The Cadillac ELR may look glamorous in its first commercial, but that doesn’t mean dealers are queuing up for it. On the contrary, nearly half of Cadillac dealers in the United States have decided not to sell the 2014 ELR, the brand’s first plug-in hybrid vehicle.
According to a report from Edmunds, about 410 of Cadillac’s 940 U.S. dealers will not sell the ELR. Dealers located in areas of the country where Cadillac sales volume is small or the likelihood of selling the new plug-in hybrid coupe is remote, will not sell the ELR.
“We have a pretty good representation in rural markets because we are dialed up with other General Motors brands,” said Jim Vurpillat, Cadillac’s global marketing director. “It is a great service advantage. But those dealers might look at ELR and say, ‘Ok, if I sell one of these, I got to have service charging stations, special training, a sales area. I have to buy special tools,’” he added.
Considering that the cost for tools, training and other items can be as high as $15,000, dealers’ reluctance to embrace the Cadillac ELR is understandable. “If they don’t think they will sell more than one or two units a year, they would do the numbers, and it is probably not worth it,” Vurpillat explained.
He added that most of the sales will come from areas like California, Dallas, Miami and New York. Cadillac only sold 6 ELRs in December and about 40 in January. That’s because the ELR is priced at a steep $75,995, including $995 for shipping. However, buyers may be eligible for a tax credit of up to $7,500 depending on individual tax liability.
By Dan Mihalascu
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