The price cutting continues at General Motors Co. after the auto
maker announced Wednesday it was trimming the price of its Cadillac
electric plug-in hybrid by about $9,000 to boost sales.
The 2016 Cadillac ELR's starting price will be $58,495 after
U.S. federal tax credits of $7,500. The current model year now
sells for $67,500 after $7,500 in credits.
This is the second price cut GM has made on its hybrid or
electric vehicle portfolio. On Tuesday, the auto maker sliced the
suggested sticker price of the Spark EV by 6% to $25,995. The Spark
is a pure electric vehicle travel about 80 miles on a full battery
charge. It is currently sold only in California and Oregon. It will
be offered in Maryland later this year.
GM, along with other auto makers, are hard-pressed to generate
consumer interest in their hybrid offerings at a time when a gallon
of gas is cheaper than $2.50. The ELR runs for about 40 miles on a
full battery charge before switching to gasoline.
The ELR itself has failed to connect with consumers since its
introduction two years ago. Critics have said the car is too
expensive and sales are cannibalized by its sister vehicle, the
Chevrolet Volt.
The company sold 311 ELRs during the first three months of the
year compared with 180 for the same period a year earlier. Car
shoppers bought 1,874 Volts during that period compared with 3,606
for the same period a year earlier.
For the 2016 model year, Cadillac has increased the ELR's
horsepower and torque by more than 25%. The coupe model will also
get OnStar 4G LTE built-in Wi-Fi.
Write to Jeff Bennett at jeff.bennett@wsj.com and Anne Steele at
anne.steele@wsj.com
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