To this day, we believe that the Cadillac ELR should have launched alongside, if not before, the Chevrolet Volt. In retrospect, Cadillac would have beaten Tesla to the punch with its own high-end plug-in coupe, and would feel more cutting-edge and futuristic than now. Secondly, with a starting price of $75,000, plus a $995 destination charge, the Cadillac ELR stands at a much higher chance of actually being a profitable vehicle.
That’s right, the 2014 Cadillac ELR will start at $75,000, more than double that of the current Chevrolet Volt MSRP. Buyers may be eligible for a tax credit from $0 to $7,500 depending on individual tax liability.  Net pricing after tax credits could be as low as $68,495, including $995 destination.
As a bonus, prospective customers and buyers of the ELR will receive their own ELR Concierge Representative, who will assist costumers on subjects like battery care, home charging, service scheduling, news and updates by calling 855-4-CAD-ELR (855-422-3357).
The 2014 Cadillac ELR also introduces the Regen on Demand feature, along with featuring all-LED exterior lighting, CUE, and some seriously sexy sheetmetal.
Comments
hmmm, as much as a Model S. I don’t know about that Cadillac.
We need to keep this in perspective.
#1 This is not a car intended for everyone. It may only appeal to about 7% of the market but that is all Cadillac is expecting. It is not intended in any way to replace the CTS.
#2 It may be bases on the Volt technology but it has much more to it. The powertrain Is going to be more advanced. The suspension is changed and it will offer many other trick things.
#3 Even at low volume it will make money. This is what a high prices car give you by turning profits at low volumes.
#4 This car will be more a show case for new and future technology. GM need to market it much like the Tesla and really keep it in the public eye.
#5 These and electric cars are not for everyone and will not be for many years to come. There will always be a small segment that will be drawn to these. The Green Tree Huggers money is also green and I am all for giving them a car they will spend their money on.
I would recommend reading a editorial in Autoweek by Dutch Mandel on the electric and semi electric cars. He is the first to really speak up and speak the truth. He is one of the few that called and said the Emperor Elon Musk has no clothes.
The reality is the electric car is not the answer to all problems. It is not ready to replace all gas powered cars. It is not expected to be a major market player. But they need to work on them now and offer them to those willing to buy them if they ever expect to gain ground in technology. No supplier will invest and make parts for a market unless there is a market. The fact is GM is not trying to fundamentally change the market over night and understands it will take time to develop and build these kinds of products. Those who start the move will be in the lead technology wise and they will also help dictate how things are done. Things like charging systems will need to all be alike much like gas pump nozzles power levels etc. Those who lead will make the call on what is used. Those who follow will have to adapt.
GM will make it clear they do not expect this car to be of any great volume but profitable. They also need to market the technology here much like Tesla. They need to market what they learn, how it is used and where it is going. They need to let people how these things will benefit them in their lives and in the future.
These products are like automotive moon shots. The great gain for humanity was not Neil Armstrong stepping on the moon but the technology we developed in getting there. Same here as the ELR is not going to save GM as a model but the things they learn and develop will spread out over the entire company and help all models in many areas as well as giving GM a lead in the electric market.
A lot of what you say is true (e.g., not a high-volume car; leading technology) but the focus here is on the price, and this is overpriced.
A base Model S costs $61,000. That’s the competition. I have never driven one, but it is the best reviewed car under $100k that I have ever seen — it has received off-the-chart raves from a wide-range of auto press. It has made such an impact in CA, by far the most electric car market, that only the E-class and 5-series (which aren’t electric cars, obviously) outsell it.
In short, there is no way the ELR is going to get better marketing / press than Tesla. Just overcoming the many (understandable) similarities it has with the much lower priced Volt is going to be a challenge. Price needed to be a discussion point in ELR’s favor, not against it. You are talking about rich people, but even they aren’t going to readily spend (essentially) $15,000 for a gas tank that (if they’re doing it right) they will very rarely use.
This should have been brought to market at no more than $65,000. A big mistake by GM, unfortunately.
I love the General, although I’m close to trading my SRX for a Benz. But they have an overly inflated opinion of what they can charge. At a minimum, the dealership experience here on the West Coast seriously lags that of the Germans, let alone Tesla.
And more features will be added and trialed on the high end that will eventually trickle down to us volt owners and be affordable.
Rob in this segment and area $10K is not going to mean much here.
This is not a car for everyone and if you can afford the $65K the extra $10K is not going to stop you if this is what you really want.
Also as for the Tesla I know they start at $61K but how many are really selling that cheap? Not many! Generally most are $75K-105K once optioned with the most common options. These are not economy cars and few buy base models here.
As for the Cadillac there is a lot to be known yet. I suspect this car will have few options at $75K. You may get a choice of a color, sun roof or cloth or leather but that is it. It is cheaper for GM to just sell them with all the options and most will be ordered with any how with this low of volume.
As for the reviews I look at them with a little skepticism. I feel there may be a little bias out there with some. While for an electric car it is a fine car I just feel if it had a GM badge many of these folks would not be ringing as much praise. Elon is the master of public relations as well as media relations.
Let face it Tesla is a car that has a over high stock value but sells a love volume car that has made no profit and will not for a while. They have taken in $137 M in carbon credits they have sold to pay for 259 Charging stations.
Tesla has no real national network to repair the cars as if one fails they either have to send someone out or they have to truck it to the closest dealer that seldom is around the corner.
Even with battery change stations and supercharger stations this car is years from becoming a car you do not have to plan you travel and life around if you do more than drive around town.
Where as GM has a car that can do coast to coast in less than 36 hours the Tesla would take nearly a week or more. You find the car down on power you either will have to take another car of wait where the Toyota and GM ICE/electric cars are there when ever you need them.
Also these and most electric cars are not about saving gas money as generally there is little to no savings as things stand today with the cost of the cars. These are more a play toy for the rich and that is that. The Volt may be a little more for the Environmental folks but they are not going to save much.
As of now electric cars are for people who want and love them and that is a small group. These are the people who will help create a slow growth segment to help improve these. The same was done with the first Gas powered cars as they were mostly impractical and limited but the rich loved to play with them. In time things moved along and Henry made the Model T that brought the car to the masses.
We knew going in this was not going to be a Cheap car as GM pretty much was indication at least $70K. They also have laid no big things on it for volume so they can let the market take what they want. The biggest thing that will hurt this is the lack of rear doors as most people love sedans today. I think the coupe looks better but as we know today coupes are difficult to sell out side the pony cars etc.
GM can and should do a better marketing job with these cars on the web as this is where Musk owes his popularity. He has people loving this car to the end and have not even sat in one let alone seen one. I often wonder if given one for a week or two what they would say. It was like the Turbine cars of the 60’s were they were all the wonder till many drove them.
Like in the Dutch Mandel editorial I am not condemning the Tesla nor do I hope it fails as it is part of the building progress of the electric car. It fails it will set everyone back. But I do agree with him that the Tesla is a bubble ready to burst as the stock and popularity is artificially high. It will be years before a Tesla can be uses as a normal car with out changing a life style. For now the Prius and Volt as it get cheaper will be the path to the future and things will progress from there.
Again I encourage all to read the editorial of Dutch Mandel in the Oct 14 issue of Autoweek. I believe he is only one of the first to speak out with the truth on the Tesla and not be blinded just by the good parts they want to see.
Here is Dutch’s view.
By: Dutch Mandel on 10/03/2013
Do I go too far out on a limb to suggest Tesla is the modern-day version of the Great Tulip Bubble of March 1637?
Remember, that was when speculators drove prices of just-introduced tulip bulbs to astronomical heights. Some single bulbs cost more than 10 times an average working man’s salary.
That’s Tesla. How else to justify a stock price of more than $185 per share as of this writing, a $20 billion market-capitalization value for a company that has sold, what, 20,000 cars? And it’s not made a penny! This firm has one vehicle in its lineup—the Model S—and we don’t know what’s next beyond a delayed SUV and a magic tube to whoosh people from San Francisco to LA.
Tesla’s the darling of Greenies. It is trumpeted as the exemplar for electric vehicles, yet it could not be less practical for everyday use. Yes, if you motor around the city or use it on defined work commutes before you reattach it to the power grid, you’ll be OK, so long as you’re not taken out of your way unexpectedly. It is not a replacement for a vacation-hauling Family Truckster.
The Model S is visually stunning. It would sell in great volumes if it had an internal-combustion engine. It probably would sell better if it had a distribution system, too, wherein you could take it to a local dealer with ease. Tesla might even move a few more units if a plan existed beyond returning it to its Cali base to recycle its batteries when used up.
In today’s Model S, you get in and drive, play with the oversized touchscreen in the center console and when its batteries are drained you find one of 23 so-called Supercharger stations located in North America and get some additional miles of range in around half an hour. (Tesla has also demoed a battery-swap station, saying it plans to add that capability to eight Supercharger stations.) Still, if you want to go from California to Washington, D.C., you might be better taking a Conestoga wagon.
Tesla is a grand experiment, and Elon Musk, its mad-scientist founder, keeps the dream alive. I wish him well but think economic forces will catch him—and his bubbling investors—in due course. His company is not making money. He does not have an unlimited bank account. Very soon our government money propping up this great electric experiment will short out.
Please do not confuse this opinion with a condemnation of alternative-power vehicles. It is not. I like alternatives to gas-powered cars plenty. And do not confuse it—in your red haze of Tesla Lust—with any want to see Musk fail, because I do not. I’d like Tesla to succeed because, if it does, then it makes mass acceptability of alternative-to-gas-powered vehicles an even greater likelihood. I’m a fan of history and, yes, it repeats.
For those who want electric power without the woes of range anxiety, other options exist. Nowhere as sexy as Tesla, but they are more effective—in terms of access to product, long-term viability, distribution systems and execution.
We know that General Motors and Toyota build plug-in hybrids that are capable of operating as EVs. The difference is, with gas engines onboard, you can drive coast to coast and not worry about coasting to a power-charge station. It is such a great example that BMW, in its infinite engineering wisdom, has adopted this approach with the new i3, which can be optioned with a gas generator, and coming i8. GM, Toyota and BMW each have a national dealer network to fix cars at any moment should they need it. Each company has more than one product in its lineup. Each has greater financial resources. And, unlike Tesla, each company has productive business units generating income to finance its future. (Yes, GM also benefitted from government money and has shown it can turn a profit after the fact …)
BMW and GM—and Toyota and Nissan, too—don’t worry about bubbles bursting. For now, we speculate on the electric-car future and the companies that make them. For major automakers, the future seems far more certain. For those of you holding shares of that hot Tesla stock, sell high.
Suppose this angle: nice car, good use to expand the tech. etc. but what really is in it other than the “Cadillac” name to warrant Double the price and a two door to boot? I feel sales will be modest at best for there will be the gotta have it ones, then I’d guess it will flatline and the price will have to adjust.
The devil is in the details that have not been fully announced. These are what we do know.
Much better interior with option not available on the Volt.
Better performance from the electric and engine.
Better handling and ride. Fully new rear suspension.
Better styling.
Theses are what we know.
It will also help lower the cost of main development cost on new and advance parts for the Volt. Even with the modest volume it will return development cost 3 to 1 over the Volt.
The bottom line is this is a car that if they only sell 3,000 units it will lower cost of all the parts that go into it.
The reality is none of these cars can have the cost justified for saving money for the buyers. I am sure the resale on these will never be an better than any other electric that loses on average 34% in the first year.
This is purly a car to help lower development cost for GM by giving a small segment the must have car they want. The Tesla has shown people will pay a lot for a car they can not drive anywhere but about town even if they are not turning a large profit. GM can do this and either break even collecting the new development or even show a small profits with low volume.
I would watch as the next Gen Volt is not far off and you will see a small SUV with it. These all will be low volume and they will all advance the program that will help the Voltech and even in some areas the gas powered cars with what they develop and learn.
Think of this as a long term investment not a case of a high volume profit. Also do not discount the good will it gives GM to all the people with the Green priority. While most here are not of this group there is a large segment of them than many think and it is growing.
It looks like Cadillac has taken from the Rolls-Royce “low-volume/high-price” method. As much as a Phantom costs to hand-craft, I’m sure that cost is taken care of when customers pay $400K-and-higher for one. That said, I don’t think that Cadillac is expecting much from this car. And that’s good…because they’re not going to get it.
I’m a Volt owner and I love it…and I think GM is making a strategic mistake with the ELR pricing. I feel GM really had the opportunity to take some wind out Tesla’s sails.
Here’s why:
If you want an American built electric car that only goes 35 miles, why would you pay over twice the amount of the Volt for the ELR…and it has only 2 doors?
If you’re in the $70,000-$100,000 range for an American built electric car, why would you pay more than a Tesla to only get 35 miles…and it only has 2 doors?
I understand the concept of selling fewer cars at a higher price to make a higher profit on each…but I think for that strategy to work, you’ll need to sell more than 1 car at that price for the program to be profitable.
Now on the other hand why pay $70,000-105,000 to get a car under the right conditions of driving and temp gets 200-300 miles and then leaves you stranded for hours or even a day.
The reality is they will sell more than one car. I think 2,000 cars are reasonable and with the surprise of the Tesla sales I would not be surprised if they do a lot better than that.
Again we all need to wait as too many think this is only a rebodied Volt when the clues have been laid out there it will be more to it than what you get with the Volt. It will be more than just better leather and more chrome.
Condemning the price now is like condemning the looks of a car in Camo. Lets get all the facts before some of you write it off.
They should have done it as a custom factory order, with a special dash plate “Specially made for _______” and the customer specify delivery to the Cadillac dealer of their choice. Cadillac would then pay the dealer a profit.
There are good dealers — and bad dealers — and dealers have strong protection in state laws so it’s not easy to get rid of them or add another dealer in the same area.
“Now on the other hand why pay $70,000-105,000 to get a car under the right conditions of driving and temp gets 200-300 miles and then leaves you stranded for hours or even a day.”
Because you have $70,000-105,000 to spend on an electric car and 200-300 fits your lifestyle. Obviously GM will sell more than one car…but how many people every year will meet such a narrow lifestyle need that they’ll buy an ELR.
If you have $80,000 to spend and have a need to drive 250 miles…you’re not going to buy an ELR or a Volt. If you have a need/desire to drive 35 miles on electric, how many people out there will pay twice the cost of a Volt?
Yeah. $75,000 for the ELR is quite steep compared to its Chevy sibling, which has the same powertrain. Sure. The ELR will feature a sleak, coupe design, the latest and greatest in Cadillac interiors, a sport-tuned suspension with hyperstruts and a slight bump in power. But is it really enough to garner a customer base? While the ELR will no doubt be a great vehicle, the Tesla is now the standard of electric vehicles: combining luxury, performance and an impressive electric range for a relatively affordable price. If Cadillac would’ve at least released this before the Volt, it would’ve been more desirable.
Wow! At last I got a blog from where I can genuinely take valuable information concerning my study and knowledge.
Quick up date here.
Checking on some of the info I have read the ELR will have driveline enhancements to provide a much more sporting drive with software changes. This is something you can do with an electric.
Stiffer structure but no added weight, Quieter, electronically controlled suspension, Revised rear suspension and more.
While it may share things with the Volt it will be more than a Volt.
Also we may want to revise the Tesla prices as the MSRP is now $71K starting and up. They had a price increase.
This won’t sell. The ELR is nice, but nowhere near as sexy or as green-cred as the Tesla Model S. The ELR cannot compete if it’s going up against the Model S, and what differentiates the ELR from the Volt that justifies doubling the price??? If the battery was double the capacity and the electric motor was the one VIA is using in their conversions I would go for it, but this just seems like a terrible decision because it pits the ELR against a Model S and it’ll lose every time.
1. Clearly, but within that small pool a Tesla Model S is held in much higher regard than a rebadged Volt.
2. Not enough to warrant doubling the price.
3. Let’s hope so.
4. Pitting this car against the Model S would be setting it up for failure. The Model S looks much more expensive than this car, and I doubt the ELR will be able to match the driving experience. The ELR looks too much like grandma’s car to seriously challenge the Model S.
The ELR is no automotive moonshot. The Volt was, repackaging it into a more sedate version of a CTS coupe will hopefully be profitable, but I really think that at this high a price point that no one will bite. A $20k premium would be more justifiable, but $75k??? Then you’re in a market segment that doesn’t look kindly on domestic cars to begin with, and especially if they’re inclined to go electric they would just spring for the real deal and get a Model S that takes them 300 miles a charge. There are more and more fast charge ports all the time, if you can juice 80% of the battery in 20-30 minutes that’s comparable or at least competitive with ICE vehicles. You can’t just pull over wherever you want, but luckily the car’s 17 INCH TOUCHSCREEN tells you where the closest charge station is and gets you there with miles to spare.
I want Cadillac to do well in this space, I’m just disappointed with this – especially considering how well they’re doing with the ATS and new CTS – because I think it will fail and we’ll see them slash the price. If they can sell them at 75k my hat goes off to them, but people buying electric cars have smartphones and internet…..so I don’t see a lot of them going for this.
On the other hand the Tesla is more marketing hype in a nicely styled package and is far from any moon shot. To be honest it is not even an orbit of earth.
Yes you have 300 mile range but these mythical supercharge stations number at 23 globally as of this month. They hope to increase this over the next few years to 259 at a cost of $137 million dollars. 259 stations spread out over the united states is still far from making this an option for the vast majority of the owners. 259 vs. just the number off Tesla S already sold would require you to wait in line if you even lived close to one Most people do not live even 300 miles near one nor will have one anytime soon.
Sure the touch screen tells you where to go but if you are not near DC, Dallas or So Cal you are pretty much out of luck.
The Tesla for years to come will be convinent only to a limited part of our country if you happen to live near an area they have installed stations but there are still many gaps much more than 300 miles between and you had better hope the 17″ screen will contact a flat bed to pick you up.
The bottom line is the ELR is like the Tesla and only a step in the direction of moving this along. GM still has a lot of work to do as well as Tesla.