General Motors decided to pull the plug on the Cadillac ELR in February and didn’t tell anyone about it.
The decision is final and Caddy has no plans of investing in the PHEV coupe anymore, according to HybridCars, quoting the brand’s Product communications Manager, David Caldwell: “Cadillac ELR production recently concluded. A very small quantity of ELR units remain available at dealers today. This beautifully designed electrified coupe marked an important step in Cadillac’s ongoing expansion.“
Instead of developing a successor to the deceased ELR, the automaker will focus on the larger and faster CT6 plug-in hybrid sedan, which will hit the market soon, with a 2.0-liter four-banger turbo gasoline unit and two electric motors, rated at 335 HP and 432 lb-ft (586 Nm) of torque. The vehicle has a similar electric range, in the mid-30mpgs, and will be imported from China.
In an attempt to make the ELR more appealing, Cadillac performed a series of visual and mechanical updates to the 2016MY, which received a tweaked grille and software upgrades to the battery system, lifting the horsepower figure from 215 to 233hp, in Sport mode, allowing the car to sprint from naught to sixty (96 km/h) in 4.9 seconds, 1.5 sec faster.
Despite the $10,000 cheaper price tag over the 2014 version, sales of the ELR plunged by 22 percent last year, with just 1,049 units delivered. In 2014, Cadillac sold 1,354 examples of the two-door PHEV and the year before, just 10 cars found new homes.
PHOTO GALLERY
