The race for electrification is far from over and each car manufacturer is aware of this, even if Tesla (TSLA) already has a head start.
The cards can be redistributed at any time as Apple (AAPL) could make a spectacular entry into this lucrative industry. Tim Cook's group could partner with Porsche (VWAGY), as TheStreet Rob Lenihan wrote.
However, the landscape should be drawn in the coming days with two very important appointments. One is for General Motors (GM) and the other for Tesla.
The Detroit giant is due to launch production on Monday of the long-awaited Lyriq SUV, the very first electric vehicle from its premium brand Cadillac.
There is an event at the plant in Spring Hill, Tenn., that will be live streamed at noon (ET). Participants will include GM President Mark Reuss, Cadillac Vice President Rory Harvey, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, UAW representatives, plant employees and other officials.
There will be a livestream accessible here.
Cadillac.com
GM Will Open Order Books on May 19
The Countdown of this event, dubbed Cadillac Lyriq Launch Celebration, has already been started by GM, a sign of the importance that this event has for the car manufacturer.
The Lyriq is one of GM's most advanced weapons to counter Tesla. The vehicle will be in direct competition with the Model Y SUV from Elon Musk's firm and with the Ford Mustang Mach-E.
The base price is $58,795, excluding $1,195 destination charge. The Model Y starting price is $62,990, while the Mustang Mach-E starts at $43,895. Tesla has recently increased its prices because of the surge in raw materials including nickel, the key metal for the battery.
Introduced in 2020, the SUV/crossover Lyriq is important, even central, for the tens of billions of dollars GM has invested in its transformation into a group producing mainly electric cars in years to come.
The Lyriq is unique in that its design was carried out by a computer. Based on General Motors' Ultium architecture, the Cadillac Lyriq is supposed to launch the era of electrification of GM cars: Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC and Buick.
It's going to be produced in Spring Hill, a site that initially produced Saturn models, but GM has laid out $2 billion to enable the plant to produce the Lyriq and other electric vehicles to come under the Cadillac brand.
The original schedule called for the Lyriq to launch at the end of 2022, but GM accelerated things in the hope of quickly catching up with Tesla, and especially to distance Ford.
On March 15, the automaker announced that the order books will open on May 19.
There is a difference between reservations and order books. The opening of order books means you can go to your car dealership and place an order for a Cadillac Lyriq just as you would any other model from the brand.
The first Cadillac Lyriq will be delivered at the end of May if there are no major production problems. Initially, GM was planning to deliver the first models by the end of June.
However, it is not possible to know when consumers who will go to their dealerships on May 19 will be able to receive their vehicles because GM does not give the number of reservations already received.
Elon Musk in Germany?
The automotive group indicates that it has around 233,000 "hand-raisers," which are people expressing their interest against a deposit. These potential customers can cancel their order at any time.
On Tuesday, the day after the Cadillac event, Tesla has an equally important date on its side. The current leader in electric vehicles will officially open its Berlin Gigafactory, which is to serve the European market.
The invitations sent to a few lucky and employees speak of the delivery of the first "Made in Germany" vehicle by Tesla, a Model Y SUV.
For obvious reasons -- the Russian war in Ukraine -- the festivities have been reduced. According to the local press, about 500 people will be present. The German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is supposed to be there but his presence is conditioned on the evolution of the Russian invasion in Ukraine.
For the moment, we do not know if Elon Musk will make the trip. But given how important this factory is to Tesla's global ambitions, it won't be surprising if the billionaire makes an appearance there.
Tesla opponents want to demonstrate in front of the car factory.
As we wrote previously, the opening of this factory is synonymous with an increase in the production of the manufacturer of electric vehicles in the coming weeks, which would allow it to be one of the few manufacturers to respond to an increase in demand while the soaring price of gasoline at the pump significantly affects internal combustion engine car owners.
Tesla plans to build up to 10,000 Model Y a week. Berlin Gigafactory is supposed to help the company to take a chunk of the European electric vehicle market, and that rests on the shoulders of this plant and the $5.7 billion Tesla is spending to ramp production.
In Germany, Tesla will also inaugurate the 4680 cell structural batteries, which will be used in the Model Y SUV that are made in Europe. These batteries will inaugurate a new platform, basically a new technique.
The new structural batteries will be built in such a way that Model Y seats will be attached directly to them, saving even more parts, space and money.
The two ends of the Model Y will be connected by the battery pack, which will also serve as a connecting element.
The battery is the heart of an EV because they determine the range and the performance of the car. They also factor into the safety and the longevity of the car as well.
