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GM to accelerate its EV strategy — Cadillac could be all-electric by 2025

General Motors will roll out details of an expanded and accelerated electric vehicle strategy on Thursday in an effort to convince investors it can be a serious competitor to Tesla, people familiar with the plans said. GM Chief Executive Mary Barra, who is scheduled to speak at a conference hosted by Barclays, is expected to say the automaker is ready to spend more on electric models by 2025 than the $20 billion previously outlined, the sources said. Supplier sources said previous plans to make the Cadillac brand all-electric by 2030 are being sped up, possibly to 2025, and other sources said that acceleration will be repeated in other brands and in segments such as commercial vans. Asked about the Thursday appearance, a GM spokeswoman called talk of increased spending speculative and declined to give details. The Detroit automaker is also expected to discuss a new timeline for many of the EVs to follow those already identified, such as the GMC Hummer EV pickup and Cadillac Lyriq crossover, people familiar with the plans said. Lyriq (shown above) is slated to go into production in late 2022, but GM officials have been stung by criticism the automaker was bringing the vehicle to market too late, one source said. "The pull-ahead in programs is real and the organization is really doubling down on speeding up product development," the source said. Barra and other GM executives have been signaling the automaker's EV acceleration plans. She said earlier this month GM would boost capital spending over the next three years to speed EV development and was talking with other automakers about partnerships to develop more vehicles using GM's battery technology. Last week, a GM executive said the company had pulled forward the rollout of two "major" EV programs, and GM officials have touted the faster 18-month development time for the Hummer truck. Tesla's soaring market capitalization, and growing pressure from regulators to phase out carbon-emitting engines, has put pressure on established automakers to respond to investors who view their internal combustion lineups as outmoded and doomed in the long run. A critical part of GM's pitch to investors has been its new Ultium batteries, which it estimates will offer an electric driving range of 400 miles or more on a single charge. It is building a battery plant with Korean battery maker LG Chem in northeast Ohio.

Cadillac prices the 2020 XT6 crossover from $53,690

Cadillac has announced official pricing for its new XT6 crossover, built in Tennessee. The three-row XT6, Cadillac's first big crossover, starts from $53,690 when it goes on sale later this spring. For that, Cadillac offers the "Premium Luxury" trim level model with front-wheel drive; AWD is optional. Above the Premium Luxury is the XT6 Sport, which comes standard with AWD and starts from $58,090. Both prices include destination charges. The sole engine at this point is the 3.6-liter naturally aspirated V6, which produces 310 horsepower and 271 lb-ft of torque; the transmission is a nine-speed automatic. The Premium Luxury and Sport differ visually, with the former offering more chrome and wood, while the latter has blacked-out trim in place of chrome and carbon trim instead of cabin wood. The wheel design is different between the trim levels, and the Premium Luxury has red taillights while the Sport version has clear tails. The Sport model has continuously adjustable shock absorbers. Both models have seven airbags as standard, as well as an HD rear camera, forward collision alert, automatic emergency braking and front pedestrian braking, front and rear park assist, lane change and blind spot alert, lane keeping assist and lane departure warning and rear cross traffic alert. The lighting is LED front and rear; inside, a heated steering wheel is standard, as is a power folding third-row seat and a remotely folding second-row seat. Seven-passenger seating is standard, and a six-passenger setup is optional with captain's chairs for the second row. There are option packages such as the Enhanced Visibility and Technology Package, which adds an eight-inch gauge cluster display and an HUD, both in color, HD surround vision with recording, and automatic parking assist with braking. The Driver Assist package adds adaptive cruise and enhanced AEB, and one can also specify night vision. The XT6 charges phones wirelessly and is Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatible as standard. It also has a 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot with 3GB or three months' worth of data thrown in, and phones are paired via NFC. Cadillac is taking orders for the XT6 starting in March.

Cadillac won't replace XTS after 2019

Cadillac wouldn't be Cadillac without a large sedan, but the definition of just which model fits that bill changed last week. Before the New York Auto Show, that role fell to the XTS. After the New York Auto Show, though, the focus shifted to the CT6. So what's to become of the XTS now that the CT6 has emerged? According to the latest intel, it'll live out the rest of its lifecycle until around 2019, but then drive off to its own funeral like so many limousines and hearses that were built off its platform. This was learned based on comments made by Cadillac chief Johan de Nysschen at the closed-door unveiling of the CT6 in Manhattan: "Ultimately, a car like XTS when it reaches the end of its lifecycle, will not be replaced." That'll be bad news for the livery business that – in the post-Town Car era – has come to rely on the XTS as the basis for its stretch jobs. "We will not have a car that will lend itself to these kind of modifications and we will probably withdraw from those markets," de Nysschen told GM Inside News. That's not all the new Cadillac boss had to say, though: he also indicated that the replacements for the ATS and CTS will be positioned differently from the current models: "As we move into the future refining our sedan portfolio, there will be no direct successor to the CTS. There will be no direct successor to the ATS. There is no point to renaming those cars because in the future those cars will disappear." Based on Johan's comments and those we've heard until now, we'd expect the replacement for the ATS to move down a size to take on the likes of the Audi A3 and Mercedes CLA, and the CTS' successor to move down half a size class as well to give the new CT6 a bit more breathing room, and possibly an even larger flagship sedan to be positioned above them all. Related Video: