Cadillac will kill the plug-in ELR
Tue, Feb 2 2016
Cadillac spokesman David Caldwell confirmed that there won't be a second-generation ELR.
"Subsequent generations of the car will not be developed," he wrote in an e-mail to Autoblog. "It's available currently as a 2016 model, and there's no change to that status."
The model debuted in late 2013 and used a version of the powertrain in the Chevrolet Volt. The main problem, of course, was that the car had a $76,000 price tag that proved too much for most automobile buyers to stomach. Last year, GM sold 1,024 ELRs, down 22 percent from 2014's totals. By comparison, the Chevy Volt moved more than 15,000 units, and that itself was still down 18 percent from year-earlier figures.
The merciful end to the ELR shouldn't be much of a surprise, as Cadillac Chief Marketing Officer Uwe Ellinghaus went on the record in December of essentially calling the model a dud. It's a far cry from the excitement, though, that the concept model of what was then called the Converj was unveiled to the public at the Detroit Auto Show in 2009. For those feeling misty-eyed or nostalgic, though, check here for Autoblog's First Drive impressions of the extended-range plug-in.
Related Video:
Featured Gallery 2014 Cadillac ELR Review
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By Danny King
See also: Why GM will import the Cadillac CT6 PHEV from China, 2016 Cadillac CT6 First Drive [w/video], Meet the next president's new Beast, a giant bomb-proof limo.