Here’s When The 2023 Cadillac Escalade Will Enter Production

It’s been a busy year for the Cadillac Escalade. In March, the luxury automaker announced a spate of price hikes that would see the already expensive SUV positioned even further upmarket, but not even a starting MSRP of $79,440 can put a dent in its appeal. In the first quarter of the year, the big Caddy led the full-size luxury SUV segment with 10,505 customers signing on the dotted line.

In comparison, close rival Lincoln managed to shift just 2,148 units of the Navigator in the same period. The Cadillac hasn’t been without its issues, though. The ongoing chip crisis has seen the Escalade lose several features over the past year, the most recent being the auto-up function on the second-row windows. Now as Cadillac prepares for 2023 Escalade production, these issues will hopefully remain a thing of the past.

Sources close to the matter have revealed that production of the 2023 Escalade will commence on July 18. Other GM full-sized SUVs such as the Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban are expected to enter production on the same date, along with the GMC Yukon.

We’re not sure if this includes the range-topping Escalade-V but if not, we expect production of the performance variant to follow shortly thereafter – the company has said the $149,990 SUV will go on sale late in the summer. Order books for the most expensive Cadillac ever reportedly opened up on May 19 and judging by what’s on offer, we expect it to emulate the regular variant in terms of strong sales.

The behemoth features an incredibly muscular 6.2-liter supercharged V8 with 682 horsepower and 653 lb-ft of torque, allowing it to hit 60 mph in less than 4.4 seconds.

We don’t expect many changes to be introduced for MY2023, as the latest generation Escalade was only introduced in 2019. However, it seems that Cadillac has big things planned for the 2024 model year. The big SUV will reportedly receive a facelift to modernize the imposing exterior, while the Sport trim is expected to receive unique styling touches inspired by the Escalade-V.

There’s no word yet as to whether Cadillac will upgrade the standard powertrain offerings which, as a reminder, comprise a 420-hp 6.2-liter V8 and a 277-hp 3.0-liter turbodiesel. The advent of the high-performance V and a 2024 update will only strengthen the Escalade’s stronghold on the American full-size SUV market, a segment it has dominated since the nameplate was introduced two decades ago.