1st generation will be the last for Cadillac ELR

LOS ANGELES -- The Cadillac ELR plug-in hybrid coupe -- head-turning for its stylish sheet metal and lofty sticker price -- won't live to see a second generation.

Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen confirmed last week that the brand plans no successor to the light-selling ELR.

"I plan to continue admiring it as one of the most beautiful cars on four wheels" de Nysschen told reporters during a media drive of the forthcoming CT6 large sedan here. "But we don't plan further investment" in the coupe.

Automotive News reported in July that the ELR's run would end after just one generation, sticking around until at least 2018. De Nysschen said only that the car will stay on the market for as long as people want to buy it.

The ELR shares its underpinnings with the Chevrolet Volt, which was redesigned for the 2016 model year with a new drive unit and chassis. De Nysschen has settled any question about whether the ELR might get the same improvement.

Dealers have said that the sticker price of $75,995, including shipping, affixed to the ELR at its late-2013 launch was exorbitantly high, icing demand early. Cadillac slashed the price by about $10,000 for the 2016 model year.

In an interview published in December in Automobile magazine, Cadillac marketing chief Uwe Ellinghaus called the ELR "a big disappointment" and acknowledged that it was priced too high. ELR sales fell 22 percent last year, to 1,024 cars.