More luxurious, more powerful and more beautiful than the Volt (personal opinion here), the Cadillac ELR will also be much more expensive when in launches in 2014, with analysts estimating the ELR’s starting price between $60,000 and $70,000 – roughly double the Volt’s price.
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However, as pointed out by AOL-owned Autoblog.com, this is a pre-production version of the ELR not made for customers, but for GM engineers who will use these first examples for testing purposes alone. Series production of the ELR will begin towards the end of the year with sales to start in early 2014.
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This new system is called "Regen on Demand" and will be an exclusive feature of the ELR, the brand’s first electric vehicle with extended range capability thanks to the petrol-powered 1.4-liter gasoline engine that acts as a generator.
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However, one can't help but wonder if the 1.4-liter petrol engine used to recharge the battery was chosen for its efficiency credentials, or due to cost constraints - the Volt is quite expensive, as it is.
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Well, it's actually fairly common for automakers to display production models at auto shows around the world without having completed the final development and testing stages. The ELR is one such example, as it will be another year before it arrives in showrooms.
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Although the striking design remains faithful to the concept, the underpinnings were more humble as they were borrowed from the Chevrolet Volt. It’s a move that makes perfect sense, though it begs the question why the Volt was rolled out before the ELR since the Cadillac could easily justify a premium price – something the extended-range hybrid Chevy has struggled with.
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Of course, while quite similar (but not identical) under the skin, the two GM hybrids belong to entirely different segments. The Volt is supposed to be a higher-priced alternative to mass-market rivals such as the plug-in Toyota Prius, while the ELR is a premium product.
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Having already seen the first official images, we know that the ELR is a bit different in its proportions compared to the concept; but then that’s to be expected, as the designers have to work within certain parameters set by the engineers and, in any case, the 2+2 coupe is still quite a looker.
If its styling whet our appetites, the fact that it was based on the Chevrolet Volt platform dampened things a bit. Then doubt started to creep in: is the ELR just a Volt in a nice suit?
Cadillac says that this is definitely not the case. While the ELR does indeed utilize both the FWD platform and the Extended Range Electric Vehicle (EREV) hybrid powertrain that were introduced in the Volt, those elements have been tuned to suit the coupe’s premium character.
The new images show some exterior details of the car as well as of the sharply styled interior that keeps in line with other products from Cadillac.
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The ELR extended-range electric luxury coupe is the production version of the wreath and crest brand's Converj Concept displayed at the 2009 Detroit auto show.
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Cadillac's interpretation of the Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle project was previewed three years ago with the Converj Concept at the 2009 Detroit auto show.
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On Wednesday, the company’s top product development executive said GM will focus on electric vehicles, and plug-in and mild hybrids instead of conventional hybrids.
“The plug-in offers a unique opportunity to change the way people commute,” Barra told the reporters attending the GM Electrification Experience in San Francisco. “Plug-based solutions will play a significant role in our technology portfolio going forward.”
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We already know that the ELR will be closely based on Cadillac's 2009 Converj Concept and that it will borrow much of its extended-range electric technology from the Chevy Volt, combining a T-shaped lithium-ion battery with an electric drive unit and an unspecified four-cylinder engine working as a generator to power the electric motor.
What we assumed, but didn't know for sure, is whether the ELR would keep the same front-engine, front-wheel-drive layout as the Volt or if Cadillac would engineer a new platform with a front-engine, rear-wheel drive configuration.
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In a keynote address at the SAE Convergence Conference in Detroit on Tuesday, General Motors North America President Mark Reuss revealed that preparations will soon be underway at the firm's Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly plant to build the Cadillac ELR.
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It makes perfect sense then that it is almost non-existent in China, where its US$40K price is nearly doubled due to taxation imposed by the government on imported cars.
This is a fact that GM representatives readily acknowledge. Ray Bierzynski, the company’s head of electric vehicle strategy in China, won’t disclose any sales figure, but told Automotive News that the Volt is “a very low-volume” car.
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A report from Automotive News (sub. required) citing sources from within General Motors outlines Cadillac's plans for the 2013-15 model years.
According to the insiders, GM has given the green light for the development of a full size, rear-wheel drive luxury sedan that will sit atop of the range rivaling the Audi A8, BMW 7-Series, Jaguar XJ and Mercedes-Benz S-Class.
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Cadillac, on the other hand, delivered 152,389 vehicles in the U.S. but only about 30,000 in the world's most populous country, despite an increase of 73 percent over 2010.
Given China's thirst for luxury products, it is no wonder that General Motors would like to repeat the success of Buick with its flagship brand.
According to General Motors CEO Dan Akerson, who was speaking on the company's first quarter earnings call for 2012, there is a plan in motion to boost Cadillac's sales in China six-fold in the next few years.
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