China has grown to become GM’s largest market, and going forward Chinese tastes will play a growing influence on GM designs.
General Motors Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson announced today that a new Cadillac ELR luxury electric coupe will be sold in China. The announcement of the first extended range electric vehicle from Cadillac in Beijing shows just how significant the world’s largest auto market has become to all automakers. The question now is where the ELR will debut first – the U.S. where it was developed and Cadillac’s home market or China?
“China has quickly become the fastest-growing market for Cadillac. Last year, sales rose by 73%,” said Akerson. Cadillac will add one new model per year in China through 2016.
The Cadillac ELR uses an updated version of the Chevrolet Volt electric propulsion system comprised of a T-shaped lithium-ion battery, an electric drive unit and a four-cylinder engine-generator.
Like the Chevrolet Volt, ELR uses electricity as its primary source to drive the car without using gasoline or producing tailpipe emissions for a limited number of miles – the current Volt goes about 35 miles on electricity alone. When the battery’s energy is low, the ELR goes to extended-range mode to enable driving for hundreds of additional kilometers.
Additional details on the ELR’s technologies, production location and China market introduction will be announced later, GM said.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
