Cadillac is putting several gasoline models back on the calendar and pushing its promised all-electric future further down the road, according to dealer-focused trade reporting and the brand’s own product announcements. General Motors CEO Mary Barra confirmed the shift directly, saying GM will “begin launching the next generation of Cadillac ICE vehicles, including the all-new CT5, XT5 and XT6,” starting next spring and continuing into 2028, according to CBT News, a publication that covers auto dealerships.
From “End of the ICE Age” to a New Combustion Lineup
The reversal is a sharp turn from Cadillac’s own messaging just a few years ago. A former Cadillac president declared in 2019 that it was “the end of the ICE age for Cadillac,” with a target of selling only EVs by 2030, a pledge the brand quietly backed away from more than a year ago, according to Electrek. In the near term, the current CT4 and CT5 sport sedans are still being phased out — CT4 production wraps in June 2026 and CT5 production ends that December, taking their V and V-Blackwing performance variants with them, per Edmunds. But Cadillac has confirmed the CT5 nameplate itself isn’t finished: a next-generation, gas-engine CT5 is already planned for production at GM’s Lansing Grand River Assembly plant in Michigan, using U.S. and globally sourced parts, Edmunds reports.
Billions in EV Charges Behind the Pivot
The new XT5 and XT6 gas-powered SUVs will join the returning CT5 alongside Cadillac’s existing EV lineup rather than replace it, complementing the Escalade and what GM calls its “luxury segment-leading EV portfolio,” per Barra’s comments carried by CBT News. The retreat comes after GM booked $10.9 billion in EV-related charges since mid-2025, the outlet reports, and after a Michigan plant originally earmarked for EV production was reassigned to build gas-powered full-size SUVs, including the Escalade, Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban, and GMC Yukon. CBT News frames the broader pivot as a response to slower-than-expected EV adoption rates combined with looser federal emissions rules, which together reduced the pressure on GM to keep its 2030 all-electric Cadillac target.
The EVs Aren’t Going Anywhere
Cadillac’s electric side isn’t being abandoned. The lineup now spans four segments: the entry-level Optiq, the midsize Lyriq, the larger Vistiq and the full-size Escalade IQ, according to Electrek, which reports the Lyriq and Vistiq ranked second and sixth, respectively, among luxury EVs sold in the third quarter of 2025. What’s changed is the assumption that gasoline Cadillacs were on their way out entirely — dealers now have gas-powered sedans and SUVs to sell well into the next decade, alongside a four-model EV lineup that isn’t going away either.