The people have spoken, and they don't want an expensive electric car that's not a Tesla.
General Motors has tried to beckon a similar customer with its hybrid electric ELR. The model, which sports a retuned version of the Chevrolet Volt engine, can hit a top speed of 100 miles per hour and an all-electric range of 35 miles. The suggested retail price: $76,000.
Not many have taken up GM on its offer. GM has sold just 241 ELRs this year, according to Fortune. The company sold 61 of the models last month, the report claims.
David Caldwell, a GM rep, told Mashable that while he didn't have figures handy, those figures sounded "about right" â€" at least for sales through the end of April. When asked if that figure was disappointing, he replied, "I don't think we know what to expect. I don't know that any of us would have a reliable expectation that matters."
Automotive News reports that some 1,700 ELRs are sitting in dealer lots, and GM is trying to goad dealers into offering test drives with a $5,000 incentive. Dealers with fewer than seven ELRs can collect the incentive on one if they log 750 test drive miles; dealers with more than seven can get up to $10,000. The program runs until June 2.
The sluggish sales contrast with the sale of 6,457 Tesla Model S cars last quarter; the company has sold more than 30,000 worldwide to date. Those models run from $69,900 to $93,400, and while it has received stellar reviews, the ELR has been called to task for employing a Chevy Volt engine in a car about twice the price.
Cadillac has tried to justify the sticker price with accoutrements like leather and wood interiors. However, the engine doesn't match the performance of the comparable 60-kWh Model S, which can hit a top speed of 120 mph, goes from 0 to 60 mph in 5.9 seconds (compared to 7.8 seconds for the ELR) and has a maximum all-electric range of about 200 miles.
The model was also undercut by the Nissan Leaf, the best-selling electric car in the U.S., which carries a sticker price of $29,000. GM's Chevy Volt is $6,000 more. The Volt has half the range of the Leaf â€" 38 miles â€" but has a "range extender" engine that kicks in when the model's battery is depleted. GM has sold about 60,000 Volts since the model was introduced in 2010.
Extending that success to GM's Cadillac brand hasn't worked so well. Though it's hard to overcome claims that the model is about 100% overpriced, the marketing of the ELR may also be too blame. Cadillac bombarded Winter Olympics viewers in February with this divisive ad, which underscored the elite appeal of the brand while downplaying other factors (like concern for the environment), that might motivate someone to spend $70,000 on an electric car.
That ad, which has received more than 2 million views on YouTube, prompted this parody from Ford.
Despite the three-digit sales so far, Caldwell said Cadillac is happy with the ELR.
"It's an interesting car," he said. "It looks good, drives well and says a lot about how our brand is changing. I look at it this way: A few years ago there were none of these cars so any sale is growth."
Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.
No comments:
Post a Comment