4 reasons Cadillac is suddenly really cool

• Really great EVs
• V-series performance
• Le Mans and all that
• Formula 1

Cadillac sales have been booming for the last 12 quarters. Eighty percent of buyers now are trading in from brands that have eaten Cadillac’s lunch over the last couple of decades — BMW, Audi, Merc, even Tesla. Cadillac scored the second-highest in the J.D. Power US Tech Experience Index 2025, just behind Genesis, and ahead of Lincoln, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz.

Today, Cadillac is kicking ass big time in the US market, and for a luxury brand, cars are flying off the showroom floor. So how did a brand with an average sales price of $79,000 become so hot in this market? Here are the four main reasons.

Really great EVs

Concentrating on luxury SUVs

Cadillac is making serious waves in the electric vehicle market. 25% of all Cadillacs sold are electric, in a market where EVs make up a maximum eight percent of sales. If you consider that the Lyriq, the first Caddy EV, was only launched three years ago in 2022, this is quite remarkable.

EV sales are predicted to tank in the US now that the tax credit has ended, but are still expected to make up 20% of car sales by 2030, so Cadillac is already ahead of the curve. There are five mainstream EV SUVs in the lineup, as well as the bespoke Celestiq sedan which nobody can afford.

Cadillac Escalade IQ

The all-electric version of the best-selling SUV that kept the brand going during lean times, the Escalade IQ cannot be described without using the word ‘massive’ too many times. It is a seven-seat, four-door SUV that weighs over 9,000 lbs, significantly bigger than the popular gas Escalade. It can go from 0 to 60 mph in 4.7 seconds thanks to its 750 hp motor, and can do over 460 miles on a charge. It can charge for 100 miles in 10 minutes.

The Escalade IQ comes with 55-inch screen on the dashboard, 24″ wheels, 5G connectivity, and the starting price is $130K.

Cadillac Lyriq

This was the first EV Caddy in 2022, and is still a bestseller starting in the low $60K range, and has a range of 300 to 325 miles, depending on whether you opt for the AWD or RWD. Power ranges from 340 hp for the RWD to 500 hp for the AWD, and there is a Lyriq V with 615 hp that can do 0 to 60 in 3.3 seconds. The infotainment screen is a mere 33 inches.

Cadillac Vistiq

This is a three-row, six/seven seater SUV a sort of scaled-down option of the massive Escalade. Prices start at $80K, it has AWD and the two motors make 615 hp. The 300-mile range is more than enough for almost all driving. The cabin is plush with lots of wood trim and nickel metal finishes.

Cadillac Optiq

Sanity returns in this compact five-seat SUV, with a starting price of $54K. It is based on the chassis and powertrain of the successful Chevy Equinox EV, but that is the only thing these cars have in common. The Optiq is very different inside, with plush finishes, and a 33-inch screen. It has AWD, makes 300 horses, and has a range of 300 miles.

V-series performance

Powerful options of its gas cars

Part of the revival of the Cadillac brand was the company’s focus on genuine performance cars — more about that below. It introduced the V-series concept around 2021, which takes a normal Caddy and giving it serious power, and jacking up the handling to match. Caddie has since extended the V concept to its EVs as well.

So any Cadillac with the V suffix is more powerful than the model without that, and on top of that, you can now get a V Blackwing, with even more power.

CT4-V

The CT4-V is a compact luxury sports sedan with a 2.7L turbo and 10-speed automatic that makes a respectable 325 hp. The Blackwing takes that to 3.6L twin-turbo V6 with 472 horses, as well as a six-speed manual transmission — so a real driver’s car.

CT5-V Blackwing

This is a serious performance sedan, going head-to-head with the Porsche Panamera Turbo, BMW M5, Audi RS7, and Merc AMG GT. The normal CT5 will set you back about $60K, while the Blackwing ups that to way over $90K. For that you get a supercharged 6.2L V8 with 668 horsepower. Like the CT4-V Blackwing, it comes standard with a stick shift, although a ten-speed auto is available.

Escalade V

The gas Escalade is Cadillac’s best-selling vehicle, an SUV in the same class as a Range Rover or BMW M7, but noticeably smaller than the Escalade EV. The V-series adds the same supercharged V8 as used in the CT5-V Blackwing. It is not known for great fuel consumption, but if you can spend $160K on a car, you probably won’t care that much anyway.

Le Mans and all that

Moving to the top tier of hypercar racing

When Cadillac decided to focus on performance as a major part of its luxury range, returning to motor racing was inevitable. Even those who don’t follow racing know that aspirational car brands like Ferrari and Porsche are heavily involved in racing. Beside the image boost Cadillac would receive from top level racing, there are also real world engineering advances that flow back from racing into production cars.

Cadillac returned to hypercar endurance racing in 2023, after its last participation in 2002. It did so in the top tier LMDh (Le Mans Daytona Hybrid) class, which would allow it to compete in both the US IMSA series and the international WEC (World Endurance Championship), which include the flagship 24 hours of Le Mans race.

Immediate success

The Cadillac Hypercar developed for the WEC looked fantastic and performed really well in its rookie year, even getting third place at Le Mans 2023 behind the dominant Ferraris. The following year was not as good, although the team did get a pole position at Fiji.

This year saw a revamped car, with new technical partnerships, and a one-two finish to win the São Paulo WEC race in Brazil. This has boosted Cadillac up the leaderboard for hypercars, and there is no doubt that Cadillac’s participation in the WEC has raised positive awareness of the brand both in the US and internationally.

Formula 1

The top tier of motor racing

Formula 1 is the pinnacle of motor racing, and it was no surprise when Cadillac announced it would enter a team in 2026. The estimated spend to do so is north of $1 billion. Cadillac will not even use its own engines, but will depend on Ferrari for the first several years. F1 engines are highly specialized, only 1.6L, but a turbocharnged V6 hybrid that produces 1,000 hp at 15,000 rpm.

Cadillac went for experienced drivers for the ’26 season, with Valerie Bottas (10 victories) and Sergio Perez (6 victories), and nine times IndyCar winner Colton Herta as test driver. Tommy Hilfiger will be the apparel sponsor.

Nobody at Cadillac expects very much in the first season. F1 is a major step up, even from WEC racing. But merely being accepted to participate will further strengthen Cadillac’s offering of luxury performance that has made it such a sexy brand up to now.