Cadillac announced it quietly ended ELR production this past February with no successor coming. Instead, the brand will focus on offering plug-in options for nearly all of its lineup in the future.
However, we felt it would be an interesting time to discuss if Cadillac should look at developing a true successor for the brand. The ELR wasn’t a bad car. Hell, it would have been a great car if the Tesla Model S hadn’t come along with better value for the money.
And the EV market is starting to grow substantially with the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV launching later this year, and other automakers gunning for the EV market, Cadillac could grab a slice of the marketshare with a well executed, luxurious EV.
On the flip side, Cadillac has discussed this before, stating Tesla’s competitive advantage will become standardized across the industry. With more automakers offering EVs, or simply plug-in options, it makes Tesla just a little less special.
We doubt Cadillac will focus any efforts into a pure electric vehicle, but what do you say? Vote in our poll below, and discuss it within the comment section.
Comments
None of the above:
They do need a successor, but they are right not to have it YET.
The EV market is in the middle of being flipped on its head. Ranges are going from 50-80 miles to 200-250, battery technology is ramping up like crazy, and prices are starting to come down.
Cadillac is right NOT to create a successor… yet. But in about 4 years from now, that’ll change. Cadillac isn’t a place to create a car that can’t cover its development cost in a market that is moving quicker than traditional auto. In about 4 years Bolt will have a “Big Brother”, either as an electric-only VOLT or a platform extension would be perfect for the ELR.
YES, the ELR should remain alive, not with a successor but with a refresh. Apply the BOLT batteries, tweak the power delivery as it stands now with the 2016 (which I own) and offer this refresh to current owners. This is brand-building to the highest degree and similar to Tesla with their battery updates to their roadster. The ELR will become a huge success with very little effort on the part of GM. GM, DO IT!!!! All my buddies who drive the ELR absolutely love it… REALLY!!!!
I completely agree. I would add that an ELR successor should have performance in line with Cadillac’s other V series vehicles so that it is truly differentiated in performance from other GM electric offerings. This would likely mean AWD. Right now, there are no true electric sports cars since the cancellation of the Tesla Roadster, so there might be an opportunity. I believe that the difficulty with selling the current ELR was that it was difficult to convey how great the car is without a driver actually experiencing it. However, if the car were able to boast magnificent specs, it would be far easier to do so.
I think the main problem with the ELR was that it was a 2 door Coupe. I like the looks but the back seat was worthless. I think if the build a good looking 4 door with the volt power train and price it reasonably it will sell. But they need to recognize that no one will buy a $70,000 Volt.
I disagree. The ELR looks and drives very differently than the Volt. If it were a four door, I think it would be even harder to justify it, as it would be even more similar to the Volt.
You cannot form an opinion about the ELR without driving the ‘2016 model!
The ’16 is a tremendous automobile that its OWNERS absolutely Love!!
I am a ’16 owner and absolutely love it. I also had a first gen Volt, so I can categorically say it is a very different driving experience.
No need to revive the ELR at this time. The market for this car is limited so why flood the market place with another electric. Let the technology develop to increase range and reduce the investment. Cadillac needs to invest in its brands image from unique styling, technical features, sound deadening, creature comforts and residual value.
How about a voltaic type SUV? They need to spread the wealth of the Volt system and a Cadillac SUV would just the place to do it.
It a toss up between:
Not a true successor, but definitely a mid-sized coupe to capture what the ELR stood for design-wise. In that respect, the ELR was the electric successor to the CTS Coupe. Cadillac would do well to keep at least three coupes in the lineup after 2025:
-Compact, conservatively styled coupe
-Midsize, provocatively styled coupe (gasoline, but would offer a PHEV and/or fully electric drivetrain, and THAT will be the ELR successor)
-Large, ostentatious coupe. The grand slam of grand tourers.
And
If they build an ELR successor, it MUST NOT share drive configuration with the Volt. Everybody knew the ELR was a two-door Cadillac Volt. GM needs to stop playing that game if they want Cadillac to be taken seriously. Sure, the Voltec technology would be there, but the marketing materials CANNOT contain that word Cadillac would need to come up with a new name for it; similar to Audi/VW’s Quattro/4Motion. In the same way the Volt is a joining of Voltec and D2XX, the ELR successor should be a joining of Voltec and A2XX, or Omega platforms.
I’m not sure how much more it would cost to keep the ELR around but it should have continue for a few more years with modest to substantial improvements in performance, luxury and technology.
If GM decides they want a successor to it, it needs to be a no excuse type of EREV hybrid model that is a halo type vehicle with a halo type of price tag to justify the pricing. Personally the ELR is a great car but the successor has to be 2 times better than the ’16 model.
The ELR successor is already here. It’s called the CT6 plug-in.
If I were Cadillac I would wait a few more years . By then the cost of the batteries and technology will go down as more automakers invest in R & D . It also may take a few years until the stigma of the ELR being a Volt with Cadillac emblems goes away .
Cadillac should keep to their plans of offering plug-in options on the new cars in their pipeline . This market segment is relatively small right now , and Cadillac has bigger things they need to work on right now . The ELR is a very good car , it won many awards for its styling but customers were just not willing to pay the steep price for it .
I also think that the timing of it hit that brick wall with the cheapest gas prices since 2007 and people flocked to SUV’s . If only Cadillac would have came out with a full on EV with the SRX ( that was a concept in 2009 ) that would have been a hit with consumers and would have probably paid what the price may have been .
Cadillac definitely needs to have a all electric or hybrid vehicle beyond the CT6 plug in.
Instead of sedan it should a crossover like a bigger version of the Bolt.
Bigger with far more luxury and performance.
They need a competitor to the Model 3 or else they’re doomed. That’s what people want. 400,000 reservations confirms this.
The people who approved the ELR should be shot and then fired. There was Zero market for that car.
‘Doomed’ seems a little excessive.
Realize that for the most part manufacturers are still loosing money on each pure electric vehicle built.
I would say that is even more so at the $35000 price point.
Thought Cadillac would pick up on the the Chevy Bolt EV system and apply that. I have an ATS Coupe and was looking forward to an updated ELR. At this point I’m holding with my ATS untill Cadillac wakes up with another ELR with the more advanced Bolt EV mileage.
I’m sorry…but the ELR is freaking ugly.
And cramped, and cheaply build, and extremely slooooooooooow.
Have you ever driven a 2016 ELR or are you just reading magazines stats?
What I would like to see done is for them to take a Omega platform and build it into a Better Tesla at a lower cost with more range and better charging.
Cadillac could really make an impression to out do a Tesla in every form globally. GM can do it and the higher price would make it easier to absorb the cost of a program at smaller volumes. starting out.
The Volt was just a thing they tossed out for PR. It was never going to make money it did absorb some of the Volt production line up to help the Volt some though little.
Lets face it they took a show car never meant for production and tried to make a coupe that really no one asked for. They could not price it lower and it really was nothing that much more special than the Volt was mechanically or electrically. Some new programming and that was pretty much it.
GM will move to something like the Omega EV at some point but it is not a priotity right now as they have so many other things to do that are profitable and much more in need. The range of CUV models and the revamping of the ATS, CTS and the coming CT8 are more important right now.
Car companies are not much different than us. They can only so do much with the income they have. Car programs in the billions now limit the amount of new product in the pipeline at a time. It is not like the old days when they had only three models and two engines and could revamp a line for only a couple hundred thousand dollars.
The question should really not be replace the ELR but should they proceed with a EV and just what should it be. That answer is yes and a large sport sedan.
I would call it a Cadillac Menlo Park for Edisons lab where the light bulb was perfected as a jab at Tesla. That would be a bright idea LOL!
One of the stories concerning Cadillac’s ELR was that they were almost forced to build the car to offset poor mileage of other GM vehicles and could explain why the ELR didn’t differ much from the Volt as this was almost a true Cimarron situation as the ELR was a 2-door leather clad Volt.
If Cadillac decides to build a new ELR; it needs world class performance with more powerful electric motors, the battery from the Bolt and if Cadillac wants to step out on the wild side they can use GM’s Skateboard concept to underpin the car.
The premise that the ELR was only put out the reduce CAFE numbers is crazy as the ELR was never going to be a volume vehicle (at $75000 a pop) enough to offset Silverado, Tahoe, Sierra, Yukon, etc. fuel economy numbers.
Why Cadillac’s ELR failed wasn’t just because of it’s price as it was how Cadillac presented the ELR and tried selling it as well as it’s average performance. People would have been willing to pay the ELR’s $70K price if it had a Ludicrous mode and capable of accelerating like a Corvette Z06. This is something Cadillac needs to remember if they were to design a new ELR; if the car is a Cadillac.. then it needs to perform like a Cadillac because a modern Cadillac isn’t just about luxury as it’s about performance and this is why Cadillac races.
Exactly right… BTW, the 2016 ELR IS FAST… Which is why I suggested in an earlier post to keep the existing cars and their owners as brand loyalists and offer updated batteries to them (me included) as guinea pigs for performance upgrades. There are only about 3000 ELRs and doing such an act for their loyalists would certainly be positive PR and work as Tesla does with their upgrades for their current vehicles too.
Who cares about 3000 elr owners while Tesla, the EV leader, gets 450.000 pre orders without a single advertisement.
People who bought a $75.000 dressed up volt are not the sharpest tools in the shed!
Cadillac misses every automotive boat out there.
It missed the CUV boat, it missed the PHEV boat, and missed the EV boat.
Much better options in the mean time availlable to spent your money on.
The Cadillac brand has zero value, just as the cars after they get out of warranty and fall apart.
Years behind the competition, and for 99.9% of the luxury buyers not worth their time.
While Cadillac was building uncompetitive copies of BMW and Mercedes, Tesla became
an aspirational luxury EV leader.
Telsa sells a lot of cars in Europe, while Cadillac sells NONE.
Telsa has taken the EV crown, while Cadillac zipped coffee in NYC.
btw, the Tesla model s runs circles around the 2016 elr.
Even your average electric bycicle is faster.
And this comes from someone who really truly dislikes Tesla, and will never own a Tesla.
not at 2X the price of the volt…………..
The ELR is a beautiful vehicle but the battery range isn’t enough.
the ELR looks lame and its too low and people will have trouble getting in and out the ELR….just make a EV CUV that’s not too low to the ground and cramped like the ELR….hey Bryan Cadillac…how do you think the ELR is beautiful…get your eyes checked…I think the ELR is ugly as sin.
Make it like a Tesla model S, 250 plus miles per charge. A better price and we will buy it!
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