Cadillac Says it Has More Orders for the $300,000 Celestiq Than it Can Build in the Next 18 Months
Photo: Cadillac
A couple of months ago, Cadillac revealed the production version of the Celestiq. Aimed at Rolls-Royce and Bentley buyers more so than BMW and Audi, the fully electric Celestiq makes 600 hp and 640 lb-ft of torque, offers about a 300-mile range, and costs more than $300,000. But while we’re big fans of Cadillac’s Blackwing super sedans, $300,000 is a whole lot of money for a Cadillac, and we couldn’t help wondering how many Cadillac would actually sell. Apparently, the answer is “more than enough.”
GM Authority reports that in a recent interview, Tony Roma, the Celestiq’s Chief Engineer, said production will begin next December, and because the Celestiq is hand-built, Cadillac will only build about two cars per day. Roma also claimed that they’ve received more than 18 months of orders, saying, “We have quite a few hand-raisers. Many, many more than we’re going to be able to build in the first year, 18 months.”
When the car first launched, Cadillac made some bold claims, including, “Celestiq is the purest expression of Cadillac, acknowledging our incredible history and driving us to a bolder and brighter future,” and “With an extremely low volume of hand-built vehicles to be offered globally each year and an exclusive declaration process, Celestiq will truly be a custom-commissioned one-of-one. Each client will experience a personalized journey to make their vehicle exactly the way they desire.” At the time, it felt a little eye-roll-worthy. But apparently, that’s the kind of thing rich people are really into even if there’s a Cadillac badge on the hood.
The decision by the automaker best known for selling the Escalade to jump into the ultra-luxury EV space was certainly a huge risk, but it seems to have paid off for Cadillac. Whether or not the Celestiq’s success will translate to more sales of the brand’s other vehicles remains to be seen, but based on initial interest, the project certainly doesn’t look like a flop.
