Who is going to buy Cadillac’s $300,000 hand-built EV?

The battery-electric Celestiq sedan is tasked with more than restoring Cadillac to its former glory; it now must back executives' bold claim to reestablish the brand as the standard of the world.

It is difficult to imagine many Cadillacs of that heft being quietly charging behind suburban garage doors with a price tag more than three times the average transaction price.

Who needs a custom EV when you can get a 300-mile range EV for less than $100,000?

Cadillac is taking a chance on it.

The GM luxury brand wants to follow the market in phasing out gas engines by the year 2030. When it goes into hand-built production at GM's Technical Center outside of Detroit in December 2023, the brand will build less than two per day, according to executives.

Customers will bite.

It doesn't seem spectacular enough to justify the price of the car. The Celestiq will feature a 600-hp, dual- motor, all-wheel-drive setup that can go from 0 to 60 mph in 3.8 seconds, which is a little slower than some of the other electric cars on the market. The industry standard will be 300 miles on a fully charged battery by the time the Celestiq arrives.

The latest iteration of Cadillac's Ultra Cruise advanced driver assistance system is one of the high-tech features.

A concierge will be on hand at certain Cadillac dealers to help decide upon colors, trims and materials. The brand's "whisper events" show a broad spectrum of high-net worth individuals that would consider wanting to have a vehicle like this.

The majority of the Celestiqs it builds will be sold in North America, followed by China and the Middle East.

Due to high demand for its first-ever EV, the $60,000 Cadillac Lyriq SUV expected later this year, executives were able to close its order book earlier than expected.

Harvey believes that the pump was primed. The brand has solid foundations to move to the next level.

Is there demand for a car that costs five times as much? Executives said they believe buyers are willing to spend more, noting that a fully loaded Escalade V, the high- performance version of Cadillac's full-size SUV, pushes $150,000, and that some CadillacCT5-V Blackwing models venture into six-figure territory.

Harvey believes that they can generate customer demand at the higher price point.

The Celestiq is expected to be delivered to customers in 2025.

The standard of the world was referred to asadillac at a point in time. We believe that this vehicle will allow us to regain some of that position.