The premium electric Cadillac Lyriq, which the American automaker General Motors unveiled in France on Monday, marks the company's return to the European market after a year away.

It is also a test of whether affluent consumers will be drawn to online-only sales.

General Motors (GM) declared in October that it would begin selling in Switzerland, marking the beginning of its all-electric comeback to European markets following the sale of the Opel and Vauxhall brands in 2017.

European consumers can fully customize and buy Cadillac EVs online, in contrast to its home market, where it depends on a sizable dealer network.

Under pressure from Chinese rivals and a sluggish growth in demand, European manufacturers are concentrating on attempting to produce EVs at lower prices. At a press conference in Paris, Jaclyn McQuaid, the European head of GM, stated that electric SUVs are predicted to continue to be the category of zero-emission cars with the quickest rate of growth.

Last year, Tesla's Model Y SUV — which has a starting price of 42,990 euros ($46,500) — was the best-selling electric vehicle in France.

Underscoring Cadillac's French ancestry — the French explorer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac established Detroit in 1701 — McQuaid predicted that additional electric models would come using the same architecture as the Tennessee-made Lyriq.

While GM did not disclose pricing for France, the Lyriq starts at 82,000 Swiss francs ($93,100) in Switzerland.

From March 23 onwards, Lyriq orders can be placed online, and Cadillac also intends to open a shop in Paris. By year's end, the luxury EV is expected to debut in additional European markets, beginning with Germany.