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GM Suspending Chevy Volt Output Due To Slow Sales

lpast said:
To prove that point the Prius is a HUGELY popular car and outsells most cars in its class...its a hybrid but you can buy a version for 20k...if the volt was under 25k it may very well have been somewhat of a success...it was just too damn expensive for the average american. It was in lexus country
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True ... and much of what is being said about the Volt now was being said about the Prius when it first came out: too expensive, too small, too ugly.... And if Toyota had listened to all the naysayers they would have lost out on a huge success. Hopefully GM will be as smart because the Volt has some of the best tech out there.

"We are not idling the plant due to poor Volt sales. We're gearing up for production of the new Impala," Chevy spokesman David Darovitz said in an email.
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AdamT said:
True ... and much of what is being said about the Volt now was being said about the Prius when it first came out: too expensive, too small, too ugly.... And if Toyota had listened to all the naysayers they would have lost out on a huge success. Hopefully GM will be as smart because the Volt has some of the best tech out there.
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Sorry adam but the volt will never be a prius...it has too much baggage surrounding it now and GM cannot lower the price appreciably....volt is done
 
lpast said:
Sorry adam but the volt will never be a prius...it has too much baggage surrounding it now and GM cannot lower the price appreciably....volt is done
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That's nonsense. The one-month suspension has nothing to do with sales. This particular model Volt may never be a huge seller (as the original Prius was not), but it will form the foundation of future series hybrids for GM.
 
AdamT said:
That's nonsense. The one-month suspension has nothing to do with sales. This particular model Volt may never be a huge seller (as the original Prius was not), but it will form the foundation of future series hybrids for GM.
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Let me clarify...I didnt mean it was done being built and sold...I meant it was done as in catching on...I suspect in the near future they will stop making it.
 
AdamT said:
It's certainly possible, but the fact is that Volt sales have increased dramatically. They sold almost five times as many Volts in March as they did all of last year.

Chevy Volt Sales Still Sizzling, Nissan LEAF Slumps in April 2012 | PluginCars.com
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Adam thats one month sales and does not reflect a total trend for the model...I think overall anyone can say the volt is a flop...you have to track an auto models sales on a yearly basis to determine success not monthly.... but anyway..whether it makes it or not...doesnt matter to me :) Im not buying one..
 
lpast said:
Adam thats one month sales and does not reflect a total trend for the model...I think overall anyone can say the volt is a flop...you have to track an auto models sales on a yearly basis to determine success not monthly.... but anyway..whether it makes it or not...doesnt matter to me :) Im not buying one..
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Right ... and GM had significantly surpassed last year's Volt sales as of July 1 this year.

But I'm not buying one, either. The price needs to come down.
 
AdamT said:
It's certainly possible, but the fact is that Volt sales have increased dramatically. They sold almost five times as many Volts in March as they did all of last year.

Chevy Volt Sales Still Sizzling, Nissan LEAF Slumps in April 2012 | PluginCars.com
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And in April, sales decreased dramatically - a 30% drop.

From the article you linked to:

'Sales of the Chevy Volt dropped a bit with General Motors reporting it sold 1,462 units in April 2012, compared to a record-setting 2,289 units in March 2012.'

That total represents about 1% of total GM sales.

'General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) today reported July U.S. sales of 201,237 vehicles,'

General Motors | Investors - Sales & Production | GM.com


Anyone that thinks that G.M. is going to continue to produce a low volume car that loses them money for year after year does not understand the automotive industry, imo.

'Doug Parks, vehicle line executive for the 2011 Chevrolet Volt, GM's range-extended electric vehicle, confirmed Tuesday that the company loses money on every Volt it sells.'

GM Confirms, Yes, We're Losing Money on Every Volt We Build


If it was high volume AND their per unit loss was minimal AND was noticeably helping them with their CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) numbers - then maybe.
But at about 1% of total GM units sold - the Volt is not even putting a dent in those numbers.
 
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Maybe all of the car companies are approaching hybrids from the wrong angle.
They started small! All of the existing "finished" hybrid technology is BIG, ships and trains.
Several car companies are looking into in wheel motors for their hybrids.
Turn Your Car Into a Plug-In Hybrid for $3,000 | Autopia | Wired.com
Maybe a 4 wheel drive pickup truck, designed for towing would make a better hybrid.
The in wheel motors provide full horsepower traction from a dead stop,
and there is more room for mileage improvement.
Imagine a 40 mpg 4 wheel drive 1 ton pickup. This is something that might sell,
and the price point is already around $40K.
The technology is already there, it just needs to be scaled down, but only to truck size.
 
The sad thing about the Volt is that it doesn't suck, it simply had too much hype. It's kinda like a movie that everyone tells is the greatest thing ever, so you go into it with unrealistically high expectations.
 
DA60 said:
And in April, sales decreased dramatically - a 30% drop.
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And those April sales were still three times better than April sales last year....
 
KevinKohler said:
The sad thing about the Volt is that it doesn't suck, it simply had too much hype. It's kinda like a movie that everyone tells is the greatest thing ever, so you go into it with unrealistically high expectations.
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I think the sad thing about the Volt is it's price - 40K.

If it were 20-25K, it would probably sell well.

40K - no chance.
 
DA60 said:
I think the sad thing about the Volt is it's price - 40K.

If it were 20-25K, it would probably sell well.

40K - no chance.
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True ... but the price won't come down until volume goes up.
 
DA60 said:
I think the sad thing about the Volt is it's price - 40K.

If it were 20-25K, it would probably sell well.

40K - no chance.
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too bad they cost like $250,000 each to make... (but I guess that's when you add R&D costs, and government subsidies... not just pure manufacturing costs)
 
AdamT said:
And those April sales were still three times better than April sales last year....
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'General Motors admitted Thursday that it won't sell the 10,000 Chevrolet Volts that it had hoped to sell in 2011, and said that it would buy the plug-in electric car back from any customer fearful about its safety.
Until now, GM (GM, Fortune 500) has stood by its goal of selling 10,000 Volts by the end of the year -- even as sales lagged. But when GM reported its November sales, an executive admitted that the goal is now out of reach.

"We're not at all disappointed," said Don Johnson, GM's vice president of sales operations. "We'll hit it early next year."
By the end of November, Chevrolet dealers had sold a total of 6,100 Volts. Of those, 1,100 were sold in November, about the same as the month before.
GM executives said on the company's conference call that Volt sales have been constrained not by lack of demand, but by lack of supply.
Volt sales had slowed to a trickle during the summer months as GM temporarily shut down the Detroit factory where the car is built. The month-long shut-down allowed GM to revamp the factory in order to boost the car's production volume.'

Chevy Volt misses 2011 sales goal - Dec. 1, 2011


Plus - only a limited number of dealers sold the car last year. Of course sales were going to dramatically rise this year. GM COULD NOT sell even close to 20,000 units last year no matter how many people wanted them.


But sales still dropped by over 30% in April.

And though they recovered come in May and June - they are still selling over 20% less then March.

http://www.mlive.com/auto/index.ssf/2012/07/gm_chevrolet_volt_sales_in_201.html


And the really pathetic thing is that even at that ridiculous 40K price - GM is still losing money on every one.

Whereas Toyota sells Prius's at almost half that (and the cheapest Prius at less then half).

http://www.toyota.com/

At 40K, the Volt is a dud...period.
 
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Lord Tammerlain said:
If 50% are buying Ford because Ford was not bailed out, it speaks poorly for Ford

If people are only buying your product because they dont want your competitors for political reasons, your product must not be very good
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Then again if both offer good cars, and I don't think anyone can say that GM's offerings are any better, then it really doesn't make any kind of statement. My family has been buying Ford products for years and have no complaints. It is not much of the compromise.
 
The Prof said:
GM suspending Chevrolet Volt output due to slow sales

the obamamobile, what a pig

volt stopped production for 5 weeks in march, as well

no wonder govt motors yesterday declared that it didn't want to be seen with him

GM shuns political poster child role, bans candidate visits until after Election Day | General Motors news | Detroit Free Press | freep.com

who thinks gm is telling romney to stay away?

or ryan?

because, afterall, as the vp for global public affairs put it yesterday---even republicans and independents buy cars

what good is it if 50% of consumers decide for ford simply because of the politics, asks mr ewanik

auto rescue, anyone?
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Sixty four billion dollars was a lot to pay to have yet another plug in hybrid on the market and to continue the plush benefits and salaries for union members.

The Volt isn't a bad car, but no one to speak of is buying any of the hybrids or plug in hybrids. They still represent less than 3% of the market, and that's divided up between about 36 different hybrid models.
 
LowDown said:
Sixty four billion dollars was a lot to pay to have yet another plug in hybrid on the market and to continue the plush benefits and salaries for union members.

The Volt isn't a bad car, but no one to speak of is buying any of the hybrids or plug in hybrids. They still represent less than 3% of the market, and that's divided up between about 36 different hybrid models.
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Additionally:

'A study by a Michigan-based research firm Polk found that only 35 percent of hybrid-owners choose to purchase another hybrid. Even worse, if you remove the Toyota Prius, the most popular hybrid from the mix, commitment to hybrids drops to 25 percent. This means that a whopping 75 percent of non-Prius hybrid customers chose to ditch the hybrid – and this is for the greenest of green consumers, mind you.'

More People Are Buying Hybrid Cars. So Why Won't They Stick With Them? - Forbes


Not even most hybrid owners like hybrids (apparently).
 
"GM says the fleet sales were to corporate buyers and not to rental companies. The number of Volts sold to townships receiving federal grants remains unknown. The corporate sales claim makes sense as crony company, General Electric, starts to make good on its promise to buy thousands of Volts. Of course, GE benefits by selling charging stations for the vehicles."

"an interesting statistic was revealed on GM's sales conference call. Government purchases of GM vehicles rose 32% from last year."

Chevy Volt Fleet Sales Rise, Government GM Purchases Increase
 
DA60 said:
Additionally:

'A study by a Michigan-based research firm Polk found that only 35 percent of hybrid-owners choose to purchase another hybrid. Even worse, if you remove the Toyota Prius, the most popular hybrid from the mix, commitment to hybrids drops to 25 percent. This means that a whopping 75 percent of non-Prius hybrid customers chose to ditch the hybrid – and this is for the greenest of green consumers, mind you.'

More People Are Buying Hybrid Cars. So Why Won't They Stick With Them? - Forbes

Not even most hybrid owners like hybrids (apparently).
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That hardly tells us anything. In 2012, Ford had the most loyal of ALL car buyers of ANY kind of car at 46% retention.
Ford may be reporting impressive, but lower earnings today because of trouble in Europe, but here's some good news for the Blue Oval: Seven out of the 10 models that engender the most brand loyalty in the U.S. are Fords, new research from Experian Automotive said.
[...]
Overall, Ford owners were 46% loyal to the brand. Toyota was second as an overall brand.
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Ford has 7 of 10 models tops for owner loyalty

That's the top. The very pinnacle of loyalty in car buyers. At the bottom in 2011, things were much worse.
The least brand-loyal were found to sports car owners, with just 21 percent buying another equally racy model, and those driving mid-range SUVs – a segment that been steadily losing traction to car-based crossovers in recent years – at 21 percent.
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Cars With The Most Brand-Loyal Buyers - Forbes

So if we apply your logic, then auto makers should probably stop building sports cars, right? I mean, they commonly only seat two (not 5), and cost waaay more than 40K. Add to it, loyalty for sports cars is very low. Apparently, sports cars are duds, right?
 
EagleAye said:
That hardly tells us anything. In 2012, Ford had the most loyal of ALL car buyers of ANY kind of car at 46% retention.

Ford has 7 of 10 models tops for owner loyalty

That's the top. The very pinnacle of loyalty in car buyers. At the bottom in 2011, things were much worse.

Cars With The Most Brand-Loyal Buyers - Forbes

So if we apply your logic, then auto makers should probably stop building sports cars, right? I mean, they commonly only seat two (not 5), and cost waaay more than 40K. Add to it, loyalty for sports cars is very low. Apparently, sports cars are duds, right?
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Your numbers are skewed. The Ford loyalty number of 46% is the number of current Ford owners who would repurchase a Ford. The hybrid number of 25% is the number of other than Prius owners that would repurchase a hybrid of any make. A direct comparison would be Ford owners who would not repurchase a gasoline powered vehicle.

The sports car analagy is a different animal. There is always a market for a niche item, be it a high grade kitchen appliance or a a vehicle. As long as the item can be produced in a sufficient quantity and with a price agreeable to the typical consumer of that vehicle, and all this can be done at without subsidies, than the vehicle will succeed. The direct comparison here is sports car vs sports car, and some will fail, some will succeed.
 
EagleAye said:
That hardly tells us anything.
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It tells us that most hybrid owners (in this survey) don't like hybrids.

Which was my point.

Almost 2/3'rd's of hybrid owners in this survey are not just saying they won't purchase the same hybrid they own again...they are saying they won't purchase ANY hybrid again.
 
lpast said:
For all the reasons you mentioned is why GM made the volt a hybrid and not a full electric. Full electrics CANT do what you want them to do now, no matter who builds them..until they can increase battery life and distance and decrease the weight. They have made big strides in batteries and they are working feverishly to improve battery power and decrease the weight and charge times. Until they get that technology full electric cars are going nowhere and hybrids will be king.

To prove that point the Prius is a HUGELY popular car and outsells most cars in its class...its a hybrid but you can buy a version for 20k...if the volt was under 25k it may very well have been somewhat of a success...it was just too damn expensive for the average american. It was in lexus country
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First rule of sales, don't lie. Calling the Volt an electric was an outright lie and I would say consumers reacted in kind to that, secondly, hybrids have their market, but the Prius isn't the star that people say it is, though it isn't a bust for Toyota either. I'm not a fan of hybrids because their maintenence costs are a gigantic timebomb, in ten years when the battery goes the car is totaled because that's 10K, then there's the brake system that has a friction recharge, because of the extra sensors and gear that can't be cheap. etc.
 
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