Cadillac to Produce ELR Electric Luxury Car

As governments around the world force automakers to improve fuel economy and emissions, nearly every major car company is working on a different way to conform to these standards. In the US, Ford is putting turbos on more and more models; Toyota has hybrids; VW uses diesels, and it looks like General Motors is throwing its efforts behind electric cars. 

In 2009, Cadillac showed off the Converj Concept at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, MIchigan. It used the concept of the Chevy Volt but applied it to a luxury car. With styling reminiscent of the CTS Coupe, the Converj certainly looked great.

“The concept generated instant enthusiasm,” said Don Butler, vice president-Cadillac Marketing.

Now that the Volt is available nationwide in the US, albeit selling slowly, Cadillac has announced the XLR, a production version of the Converj Concept. Similar to the Volt, the XLR will use an electric motor and T-shaped lithium battery that will be suplemented with a four-cylinder engine used as a generator. 

Cadillac said that it will announce performance, price and release date later but expect the XLR to be available within the next two years.