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General Motors guts CES plans, may have shown Cadillac electric car

CEO Mary Barra was supposed to deliver a keynote speech, but that's not happening anymore.

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cadillac-ev

A teaser sketch of Cadillac's upcoming electric crossover.

Cadillac

will not have a space or much of a presence at the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show , but that wasn't always the case.

Plans for CEO Mary Barra to deliver a keynote address have been scrapped, with the automaker sending a limited presence to the biggest tech event in the US. Most of it will revolve around the automaker's OnStar division.

The automaker gave Roadshow the following statement: "There was a plan for GM to have a presence at CES 2020, but plans changed and while we will still support the event, our overall involvement has been reduced from our original plans." A representative would not speak directly to what Barra was scheduled to discuss.

Axios reported in November that Barra was meant to show off one of GM's upcoming electric cars at the event in prototype form. This would be in line with past moves since GM used CES to unveil the Chevrolet Bolt EV years ago. The automaker placed a CES debut for its first mass-market EV even over the Detroit Auto Show that year.

New information published Monday by Motor Trend speculated the vehicle meant for the show was Cadillac's forthcoming electric SUV. The luxury brand teased the vehicle this past January as its first fully electric vehicle coming. In an interview with the magazine, Barra said the automaker wants to do the unveiling "right" because it has a "very powerful story to tell."

As for why the plans were gutted, the UAW-GM strike is to blame. After the six-week-long work stoppage, there's supposedly not enough time to have the prototype electric vehicle ready.

Originally published Nov. 15.
Update, Dec. 18.: Adds new information speculating about the specific vehicle.

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Sean Szymkowski
It all started with Gran Turismo. From those early PlayStation days, Sean was drawn to anything with four wheels. Prior to joining the Roadshow team, he was a freelance contributor for Motor Authority, The Car Connection and Green Car Reports. As for what's in the garage, Sean owns a 2016 Chevrolet SS, and yes, it has Holden badges.
Sean Szymkowski
It all started with Gran Turismo. From those early PlayStation days, Sean was drawn to anything with four wheels. Prior to joining the Roadshow team, he was a freelance contributor for Motor Authority, The Car Connection and Green Car Reports. As for what's in the garage, Sean owns a 2016 Chevrolet SS, and yes, it has Holden badges.

Article updated on December 18, 2019 at 7:02 AM PST

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Sean Szymkowski
It all started with Gran Turismo. From those early PlayStation days, Sean was drawn to anything with four wheels. Prior to joining the Roadshow team, he was a freelance contributor for Motor Authority, The Car Connection and Green Car Reports. As for what's in the garage, Sean owns a 2016 Chevrolet SS, and yes, it has Holden badges.
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