Cadillac Reportedly Closing the Book on the ELR

2014 Cadillac ELR (Credit: © Cadillac)

A new report from Auto Guide claims that Cadillac’s plans moving forward do not include the slow-selling ELR. This comes following an interview with Johan de Nysschen, president of Cadillac, where he said, “I don’t think we will create a next-generation, compact, two-door, gorgeously styled alternative powertrain successor to ELR.”

The ELR has seen some good times over its lifespan, but they all came before it hit the market. When Cadillac first announced that it would get into the extended-range EV realm with the ELR, it was an intriguing concept. It drew a little more interest once Caddy showed off how sharp the model was going to be. However, things went south with the announcement that it would use a modified Volt drivetrain that produces just 207 horsepower, and it grinded to a halt with the revealing of its $75,995 base price.

With this price in mind, it’s no surprise that it never sold more than 200 units in a month and moved only 1,310 units in 2014 (it’s only full year on the market). Today, you could call up Tesla and order a Model S 70D – if you state hasn’t banned direct sales yet — for $75,000, and you’d get a 329-horsepower, all-wheel-drive powertrain, a 5.2-seonds 0-to-60 time, a 240-mile range, and free access to the Supercharger network. Honestly, the ELR never had a chance.

There is no timetable for the ELR’s elimination, but de Nysschen told Auto Guide “the ELR will continue through its lifecycle.” I am not sure what the lifecycle is on this car, but given Cadillac has sold and average of just 104 ELRs per month this year, I think the “lifecycle” is whenever the existing stock runs out.

For those of you who want your luxury while minimizing your impact on the environment, Cadillac will soon release a plug-in version of its upcoming CT6. Stay tuned for more details on that in the future.