Cadillac ELR

The Cadillac ELR is a luxury plug-in hybrid compact coupé developed and manufactured by General Motors. The ELR powertrain is a re-tuned version of the propulsion system used in the Chevrolet Volt. The ELR's 16.5 kWh lithium-ion battery pack delivers an all-electric range of about 35 miles and a top speed of 100 mph. Deliveries to retail customers in the United States began in December 2013.

General Motors debuted the concept car that would become the ELR, the Cadillac Converj, at the 2009 North American International Auto Show, and the production version of the car, the ELR, was unveiled four years later at the 2013 North American International Auto Show.

General Motors debuted the Cadillac Converj concept, the car that would eventually become the 2014 Cadillac ELR, in January, 2009 at the North American International Auto Show.

In April 2009 Motor Trend reported that General Motors had approved the production version of Cadillac Converj in 2011 as 2012 model year vehicle. However, GM refuted this report and stated that the Converj was "a concept vehicle undergoing a review". An August 2009 BusinessWeek report stated that GM Vice Chairman Robert Lutz wanted to see the Converj go to production, possibly as early as 2014, and it was reported that while delivering the keynote speech at the 46th annual Northwood Auto Show Lutz "hinted that an announcement on production for the well-received Cadillac Converj concept car may be forthcoming." At the 2010 North American International Auto Show, Lutz told the Society of Automotive Analysts “The Cadillac Converj is cleared for production,” but that "It won’t be next year or the year after that.” Despite these statements, in March 2010, Bloomberg BusinessWeek reported that GM decided to end work on the Converj, because the Converj "couldn’t have enough amenities and electric range to be compelling to buyers and produce a profit".

General Motors reversed its decision to cancel the project in August 2011 and announced that the Converj concept would go into production as the Cadillac ELR at a price less than the US$57,400 Tesla Model S, but did not provide details on performance or timing. General Motors stated that the ELR would be about the same size as the Chevrolet Volt and produced in the same facility. Within the framework of GM's vehicle electrification strategy, the Cadillac ELR is after the Chevrolet Volt EREV and Spark EV the third electrically-powered passenger car by General Motors in the U.S. since the EV1 was discontinued: In contrast to pure battery EV protagonists, like e.g. Tesla Motors, GM focuses for the long-range application on extended-range EV technology.

General Motors began testing ELR prototypes in mid-2012. The production version was unveiled at the 2013 North American International Auto Show.

The ELR is built upon the GM Delta II platform and incorporates a version of the Voltec propulsion system used in the Chevrolet Volt. The Voltec propulsion system includes a 119-135 kilowatt electric motor, a four-cylinder engine-generator and a 16.5 kWh lithium-ion battery pack. GM estimates the ELR has an all-electric range of 35 miles, a total range of over 300 mi and a top speed of 100 mph. The ELR recharges in about 12 hours from a 120-volt outlet and 4.5 hours from a 240-volt outlet.

On November 15th, 2013, Cadillac released full specifications for the 2014 Cadillac ELR. Most notable is the acceleration from 0-60mph in 7.8 seconds in range extending mode. Some specifications were updated. The new top speed is stated as 106 mph, and Cadillac says the ELR has an all-electric range of 37 miles and a total range of 345 mi. Charging times were also updated to 12.5-18 hours using the 120-volt travel charger, and about 5 hours using a 240-volt charging station.

In October 2012, General Motors announced that the ELR would be assembled at the Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant, where the similar Chevrolet Volt, Opel Ampera, and Holden Volt are also assembled. The addition of the ELR to the plant represents an additional US$35 million investment, bringing the total product investment at the plant to US$561 million since December 2009.

General Motors began assembly of pre-production vehicles to be used for testing in late May 2013. Production of vehicles destined for retail customers began in December 2013. Shipping to dealerships from the Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly began on 20 December 2013, and even though retail deliveries were scheduled to begin in January 2014, the first 6 units were delivered in December 2013. The 2014 ELR has a base price of US$75,995, which includes a US$995 destination charge but excludes any applicable government incentives.

Although a timeline has not been specified, GM plans to expand ELR distribution to global markets including China and Europe.

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