Cadillac unveils Lyriq SUV in first step toward all-electric lineup

April 21 (UPI) -- Cadillac unveiled its new fully electric sport-utility vehicle, the Lyriq, on Wednesday -- in the automaker's first step toward phasing out gasoline-powered vehicles by 2030.

The vehicle will arrive at dealerships as a 2023 model in the first half of 2022, Cadillac said. It has a sticker price starting around $60,000.

Cadillac plans to offer at least 30 electric vehicles by 2025 under a $27 billion investment plan in electric and autonomous vehicles, the company said. By the end of the decade, Cadillac plans for all its vehicles to be electric. The Lyric is the first step toward that goal.

Cadillac global vice president Rory Harvey said the automaker will produce no more internal combustion engines in North America. The 2021 Escalade is intended as the final gas-powered Cadillac to be sold on the continent.

"We will be leaving this decade as an EV brand as things stand today," he told reporters this week, according to CNBC.

Cadillac says the 340-horsepower Lyriq has a battery range of more than 300 miles on a full charge. It also features what the company says is the industry's first true hands-free driver-assistance technology for "compatible roads."

"Lyriq represents a clean-sheet design that sets the standard for the future of Cadillac," Cadillac Design Executive Director Andrew Smith said in a statement.

"The customer should feel like they're driving in the future."