Where Are the EVs? GM Can’t Seem to Get Them Out the Door

What was supposed to be one of the most important launches in recent Cadillac history has gone off with a whimper, rather than a bang — and the debut of Caddy’s all-electric Lyriq crossover underscores the broader problems parent General Motors is having as it continues down what CEO Mary Barra frequently refers to as the “path to an all-electric future.”

A variety of issues have plagued GM’s efforts to ramp up production of the Cadillac Lyriq, including troubles at the Lordstown, Ohio plant that is the first to build the automaker’s next-generation Ultium batteries. But there are other snags that include software problems and broader supply chain disruptions, a well-placed GM insider connected to its EV program told TheDetroitBureau.com on background, asking not to be named directly.

Company officials insist that they’re beginning to work through their problems, especially with the Lyriq which serves as the high-profile first step in Cadillac’s plan to become an all-electric marque by 2030. “We’re seeing increased launch activity … with production of the Lyriq tripling last month,” said global brand boss John Roth, during a conversation following a media preview of the second Caddy EV, the Escalade IQ, last week.

Dizzy digital displays and other problems plague launch

When they showed off the final, production version of Lyriq in early 2022, Caddy officials boasted about their speed in bringing the midsize EV crossover to market, claiming to have pulled the development effort ahead of its original timing by a full nine months. But a variety of problems showed up during the first media test drive, including software glitches that caused the digital gauge clusters on some vehicles to black out, while others sent navigation displays dizzily spinning in circles.

Cadillac representatives insisted those were problems that would be resolved by the time final production — and the first deliveries to customers began.

Apparently not, according to sources both in and out of GM. Software problems continued to plague the Lyriq program until well into 2023, TheDetroitBureau.com was told. But there have been other issues, as well.

These include the shortage of semiconductors that slowed production across the industry for the past two years. The Lyriq was far from the only GM vehicle where production schedules were disrupted due to chip shortages. But the EV faced a number of other supply chain disruptions, those linked to the program revealed, without disclosing specifics.

Troubles at the Ultium battery plant

One of the most troubling problems has been the slow ramp up of production at Lordstown, the first of what will become a North American network of battery plants GM is setting up. On the plus side, the proprietary lithium-ion chemistry seems to be performing as expected. It’s the manufacturing side that appears to be the issue.

Among other things, “They’re not getting the equipment to assemble the (battery pack’s) modules” as quickly as needed to meet growing demand for Lyriq and other GM EVs, said Sam Abuelsamid, principal auto analyst with Guidehouse Insights.

Voth was one of several Cadillac officials who identified another reason for the slow launch: a decision to redouble quality control efforts hoping to avoid unexpected problems that have plagued other EV launches in recent years. Buyers aren’t likely to remember a slow launch a few years from now, Abuelsamid suggested, but they’d be more likely to remember serious quality issues.

Sales at a crawl

GM clearly wants to avoid the defects that caused a small number of fires involving it’s first long-range EV, the Chevrolet Bolt, forcing it to not only recall all of the ones on the road but halt production until a fix could be developed.

Whatever the reason, Cadillac was able to deliver just 86 Lyriq EVs before the end of 2022 — even though the automaker claimed to have had a full order bank. It did slightly better during the first quarter of 2023, with sales of 968. The April-June period saw another modest climb, to 1,358. But Voth is promising that the numbers will jump sharply in the months ahead.

“Production tripled last month,” he said.

Missing the numbers

“I’ll believe it when I see it in the third-quarter numbers,” said analyst Abuelsamid, who noted that the launch of the GMC Hummer EV, the first of General Motors’ Ultium-based battery-electric vehicles, has also been slow to ramp up.

Abuelsaid and other observers are watching to see how it goes with the launch of the automaker’s next launch, the Chevrolet Silverado EV. And it has laid out plans for a growing number of introductions to follow, including the Chevrolet Blazer EV, Chevy’s entry-level Equinox EV, the GMC Sierra EV and the Cadillac Escalade IQ.

“GM has made some big claims about how many EVs they would build,” the analyst said, emphasizing that the automaker originally laid out a target of rolling out 400,00 this year. “They’re going to be nowhere that number. I’d be surprised if they got close to 100,000. If they hadn’t made such big proclamations no one would care.”

Cadillac insiders quietly acknowledge they’ve lost some of their early reservation holders, more than a few now waiting a year to take delivery of a Lyriq. The brand’s concierge unit is working with dealers to reach out to buyers to assure then that their wait may soon be over.