General Motors luxury vehicle division Cadillac has begun work on the first of three planned “Experience Centre” showrooms in major Australian and New Zealand cities ahead of the release of its first electric vehicle in these market.
with the first set to be located in Sydney’s newly developed Rosebery Engine Yards retail and lifestyle precinct.
Cadillac announced in November last year that Australia and New Zealand will be the first to receive the new electric Lyriq in right-hand drive, and has now announced that the first of its promised experience centres will be located in Sydney’s newly developed Rosebery Engine Yards retail and lifestyle precinct.
Cadillac promised three of these new Experience Centres, two in Australia – Melbourne and Sydney – and one in New Zealand’s largest city of Auckland.
The 841-square-metre centre in south Sydney will feature a combination of heritage-listed surrounds, modern architecture, and state-of-the-art showroom and service facilities.
It will also include a dozen branded parking bays (five secured/garaged and seven external), three secured undercover servicing bays, multiple delivery bays, and state-of-the-art technician service facilities.
Image Credit: Cadillac
Cadillac promised three of these new Experience Centres, two in Australia – Melbourne and Sydney – and one in New Zealand’s largest city of Auckland.
“It feels natural to bring Australia’s first Cadillac Experience Centre to such a contemporary, open, and authentic space,” said Jess Bala, managing director of GM Australia and New Zealand.
“Rosebery Engine Yards has a rich heritage which arms it for the future, with no shortage of simultaneous buzz about what’s coming next – that sounds familiar to me.”
Plans for Melbourne and Auckland centres are reportedly already underway, though no mention was given as to when any of the three locations will be open to the public.
The Lyriq set to be launched in Australia and New Zealand as a 2025 model, so one assumes the Experience Centres will be open for the public by year’s end or early in the New Year.
When it does arrive, the Lyriq – which is being built in right-hand drive at Cadillac’s Tennessee factory – will come with a 102kWh Ultium lithium-ion battery capable of delivering around 500 kms of range, although that is yet to be confirmed under standards used in Australia.
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.