Cadillac, the premium brand of General Motors (GM), said on the 19th that it will begin the full-fledged Korea launch of the Escalade IQ, the electric vehicle version of its flagship sport utility vehicle (SUV) Escalade.
According to Cadillac, the Escalade IQ, the company's third electric vehicle, is the first in Korea to feature Super Cruise technology. Super Cruise is technology that allows the vehicle to drive itself without the driver holding the steering wheel. As long as the driver keeps eyes on the road, hands can be off the wheel, and the system detects traffic flow to maintain following distance and can change lanes depending on conditions. Super Cruise is currently available in Korea on about 23,000 kilometers of highways and major arterial roads without traffic lights.
The Escalade IQ measures 5,715 millimeters in length, making it the longest among electric SUVs. Its wheelbase (distance between the front and rear axles) is 3,460 millimeters, height is 1,935 millimeters, and width is 2,055 millimeters. Up front, it comes with an e-trunk with a class-leading 345 liters of capacity in Korea. The rear trunk offers 668 liters as standard and expands to 3,374 liters with the second and third rows folded. Cadillac said that is equivalent to the capacity of four side-by-side refrigerators. Its curb weight is 4,210 kilograms, more than double that of a typical electric vehicle.
Cadillac equipped the Escalade IQ with a high-capacity 205-kilowatt-hour (kWh) nickel, cobalt, manganese, and aluminum (NCMA) battery produced by Ultium Cells, a joint venture between GM and LG Energy Solution. As a result, the driving range on a single charge is 739 kilometers. With an 800-volt ultra-fast charging system, it supports a maximum charging speed of 350 kilowatts. A 10-minute charge enables driving up to 188 kilometers.
The Escalade IQ also features Arrival Mode, which uses rear-wheel steering to move diagonally, improving maneuverability in tight urban spaces such as parallel parking situations.
The exterior adopts the design of the existing Escalade. Inside, it features a 55-inch curved light-emitting diode (LED) display and a fixed panoramic glass roof spanning the first and second rows.
Yun Myeong-ok, GM Korea chief marketing officer (CMO) and head of communications (executive director), said, "Through Escalade IQ, customers will be able to directly experience Cadillac's unchanging values and the essence of the Escalade even in the era of electrification."