- A whopping 75% of Lyriq buyers and 80% of Optiq buyers are conquests from other brands.
- In the first half of 2025, Cadillac sold 9,317 Lyriqs, and 4,940 Optiqs.
- GM says there is market "underpenetration" of its EVs on either coast.
Early this morning, General Motors' second-quarter earnings call dropped a lot of gems into investors and media alike, such as how it’s negotiating the new tariffs. Obviously, some of that news might not help your economic anxiety, but not all of it is bad. Cadillac announced that it’s been a high electric-vehicle conquest brand—meaning one that can steal buyers away from other brands—especially with its lower-trimmed models.
“Conquest rates are above 75% for the Lyriq, and approaching 80% for the Optiq at the same time,” the company announced during its earnings call.
Of course, the Lyriq and Optiq aren’t selling at some insane Tesla Model Y level. This year so far, Cadillac moved 9,317 Lyriqs and 4,940 Optiqs. But, it is impressive that the bulk of these two cars are selling to new-to-Cadillac buyers.
This means about 7,000 Lyriqs and roughly 4,000 of the Optiqs the brand has sold have come from other models. Cadillac didn’t say which brands it was snatching customers from, although it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out which big brand is in the crosshairs.
Correlation isn’t causation, but Tesla’s market share has been on the decline year-over-year, while GM’s EVs as a whole have picked up in about the same proportion. I can see the Lyriq and Optiq absolutely picking up steam from disgruntled Tesla Model Y owners seeking to ditch their cars for something less controversial, and significantly more plush.
And the success of the Lyriq and Optiq speaks to Cadillac’s consistent and competitive pricing. Both cars qualify for the full EV tax credit at purchase, but also the lease deals nationally tend to be competitive. Both vehicles typically have lower lease costs compared to other luxury EVs of similar calibre.
Unfortunately for Cadillac, it’s not clear how long this ramp will continue onward. Without the EV tax credit, the Lyriq and Optiq aren’t as competitive. To be fair, this isn’t necessarily solely a Cadillac issue, as every manufacturer that makes EVs will feel the effects of not having a tax credit to help boost sales. That’s the whole reason why GM is reconfiguring its manufacturing strategy and, in some instances, re-prioritizing gas-powered vehicles. Like, changing an EV plant to make big gas trucks.
Or, I could be wrong. GM says that its EVs are "underpenetrated in coastal markets," and it sees huge avenues for growth in markets on either coast.
Contact the author: Kevin.Williams@InsideEVs.com
