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Financial Performance Of Cadillac ELR “Was Catastrophic”

Johan de Nysschen used to be the head honcho of Cadillac not that long ago. His departure was announced in April 2018, and even though the CT6 full-size sedan was introduced under him, the board of directors wasn’t pleased. As for financial performance, the ELR “was catastrophic” according to de Nysschen.
Cadillac ELR 64 photos
Photo: Cadillac
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“Even at that price point,” he highlights in an interview for Automobile Magazine, which speaks volumes about General Motors as a whole. The ELR was phased out in February 2016, replaced by the CT6 Hybrid. Adding insult to injury, the plug-in hybrid option was dropped from the U.S. lineup because Cadillac wasn’t selling enough of them.

“Cadillac has got some really compelling electrification entries that I think are going to dramatically change people’s perception of the brand,”
adds Johan. The former president believes the progressive image of the next generation of models will attract “a lot of young people,” but knowing the corporate culture of General Motors, we wouldn’t hold our breath.

When it was launched, the ELR used to retail at $76,000 before the federal tax credit for plug-in vehicles. That’s a lot more than the Chevrolet Volt, and the CT6 Hybrid used to be much more appropriate at $76,090 in the United States given its size and luxurious appointments.

Come 2021, Cadillac will introduce a three-row crossover on the BEV3 vehicle architecture. Developed for EVs, the BEV3 suits front-, rear-, and all-wheel-drive applications. Not much else is known about the automaker’s electric offensive, but given time, Al Oppenheiser will deliver the news. That’s right, ladies and gents; the chief engineer of the Camaro leads the EV program at General Motors since January 2019!

In three years of production, the ELR was manufactured in less than 3,000 examples. The battery’s capacity increased from 16.5 to 17.1 kWh for the 2016 model year, but nothing could change for the better at this point. Caddy even skipped the 2015 model year because the sales were so bad.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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