Sedans may be declining but General Motors reportedly plans to continue offering them, led by a Porsche Taycan-rivalling Chevrolet Corvette sedan.
GM Authority and Muscle Cars and Trucks report an electric Corvette sedan is in the works, to be sold alongside the existing coupe and convertible, and a potential Corvette-branded electric SUV.
The Corvette sedan is reportedly due around mid-decade, and would be the first Corvette to ever have an electric powertrain.
It would also be the first time a Corvette has ever had more than two doors and would serve as a rival to not only the Taycan, but also high-performance EVs like the Tesla Model S Plaid and Audi e-tron GT.
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Chevrolet C8 Corvette
It’ll reportedly use a dedicated electric vehicle architecture GM refers to as Ultium, which also underpins models like the Cadillac Lyriq.
GM has already revealed high-performance EVs, with the GMC Hummer EV Edition 1 producing 619kW (746kW in boost mode) from a tri-motor electric powertrain that allows the four-tonne pickup truck to hit 96km/h in just three seconds.
The performance potential of these components in a lighter, lower vehicle, therefore, is pretty clear.
Chevrolet confirmed earlier this year an electrified Corvette will launch in 2023, with a “fully electric version to follow”.
But Muscle Cars and Trucks reports the recently introduced C8 Corvette coupe and convertible – the first mid-engined generation – won’t be offered with an electric powertrain, though an electric C9 Corvette seems an inevitability.
The publication reports the electric Corvette “to follow” will instead be this Corvette-badged sedan, riding a different platform to the combustion-powered two-door.
A report from Bloomberg early in 2021 said GM was weighing establishing a Corvette sub-brand, with a high-performance electric crossover arriving as early as 2025.
Automotive News subsequently reported a high-performance electric sedan would enter production in 2025.
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Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing -
Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing
This model will reportedly be built at GM’s Lansing Grand River Assembly in Michigan, which currently produces the Cadillac CT4 and CT5 sedans and Chevrolet Camaro coupe and convertible.
The Camaro will reportedly end production in 2024, once again being axed with no replacement.
The Cadillac sedans, conversely, will reportedly be replaced, with Automotive News reporting new electric models will arrive in 2026.
They’ll slot in underneath the new, exclusive Celestiq flagship, previewed in concept form and reportedly set to enter production in 2023.
GM Authority says these CT4 and CT5 successors will retain a low hip point but will feature fastback bodies like the 2016 Escala concept, which already previewed design elements seen on recent Cadillac models.
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2022 Cadillac Celestiq concept -
2016 Cadillac Escala concept
Whether Cadillac chooses to offer the same level of performance as the Corvette EVs is unclear, though such a move would give the luxury brand a replacement for the mighty CT4-V Blackwing and CT5-V Blackwing.
Cadillac will transition to an EV-only lineup by 2030, and is preparing electric replacements for its current flock of combustion-powered models.
Automotive News reports Cadillac’s XT4, XT5 and XT6 crossovers will all end production around mid-decade, with the new Lyriq serving as a successor for the XT5 and replacements coming for the other two.
An electric Escalade, potentially called Escalade IQ and IQL, is also reportedly due around mid-decade to be sold alongside the current combustion-powered model.
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Cadillac GT4 patent image
Cadillac isn’t done with launching new combustion-powered models just yet.
A second-generation CT6 sedan has been spied testing in China, where the current model is still being produced following the end of US production in 2020.
Patent images have also been leaked out of China of a new entry-level crossover that may wear the GT4 nameplate, and serve as a rival to the likes of the BMW X2.
