General Motors said it plans to begin manufacturing its Cadillac ELR luxury plug-in hybrid vehicle late next year.
The firm’s North American president Mark Reuss told an industry conference this week that the Cadillac ELR — a production version of the concept Cadillac Converj revealed at the Detroit auto show in 2009 — will be produced at the same Detroit plant as the Chevrolet Volt, another hybrid launched in 2010.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the ELR production will represent an investment of $35 million at the plant, which will bring total investment levels of $561 million from 2009.
The electric hybrid will have a power system comparable to the Chevrolet Volt, including electric handling, a lithium-ion battery and a four-cylinder engine which will serve as a generator. After a certain distance, the petrol-powered generator will kick in, allowing a driver to reach 380 miles without needing to recharge.
The ELR will be the first two-door car coming off the line there since the 1999 Cadillac Eldorado. However, the chosen Detroit-Hamtramck plant is quickly becoming General Motor’s hub for plug-in vehicles. Other models the factory produces include the Opel Ampera and Holden Volt, and cars are exported to 21 countries.
Image credit: General Motors
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