Cadillac VP John Roth: We Will ‘Make Cadillac The Standard of the World Again’
John Roth became the vice president of global Cadillac on June 1 and is tasked with reinvigorating America’s oldest automaker and taking it all-electric in the coming years. He shared his thoughts about the work ahead with American Cars and Racing as the brand unveiled the electric Escalade IQ in New York.
For over 120 years, Cadillac has set the standard for American luxury.
In 1903, Cadillac introduced its very first car — the Runabout — in New York City. Several others have been revealed here since, but none bolder than the all-electric ESCALADE IQ which debuted in New York this week.
Bold not only because of the vehicle’s dynamic presence and its advanced technology, but also bold because of what ESCALADE IQ demonstrates in no uncertain terms… Cadillac is going all-electric.
For those of us who are privileged to steward Cadillac today, this historic transformation of an iconic brand comes with tremendous responsibility. It is both our duty and our privilege to advance the tradition of “raising the standards,†and seeing the world not as it is, but as it could be. In this moment, that means fulfilling the promise of Cadillac’s EV transformation.
It’s our turn to embrace this moment of transformation with the same courage, creativity and grit that Cadillac founder, Henry Leland, had 120 years ago and countless others have had since.
Fortunately, as we navigate this transition, we have a lot of things going for us. Naturally, we enjoy the full support of GM management. We have the most sophisticated portfolio in Cadillac’s history. We’re bringing extraordinary technologies to market that enhance our customers’ lives in meaningful ways (another Cadillac tradition). We have a lean and customer-focused Dealer Network which we believe give us a signfiicant competitive advantage in today’s luxury market. Perhaps most importantly, we have momentum in the marketplace, which is as powerful as it is fragile.
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Last year, Cadillac was the fastest-growing full-line luxury brand in the US. In fact, we’ve had 14 consecutive months of growth. Globally, the brand has set several sales records in several markets in the first half of this year.
Cadillac Escalade may be the cornerstone of our momentum. When it was introduced a quarter-century ago, Escalade kicked off a new era of full-size luxury SUV innovation, style, technology, and performance.
Since then, the Escalade franchise has sold more than 1 million units globally. Today, Escalade is the best-selling vehicle in the segment, and it’s held that spot consistently over the past two decades. One out of every three vehicles sold in the segment is an Escalade.
And true to its brand heritage, Escalade is the standard-bearer of innovation and new technologies. That won’t change.
The fully electrified ESCALADE IQ places one of the world’s most iconic nameplates at the center of a revolution in personal transportation. The first full sized electric SUV from Cadillac will offer an estimated 450-miles of range. With our industry leading Super Cruise technology many of those miles could be hands free. Beyond its incredibly competitive all-electric driving range, ESCALADE IQ will elevate the experience inside with a dazzling curved pillar-to-pillar 55-inch LED display and Executive Second Row seating.
We did not use an existing internal combustion platform and retrofit a battery into it. Frankly, that’s not what you do if you are committed to the long game and certainly not what you do with a brand like Cadillac.We started with an all-new EV architecture which gave our engineers and designers the opportunity to develop an EV that has no equal. And that’s what they have done.
Our electric journey began last year with the Cadillac LYRIQ SUV. This week, ESCALADE IQ will join our ultra-luxury sedan CELESTIQ at the top of our electric portfolio. No other brand has two EV flagships like these and we will begin to fill in the rest of Cadillac’s expanding EV portfolio very soon.
Again, I feel tremendously privileged to lead the global Cadillac brand at this extraordinary moment in the history of our brand and our industry. Cadillac’s charge and charter have remained unchanged for more than a century: to set the standard for others to follow.
With every new vehicle we introduce, we will continue to elevate the experience for global luxury customer and make Cadillac the “Standard of the World†again.Â
— John Roth
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