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Cadillac vehicles to go electric by 2030, will get real names

DETROIT — The head of General Motors' Cadillac luxury brand said on Thursday that a majority, and possibly all, of the brand's models would be electric vehicles by 2030. Cadillac President Steve Carlisle also said Cadillac was on track for "low double-digit" sales growth in China in 2019, despite a drop in overall sales in the world's largest vehicle market. Retail Cadillac sales in the United States were on track this year for their first increase since 2013, Carlisle said. Cadillac has previously signaled a move toward electric models. Carlisle also confirmed Cadillac would offer a large electric sports-utility vehicle (SUV) similar to the Escalade and that it could continue to sell internal combustion models alongside electric vehicles, depending on consumer demand. GM expects to begin production of the large Cadillac electric SUV in late 2023 at its Detroit-Hamtramck plant as part of a planned $3 billion overhaul of the factory, sources have previously told Reuters. GM's luxury brand also plans to introduce a compact electric SUV in China in 2022, with a companion model slated to go into production in the United States in late 2023, suppliers said. Cadillac showed a concept for a midsized electric SUV earlier this year. The division will use names for its future electric models, moving away from number and letter names such as CT6 or XT5. "Escalade is an awesome name," Carlisle said. Cadillac will refresh its existing gasoline-powered models one more time over the next decade and then focus on the electric models, he said. "None of us knows how quickly the transition will take place," to a fully electric lineup, Carlisle said. A key challenge for electric vehicles is driving range and Carlisle said Cadillacs will need a range of 300 miles to be competitive. Eventually, he said, "you need to be at 400 miles" with charging times in minutes. Cadillac also will expand the number of models equipped with GM's Super Cruise semi-automated driving system, Carlisle said. GM executives have previously suggested that a more advanced version of Super Cruise was in the works. Earnings/Financials Green Cadillac Electric Luxury

Cadillac finds a few more horsepower for ATS-V

We've rarely found cause to complain about a car getting more power, and guess what? That's not going to change here. After initially announcing that the new ATS-V would come to market with a Corvette-matching 455 horsepower, Cadillac has come back with an SAE-certified 464 horsepower. That, as Automobile points out, puts the high-performance ATS in spitting distance of the base Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG and its 469 hp. Anyone else feeling bad for owners of the 425-hp BMW M3? While the ATS-V is getting a bit more grunt, somehow, we doubt Cadillac will adjust its previously published performance figures. Expect 60 miles per hour to arrive in 3.9 seconds, with a top speed of 185 mph. As of this writing, a lucky Autoblog staffer is lapping the ATS-V around Circuit of the Americas in Austin as part of the sedan's big launch. So while we can't fill you in on its real-world performance just yet, expect a big update soon. Related Video:

May 2016: FCA wins, Ford and GM stumble on weak car volumes

The May 2016 sales numbers are in, and it looks as though FCA is getting some vindication for boldly cancelling two slow-selling car models. Meanwhile, Ford saw overall sales dip and GM's May volume took a big dive versus the same month in 2015. While Marchionne's decision to axe the Chrysler 200 and Dodge Dart has drawn criticism as being short-sighted, it's working for FCA so far. Although the Dart and 200 aren't out of production yet and no capacity has been shifted to crossover or trucks, May's numbers show that the emphasis on Jeep and Ram models makes sense right now. FCA's US sales rose 1 percent last month compared to May 2015, putting the year-to-date total at 955,186 vehicles, an increase of 6 percent compared to the same period last year. Standouts included the Jeep Renegade, Compass, and Patriot, and the Fiat 500X. Ram pickup sales were down 3 percent. And your fun fact is that Alfa Romeo sales were up precisely 10 percent, for a total of 44 4Cs sold versus 40 in the same month last year. At FoMoCo, the Ford brand took a hit to the tune of 6.4 percent from May 2015 to 2016, registering 226,190 sales last month. Lincoln showed improvement on its modest numbers, going from 9,174 to 9,807, a 6.9 percent increase. Overall, Ford was down 5.9 percent for the month to 235,997; despite the slump, year-to-date total Ford sales are up 4.2 percent to 1,112,939. Strong sellers included Escape, Expedition, F-Series, and Transit - big stuff. Most small and/or efficient models (Fiesta, Focus, Fusion, C-Max) saw sales slides. Fusion sales were also down, likely due to effects of model changeover to the freshened 2017 model. Ford has promised four new crossovers and SUVs by 2020 and if things keep trending this way the company will be able to sell them, but things could change in the next four years. GM saw the worst of it for domestic brands. Retail and fleet sales were down for each of the four divisions, with the May 2016 total dropping 18 percent to 240,450 vehicles. GM's year-to-date sales are down 5.0 percent in 2016 to 1,183,705. Both the Sierra and Silverado were down significantly, and the majority of Chevy, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac nameplates saw sales decreases, with both small cars and larger utilities included. Not even big stuff could help GM this month, it seems. We'll have more on the rest of the industry's May sales as those figures trickle in.