The boss of General Motors Europe says the UK is a key market for the firm’s continental ambitions, and it will finally bring Cadillac models here “soon” – with more brands promised to follow.
GM established its new European arm in Zurich in 2021, with a plan to bring an all-electric line-up of cars to market. So far that has materialised as just the €79,000 (£68,000) Lyriq SUV, which arrived in 2023 and is currently only sold in Switzerland, France, Sweden and Germany.
In the UK, GM’s presence amounts to the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, hybrid E-Ray and track-focussed ZR1, but CEO Pere Brugal, speaking to Autocar for the first time since taking the helm, said it would not be long before the Lyriq will arrive here, given that right-hand-drive production cars were completing final testing in Ireland.
He added: “We have a plan for these to come. It is one of the [markets] that we’re focusing on right now. It’s coming close.”
When that car does arrive, it will be joined by another model, said Brugal, because GM wants to arrive in the UK with more than just one mainstream offering.
“We want to make sure we launch not only with one model portfolio,” he told Autocar, speaking at Goodwood’s Festival of Speed. “We want to make sure we launch with at least a two-model portfolio.”
Brugal wouldn’t confirm what the second car would be, but the most likely option is the Optiq premium SUV (pictured below). That model is due on sale early next year, suggesting that a possible entrance to the UK market could coincide with its launch.
Following this, Brugal said, the plan was to bring even more models to the UK market. Asked if the likes of the Chevrolet Equinox and Blazer were part of the plan, he replied:“We have a lot of close relations and collaboration with our headquarters in Detroit. That’s where we discuss what are the global trends, what do customers want, and then also what are the region-specific needs.
“We look at our links from a global perspective, and then we decide which are the programmes we’re going to bring to Europe.”
Brugal added that the key to bringing an even wider portfolio of GM cars to the UK and Europe quickly would be down to legislation, given that some cars sold in the US, for example, could not be sold in Europe given the disparity in emission regulations and safety standards.
