Cadillac has admitted the plug-in hybrid ELR (pictured) has completely failed to live up to its expectations.
“Put it this way: The ELR’s a big disappointment; there’s no denying it,” conceded Uwe Ellinghaus, the company’s chief marketing officer, in a recent interview with Automobile Magazine.
Ellinghaus explained the ELR has been a fiasco because it’s a niche model that’s aimed at a tiny target audience. The two-seater coupe segment has been steadily shrinking in the past few years, and buyers with $65,000 to spend on one are usually after a more sport-focused model. The executive nonetheless defended the ELR’s base price — which was slashed earlier this year — by pointing out the coupe comes loaded to the gills.
It goes without saying that Cadillac will not launch a second-generation ELR based on the all-new 2016 Chevrolet Volt, but it’s not giving up on electrification, either. A plug-in hybrid version of the range-topping CT6 will be introduced shortly, and Ellinghaus confirmed plans to offer a gasoline-electric version of nearly every member of the company’s lineup in the coming years.
“[The plug-in hybrid drivetrain] will become the next all-wheel drive. Some will want it and take the box and the price list, and others not,” predicted the executive.
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