Cadillac News: Cadillac's Marketing Chief Admits the ELR Price Was A Bit Too Much

[William Maley]

You don't hear a lot of executives admit when they or their company has made a blunder. When they do, it comes as a bit of a shock and helps you realize they are somewhat human. Case in point is Cadillac's marketing chief Uwe Ellinghaus telling Bloomberg they bit off bit a more than they could chew with the ELR pricing.

 

"The MSRP was, indeed, a mouthful. We overestimated that customers would realize our competitors were naked at that price," said Ellinghaus.

 

So why did Cadillac price the ELR so high? Well product planners believed if the ELR was close to the price of the Chevrolet Volt, people would go for the Volt. Also, the high price was seen as to signal this was a special car from Cadillac.

 

"We just wanted to make this a statement for the brand of how progressive we are," said Ellinghaus.

 

Sadly it hasn't worked with just 1,835 ELRs being sold in North America within the past 18 months. Also, dealers have been piling on incentives to get them off their lot.

 

Source: Bloomberg

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[aurora97]

"The MSRP was, indeed, a mouthful." 

 

Um, I think potential buyers were more concerned with another bodily orifice when they saw the $75,000.00 price tag.

[smk4565]

The ELR was over priced, and in other news water is wet.

[daves87rs]

You think???

[David]

Still the ELR was awesome improvement over the VOLT. Worth of a $55-60K Price Tag.

[knightfan26917]

Also, dealers have been piling on incentives to get them off their lot.

 

 

Seems we've heard & heard this before....

 

 

Cort www.oldcarsstronghearts.com

1979 & 1989 Caprice Classics | pigValve, paceMaker, cowValve

"Promises mean everything" __ Everclear __ 'Wonderful'

[Cmicasa the Great]

Call up all the GM, Cadillac, and EV haters because we gotta 'nother live one. Some people love to hear this kinda thing. Its actually a bit weird.

 

ELR at $75K was fine IF Cadillac only wanted to sell them to niche buyers. They didn't. They FAILED to sell the intended 3000 (last year about 1/2 of that)  units annually because they did nothing to market this car after "Poolside" went viral and let's be honest, its a 2-seater (eff the back seat in any of these sports coupes/Verts from Cadillac to Benz), it has no sunroof, which is insane considering the market for this car would seemingly be the well-to-do, Silicon Valley, greenie types who love to show up in something sexy that lets their hair blow around in the wind. 

 

This car.. THIS CAR.. should have been a sub-ATS sports car, with a convertible roof or sunroof having coupe, with a TT 2.0L 270HP and 350HP VSeries version, and ta hell with EV. The Voltec should have gone in the XTS. The XTS, with Voltec would have made sense. The XTS with Voltec would have added numbers in the realm of what Tesla sell because it would be in a car that could actually seat 5, maybe 6, with a trunk that could house a bunch of Golf Clubs.

 

Anyway, the CT6 Hybrid rights this wrong. The ELR, will return in a proper form, and a different name. I'm thinking CT7. The CT6, with 335 hp and 432 lb-ft of torque, not to mention light weight will be pretty refreshing   

And another thing I wish people would stop always bringing up the Tesla Model S. The comparison of the Tesla Model S to the Cadillac ELR was a dumb one created by idiots in the first place simply because of price and they both being EVs. 

 

Tesla Model S is a 7-Seater. ELR is a 4 Seater. 

Tesla Model S is a sedan. ELR is a Coupe

Tesla Model S is a Full-Sizer. ELR is a Compact

Tesla Model S is a 100% EV. ELR is a Plug-in Hybrid

 

 

Lets start comparing Pick-ups to Dirt-Bikes.

[balthazar]

To top it off, the Model S may sell in steadily, slightly increasing volume, but it still doesn't make the company one thin dime. They have to keep it going because it's the ONLY vehicle they have. Cadillac/GM, of course, have the room to speak on the ELR because it's one of a hundred vehicles built.

 

Still, these guys don't understand marketing. It's one thing to (appear) candid in an interview, it's another to openly admit 'mistakes'. It gains you nothing.

[jvcmike]

No kidding Sherlock, where was the voice of reason when that came to that insane price to begin with.  They missed the opportunity to price it between $55k and $60k.  Cadillac needs to take a page from Lexus of the past and price their cars at a reasonable low price as not to be perceived as low rent.  Then work their way up and people would have been more tolerate of the pricing environment.  I love Gm and  Cadillac but there is a perception problem they have to work around and doing business as usual is not going to make it go away.

[smk4565]

This car should have been $49,995 base price, but come fully loaded with no options.  It's a Volt, asking $50k is even stretching.

[Cory Wolfe]

Perhaps there are some brains at GM, afterall. It was obvious from the beginning that the price was completely unjustified. The funny thing is... A lot of you guys tried to justify it in the beginning. Watching the backpedaling and further attempts of justification is about as good as any C&G movie gets. 

[daves87rs]

This car should have been $49,995 base price, but come fully loaded with no options.  It's a Volt, asking $50k is even stretching.

 

 

Agreed. It does not offer much more either.

[regfootball]

55-60 MSRP would have been fine. The interior is gorgeous as is the exterior. Based on style alone, it would have sold alright out of the box marketed that way.

[smk4565]

The ELR interior should have been in the ATS.   Would have made the ATS more competitive.  The ELR wouldn't have sold at anything over $50k, the Volt is a slow seller, a luxury Volt was always going to be an even slower seller.

[Cmicasa the Great]

Perhaps there are some brains at GM, afterall. It was obvious from the beginning that the price was completely unjustified. The funny thing is... A lot of you guys tried to justify it in the beginning. Watching the backpedaling and further attempts of justification is about as good as any C&G movie gets. 

 

 

 

Please. The technology is sound,.. the packaging was the issue. What exactly justifies the price of any luxury car over a competent mainstream competitor??? Can U really tell me why a 328i is justified in costing $20K more than a Camry???  

 

I would have sold the ELR for $75K.. I just would have made the ELR a different, more substantial car for the main reason why going green makes since.. in all segments.. to be environmentally friendly. The configuration is wrong. Tesla had another model that was a failure because since when is a two seater environmentally friendly??? Must carry up to 4 Comfortably whether it be a Model S, ELR, or Chevy Tahoe. Yup.. Chevy Tahoe. Fill one up with people and it could be as fuel efficient as a Prius

[Cmicasa the Great]

The ELR interior should have been in the ATS.   Would have made the ATS more competitive.  The ELR wouldn't have sold at anything over $50k, the Volt is a slow seller, a luxury Volt was always going to be an even slower seller.

 

 

No it shouldn't have been The ELR has an interior that features materials that make the S-Class seem overpriced. The ATS interior is not the reason for its sales issues. This price point now presented will go a nice way to getting more sales for the ELR. 

[smk4565]

The S-class isn't overpriced, if it were then people would stop buying it.  But it has been the global sales leader for about 40 years, people must think it is a good buy.  Unlike the ELR that will spend about 4 years on market with no sales and be killed off.

 

The ATS interior doesn't drive away sales, but I don't think it is bringing people in either.  The ATS is a poor seller, it needs something that is a wow factor to bring in more buyers.

[balthazar]

We've been over this : if the S-class weren't overpriced, it wouldn't need heavy incentives.

Last gen was sometimes hitting $15 grand off sticker.

 

ATS physically doesn't need anything glaring or major, it's not the product that's deficient.

There's also no wow factor from the germans in this segment.

[smk4565]

In most months the S-class outsells its closest 3 competitors COMBINED and at a higher transaction price.  It creates $1 billion a year in profit for Daimler, there are no problems in the cash making department with the S-class.

 

There is a new A4 coming next year, along with the mild refresh the 3-series, and the Jag XE is coming.  Competition is only increasing.  The ATS doesn't sell now, and they have another 3-4 years in this life cycle.  Dressing up the interior an extra level would help.  I don't see a downside to taking much of the design and materials for the ELR interior and putting it into the ATS which is a similar sized car.

[regfootball]

ATS= fix Cue, fix pricing and packages, new dash but most importantly, give the car some leg room in the back.  The ATS-L body should become the ATS sedan.  American lux car intenders have always wanted some room in their car and the ATS doesn't have enough and it would improve sales if it did.

[Cmicasa the Great]

In most months the S-class outsells its closest 3 competitors COMBINED and at a higher transaction price.  It creates $1 billion a year in profit for Daimler, there are no problems in the cash making department with the S-class.

 

There is a new A4 coming next year, along with the mild refresh the 3-series, and the Jag XE is coming.  Competition is only increasing.  The ATS doesn't sell now, and they have another 3-4 years in this life cycle.  Dressing up the interior an extra level would help.  I don't see a downside to taking much of the design and materials for the ELR interior and putting it into the ATS which is a similar sized car.

 

 

 

U really are delusional. Your argument of sales is ridiculous.. as the Camry outsells several cars in its segment 3:1. The fact that with its numbers.. it generates $1 Billion in profit.. proves my original, and Balthazar's supporting assertion about it being overpriced. That is.. essentially how U make profit. Only a fool would pay full price for an S-Class... when U can get one for about $30K off a year later. I can find U a '13 S550 with 23K miles for under $60K. That's a fact

Edited May 18, 2015 by Cmicasa the Great

[Cmicasa the Great]

ATS= fix Cue, fix pricing and packages, new dash but most importantly, give the car some leg room in the back.  The ATS-L body should become the ATS sedan.  American lux car intenders have always wanted some room in their car and the ATS doesn't have enough and it would improve sales if it did.

 

 

 

I agree about the legroom. Not because I would ever have anymore than 2 people in my sport sedan or hate the idea of chauffeuring anyone... but because apparently more and more people are buying small compact luxury sedans and trying to squeeze their lazy ass friends in the rear to be chauffeured, when they could have just bought a larger CTS..

Edited May 18, 2015 by Cmicasa the Great

[balthazar]

Jag XE is competition for nobody; no one buys Jags in this country.  

[smk4565]

 

In most months the S-class outsells its closest 3 competitors COMBINED and at a higher transaction price.  It creates $1 billion a year in profit for Daimler, there are no problems in the cash making department with the S-class.

 

There is a new A4 coming next year, along with the mild refresh the 3-series, and the Jag XE is coming.  Competition is only increasing.  The ATS doesn't sell now, and they have another 3-4 years in this life cycle.  Dressing up the interior an extra level would help.  I don't see a downside to taking much of the design and materials for the ELR interior and putting it into the ATS which is a similar sized car.

 

 

 

U really are delusional. Your argument of sales is ridiculous.. as the Camry outsells several cars in its segment 3:1. The fact that with its numbers.. it generates $1 Billion in profit.. proves my original, and Balthazar's supporting assertion about it being overpriced. That is.. essentially how U make profit. Only a fool would pay full price for an S-Class... when U can get one for about $30K off a year later. I can find U a '13 S550 with 23K miles for under $60K. That's a fact

 

But the Camry doesn't outsell the Accord, Altima and Fusion combined, and cost 20% more than those 3.  If buyers thought the S-class was over priced or a rip off then it wouldn't sell.  S-class has over 40 years on top of the mountain, no one has knocked it off yet.   They have sold about 3 million S-classes since 1972 when they actually started using the S-class name.  There must have been a lot of fools walking into Mercedes dealerships since then.

 

I am sure the bean counters at GM would have loved if the ELR sold 1,000 units a month at their $75,000 price tag so they turned a profit.   Rather than having almost no sales and having to kill the product off as another one and done.

[smk4565]

Jag XE is competition for nobody; no one buys Jags in this country.  

True, hardly anyone buys a Jag, but they'll sell like 1,000 a month, they will have to steal that off someone.  People bought the X-type and it was terrible.  I don't think it is a big threat either, but it might take 200 cars a month away from Cadillac, BMW, Lexus and Mercedes. 

[balthazar]

They barely sell 1000 /mnth now with multiple models. XE isn't going to reach anywhere near 1000/mn- there's just no "wow factor" and no one is clamoring for any more Jags. Niche brand, not competition.

[Cmicasa the Great]

In most months the S-class outsells its closest 3 competitors COMBINED and at a higher transaction price.  It creates $1 billion a year in profit for Daimler, there are no problems in the cash making department with the S-class.

 

There is a new A4 coming next year, along with the mild refresh the 3-series, and the Jag XE is coming.  Competition is only increasing.  The ATS doesn't sell now, and they have another 3-4 years in this life cycle.  Dressing up the interior an extra level would help.  I don't see a downside to taking much of the design and materials for the ELR interior and putting it into the ATS which is a similar sized car.

 

 

 

U really are delusional. Your argument of sales is ridiculous.. as the Camry outsells several cars in its segment 3:1. The fact that with its numbers.. it generates $1 Billion in profit.. proves my original, and Balthazar's supporting assertion about it being overpriced. That is.. essentially how U make profit. Only a fool would pay full price for an S-Class... when U can get one for about $30K off a year later. I can find U a '13 S550 with 23K miles for under $60K. That's a fact

But the Camry doesn't outsell the Accord, Altima and Fusion combined, and cost 20% more than those 3.  If buyers thought the S-class was over priced or a rip off then it wouldn't sell.  S-class has over 40 years on top of the mountain, no one has knocked it off yet.   They have sold about 3 million S-classes since 1972 when they actually started using the S-class name.  There must have been a lot of fools walking into Mercedes dealerships since then.

 

I am sure the bean counters at GM would have loved if the ELR sold 1,000 units a month at their $75,000 price tag so they turned a profit.   Rather than having almost no sales and having to kill the product off as another one and done.

Get a grip bud. The ELR is being renamed and reconfigured. Sales are sales. The ELR sells.. Just in low numbers at this point

[ponchoman49]

I wouldn't pay 10K for one let alone the insane price they came up with. People today have shunned 2 door coupes. A small cramped fashioned statement with a massive price tag just won't work in today's world.

[Cmicasa the Great]

I wouldn't pay 10K for one let alone the insane price they came up with. People today have shunned 2 door coupes. A small cramped fashioned statement with a massive price tag just won't work in today's world.

 

 

Do U like Electric cars???