Cadillac Is Stealing EV Customers From Tesla—And Everyone Else

Cadillac has sold 100,000 electric vehicles, with roughly 75 percent of buyers new to the brand.

2026 Cadillac Lyriq-V Rear 3/4

Photo by: Cadillac

Anthony Alaniz

By: Anthony Alaniz

May 11, at 5:00pm ET

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The Breakdown:

Cadillac has sold 100,000 electric vehicles.
Approximately 75 percent of buyers are new to the brand.
Many new buyers came from Tesla, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Lexus.

In January 2019, General Motors announced that Cadillac would become the automaker’s leading brand for electric vehicles. The 2023 Lyriq was the first EV to go on sale, and within just four years—alongside three additional models—the luxury brand has sold 100,000 electric vehicles.

Roughly 75 percent of those sales were to buyers who were new to the brand. According to Cadillac, many of the new buyers came from Tesla, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Lexus.

Cadillac currently sells the Lyriq, Optiq, Vistiq, Escalade IQ, and the low-volume Celestiq. The electric lineup also includes two V-Series variants, the Lyriq-V and Optiq-V, with the Optiq delivering 519 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque. It can reach 60 miles per hour in 3.5 seconds.

2026 Cadillac Optiq-V

2026 Cadillac Optiq-V

Photo by: Cadillac

Cadillac's EV Success

Through the first three months of 2026, Cadillac has sold more than 9,500 electric vehicles, with sales up 20 percent. This was largely driven by the Optiq, which saw sales increase by 65.9 percent. The Optiq went on sale in early 2025.

The Vistiq also contributed. In the first quarter of 2025, Cadillac sold just one Vistiq compared to 1,902 sold through the first three months of 2026. That is a 190,100 percent increase

The rest of Cadillac’s EV lineup was not as lucky. The Lyriq, the brand’s best-seller, sold 3,370 units from January to March—down 21.6 percent year over year. Escalade IQ sales tumbled 26.8 percent.

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It's unclear how Cadillac's EV sales will fare throughout the middle of the year. Last year, the brand sold nearly 50,000 electric vehicles, but the removal of the federal tax credit has dampened demand for electric vehicles. At its current sales pace, the brand is on track to sell less than 40,000 EVs in 2026.

Gallery: 2026 Cadillac Lyriq-V

2026 Cadillac Lyriq-V Front 3/4

2026 Cadillac Lyriq-V Steering Wheel-Mounted Buttons 2026 Cadillac Lyriq-V Taillights 2026 Cadillac Lyriq-V Rear 3/4 Interior 2026 Cadillac Lyriq-V Front 3/4

Source: Cadillac

Motor1’s Take: The Cadillac Lyriq was GM’s first electric vehicle riding on its new Ultium battery platform that now underpins a range of models, from the affordable Equinox EV to the ultra-luxurious Celestiq, but the future of EVs in the United States is up in the air. It might take Cadillac a bit longer to sell another 100,000 EVs now that the federal tax credit is gone.

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