwell said. “That’s also what people are looking for when they buy an EV. They want to see the envelope of design pushed in a more futuristic way.”
Part of that design is inspired by the Celestiq, such as the 55-inch curved display that spans the width of the cabin. The Celestiq starts around $340,000 not including shipping.
The Escalade IQ is just over 4 inches wider and a foot longer than the standard Escalade. It’s also more aerodynamic.
A feature called Velocity Max allows acceleration to 60 mph in less than 5 seconds, and Arrival Mode turns all four 35-inch tires in the same direction for diagonal driving.
GM’s Ultium platform gave designers and engineers more freedom to play with the SUV’s proportions, including sloping the roofline and pushing out the front wheels by nearly a foot.
GM executives say the electric and combustion Escalades will share space on dealership lots, giving consumers choices as they adopt EVs at different rates.