Cadillac Exec: ‘EVs and ICE Will Coexist for a Number of Years’

Wesley Wren
·2 min read
2025 cadillac escalade iq
Cadillac VP Sees EVs and ICE Coexisting for YearsCadillac

  • Cadillac Vice President John Roth discussed the evolving EV portfolio at an event in Detroit.

  • During the business update, Roth clarified that Cadillac “will be offering an all-electric portfolio by the end of the decade, and let the customer be the guide.”

  • Roth notes there are several refreshed internal-combustion vehicles that are complimented by recent battery-electric offerings.

There might be some good news for internal-combustion devotees from Cadillac. The company’s global vice president John Roth made an interesting comment during a business update in Detroit that shows there might be a slight pivot in the brand’s electrification decisions.

During the business update, Roth says, “EVs and ICE, let me be clear, will coexist for a number of years. We want to make sure that we have that luxury of choice in the marketplace, and both will have an opportunity to meet the customer needs as we look forward.”

Roth goes further, “We have several new ICE products in the portfolio that have been recently enhanced.” He says these internal-combustion-powered machines are complemented by similarly new battery-electric offerings.

Now, this seems to go against the brand’s public push to have a fully battery-electric product portfolio by the end of the 2020s.

cadillac vice president john roth at 2025 cadillac escalade iq reveal
Cadillac Vice President John Roth.Todd Plitt

It also might contradict what then-Cadillac President Steve Carlisle told us back in 2019. However, there was some wiggle room in Carlisle’s statements, and he noted that electric vehicles might simply make up a majority of the brand’s offerings.

Roth isn’t saying Cadillac is pivoting away from EVs, or doubling down on internal combustion.

Roth clarifies his statements, “It’s really critical to always listen to the words. We will be offering an all-electric portfolio by the end of the decade, and we will let the customer be our guide. This idea of having the luxury of choice in our portfolio is a competitive strength: 13 models to choose from in both ICE and EV.”

Ultimately, we’re all going to have to sit back and wait for a handful more years to see what Cadillac’s portfolio will look like as that 2030 target draws near—keeping in mind that an “all-electric portfolio” could mean hybrids and EVs.

Considering General Motors invested nearly $1 billion into the next-generation small-block V8, Cadillac could even keep a V8 heart beating under the hood of its premier Blackwing models.

Do you think Cadillac is backpedaling, or just following the market trends? Tell us your thoughts below.