Good news! As of 2021, the Chinese-market Cadillac XT5 and XT6 will get a 48 volt mild hybrid system, new gold paint, and—if the above photo, which we swear on our mothers’ lives was actually included with the press release, is any indication—the ability to levitate.
As of model year 2021, the Chinese-market XT5 and XT6’s standard 2.0-liter turbo four now comes with a 48-volt “mild hybrid” system, which Cadillac says boosts fuel economy by roughly 5 percent in the XT5 and 6 percent in the XT6 (to 7.0L/100km and 7.2L/100km respectively, if you must know—about 33.6 and 37.2 mpg).
According to Cadillac, the 48-volt motor will be used to get the Caddys rolling from a stop, and will then assist the gasoline engine once it gets going. Also new for 2021: Gold paint and an updated interface for the Cadillac User Experience infotainment system.
Sadly, there were no details in the release about the people surrounding the XT5 and apparently walking about a foot off the ground.
We emailed Cadillac to ask whether we might see these changes on U.S.-market Cadillac XT5s and XT6s. “The 48V system is a China-specific solution and there is no plan to adopt in North America,” a Cadillac representative told us.
Suspiciously, they said nothing about levitation.