GM Adds France to European BEV Sales Push

General Motors is extending its toe-in-the-water of the European market as it announces its Cadillac Lyriq luxury battery-electric vehicle is on sale in France.

The automaker joins Ford in exploring European consumer tastes for premium BEVs and as a way of compensating for a general slowdown in the uptake of all-electric cars.

GM is already selling its Cadillac XT4, available in diesel or gasoline internal-combustion-engine powertrains, in several European countries following its pilot launch of Lyriq sales in Switzerland last October. The move sees the return of the U.S. giant to the Continent since it sold off the Vauxhall/Opel brands, now under the Stellantis umbrella of brands, in 2017.

Perhaps illustrating GM’s cautious approach to its return to Europe, instead of a network of dealerships, the buying experience for customers is largely online, offering the ability to customize and purchase their Cadillac BEVs through their digital devices. That said, the automaker does plan to open a showroom in central Paris and begin selling the Lyriq in Germany by the end of this year.

Launching the Lyriq in Paris, GM's European head Jaclyn McQuaid tells media that electric SUVs are expected to remain the fastest-growing segment for zero-emission vehicles. She highlights Cadillac's French heritage, with the French adventurer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac founding the city of Detroit in 1701 and adding that other electric Cadillac models will be added to the European lineup using same architecture as the Lyriq.

In Switzerland the Lyriq has a starting price of 82,000 Swiss francs ($93,100) but GM has yet to release prices for the French market. Its current XT4 retails for €41,620 ($45,113). Reuters reports McQuaid saying, “When you look at the battery-electric vehicle market in France, it is the luxury market that grew to the greatest extent. The luxury market is where the focus is right now.”