Cadillac ELR - Development of Production Version

Development of Production Version

In April 2009 Motor Trend reported 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 Detroit 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.” These hopes were dashed when Bloomberg reported that GM had in fact decided in late January to end work on the Converj, due to an 'inability to create an acceptable balance of luxury appointments and battery range'. The production Converj was later "un-canceled" in August 2011, when General Motors announced that the Converj concept will go into production as the Cadillac ELR, with details on performance, price and timing to be announced later.

Bloomberg reported that GM plans to price the ELR "less than the US$57,400 Tesla Model S and that the ELR will be "about the same size as the Volt" and manufactured in the same plant as the Volt. General Motors began testing ELR prototypes by mid-2012. The production version was unveiled at the 2013 North American International Auto Show.