As we reported last month, Cadillac is preparing to unleash an all-electric version of its iconic Escalade luxury SUV. Details about this vehicle were — and indeed still are — scarce, but we at least know when the Escalade IQ will be revealed. On Tuesday, the automaker announced the vehicle’s official debut is set for Aug. 9, so mark your calendars.
When Cadillac announced the existence of this SUV, it shared a solitary photo of the name badge, which tells you absolutely nothing about the vehicle, though it does show that GM designers aren’t afraid to italicize random letters. With the announcement of the Escalade IQ’s reveal date, the automaker shared a shadowy teaser photo that gives us a little taste of the front end. Much like the smaller Lyriq SUV, we can see that the IQ will have a light-up Cadillac crest, and portions of the grille flanking this logo will also be illuminated. In keeping with the brand’s current design theme, the headlamps are narrow and strongly vertical, pushed out to the far edges of the front end. Along this SUV’s flanks, large, podded side-view mirrors are also visible, and they look nearly identical to what comes on conventional, combustion-powered Escalades.
In addition to an image, Cadillac also shared a brief, 27-second-long teaser video that reveals slightly more of the Escalade IQ. We can see the roof and rear spoiler, plus we get a quick look at this luxury land barge’s front wheel. But the most significant thing is a momentary glimpse of a screen on the dashboard. This vividly colored panel teases the vehicle’s name as well as the reveal date and time, but what’s most important here is the size of this display. The current Escalade already has a stunning array of screens, but this arrangement appears to take infotainment tech to the next level because the display in the Escalade IQ appear to stretch right across the dashboard, nearly to the passenger-side door. We’re starting to see more and more sprawling, displays in vehicles. Mercedes-Benz has the MBUX Hyperscreen, the redesigned Lincoln Nautilus will offer a massive array of panels and the upcoming all-electric Escalade appears to be going the same route.
Aside from vehicle-specific features, Cadillac’s teaser video also proudly proclaims that the Escalade IQ will be built in Motown, specifically at Factory Zero in GM’s Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Center, a facility that received a $2.2 billion investment to retool to manufacture electric vehicles. Aside from that, the Escalade IQ’s reveal is set to take place in New York City.
In a release shared with media, the luxury automaker proclaims this new battery-electric SUV is “the reinvention of Cadillac’s most iconic nameplate.” Whether the Escalade is more legendary than a Coupe de Ville or a V16-powered model is arguable, but what is not up for debate is that the Escalade IQ is the next step in Cadillac’s push to offer a fully electric lineup of cars and SUVs by the end of this decade. Given the Escalade’s historic popularity, it should have no trouble broadening the appeal of electric vehicle to even more drivers.
