Last week, we discovered that the Chevy Volt has been outselling the Nissan Leaf by a wide, wide margin. Since then, I realized that the true measure of the Volt shouldn’t be the actual sales number, but rather the percent change of sales year-over-year.
For groundbreaking products such as the Volt, the actual sales volume is of secondary importance to the growth of sales, vehicle improvements, and overall customer satisfaction. And if you look at all three of these aspects, the Volt is winning on all fronts.
Customer Satisfaction
It’s no secret that Volt owners are especially happy with their vehicles. Need proof? Just ask any Volt owner how they like their Bow Tie-wielding EREV. Granted, the current crop of Volt buyers are very educated about the vehicle and are its most ardent patrons. Still, Volt customer satisfaction is high and the vehicle is conquesting customers from other brands at an astounding rate. In fact, one could call it the Apple of vehicles, if you will.
Continuous Improvements
Not only is Volt customer satisfaction high, but The General is making consistent improvements to the vehicle. For instance, the 2013 Volt has a three mile greater all-electric range on a single charge vs. the 2012 model. In addition, the 2013 Volt’s MPGe rating increased from 94 miles to 98 miles, for a total range of 380 miles.
Plus, certain EV-related developments within GM may result in significant increases in the electric prowess of the Volt in the not-too-distant future. In other words, the Volt is already a good product that’s even better for 2013. And it will only get better with time.
Sales Growth
Perhaps the most important measure of the success of a new type of vehicle such as the Volt is the rate at which sales grow. General Motors originally projected sales of 10,000 Volts for 2011 and 45,000 for 2012. The automaker fell short last year (by 2,400 units) and will likely not hit its 2012 target, either.
But let’s say the Volt ends up selling 20,000 units in 2012; that would by no means be a fantastic sales turnout, especially when GM has other nameplates that sell more than that in a single month! But that is still a 2.5x increase of last year’s sales figures — which is the truly encouraging part here.
After all, 2012 is the Volt’s second year ever on the market and the car is in a class of its own when it comes to the automotive market at large. Add to that the fact that the Prius sold about 15,000 units during its second year in the U.S. makes the Volt’s sales results thus far that much more of a positive, rather than a negative.
Comments
All I know is that I’m seeing more and more of them.
The real measure of a man is his integrity.
We should measure GM and it’s Volt by their integrity. In other words, will GM put their money where there mouths are and make non-ELR price range EREV/PHEV/EVs for the common, mainstream consumer at prices they can afford?
Volt’s sales won’t meet early sales predictions because it’s a proof-of-concept vehicle. It never really could be slated as a mass-production machine. GM began speaking of it routinely as a halo vehicle – one that draws customer traffic into dealerships wherein the sales staff point them towards an affordable Eco Cruze or Malibu. In it’s halo form, the current Volt outsells Spark and Corvette ( at least so far ) on a monthly basis – and at a price of $36-38,000 ( after $7500 gov. kickback, and some state incentives – $2500 in CA and HOV accessiblity ). $40k is not a price point the common Joe wants to spend, no matter how much gas he will save. Since the $7500 government rebate is not a point-of-purchase deal, and one has to PAY at least $7500 in income taxes before one is eligible for that much EV return – many are just priced out of the situation.
JB Straubel, Chief Technology Officer at Tesla Motors says the end goal of their company is a $30,000 EV with over 200 mile range for the mainstream by late 2015. With a 7-8% increase in battery range, weight and efficiency each year of late – this goal seems achievable. We can expect GM to hit a home run with 2nd generation Volt. Remember Toyota lost it’s shirt on R&D costs and bled money on each low volume 1st gen Prius sold. It was the 2004 2nd gen Prius that hit it out of the park and made Prius the world’s 3rd highest selling model line.
Volt customer surveys have shown that buyers want more range and lower price – in that order. This would suggest a successful EREV or PHEV for GM would be more than one model – one with less range ( smaller, cheaper battery ) and a more attractive price, and one with 50-60 miles EV range and the present pricepoint.
If Volt gen II is a winner like Prius was – look for a very rosey future for us all, free of Arab and S. American oil oppression. If GM fails to deliver an EREV/PHEV we want – it will most certainly be curtains for Volt and Voltec. Remember Bob Lutz is working for VIA motors – putting Voltec-like tech in $59,000-$79,000 fullsized Chevy trucks and vans. You and I are not going to buy an eighty thousand dollar truck. It all revolves around getting Volt down to earth a bit more.
Ford is introducing it’s shot at Volt and Prius hybrids and Plug-In-Prius in a couple months. Fusion Energi and C-Max Energi’s price will tell us a lot about what the future holds. Ford used a smaller battery and EV range, but boasts 500 mile total range as their angle. We’ll see how that plays with the public and watch those sales numbers.
I’ve seen a few Volts in my state now also, and it’s encouraging they are selling – if not at the volumes GM envisioned it would in it’s first iteration.
Yes James, you get what you pay for. There are many cars that cost $40K. But why not buy a $40K car that additionally is more fun to drive than a gas car and also let’s you drive without using gasoline.
I have driven 18,000 miles using only 55 gallons of gas since I got my Volt.
I drive 98% of the time on my battery charged with my home’s cheap electricity.
You can’t really compare a Volt to any other car on the road as it is a one of a kind marvel. To live with the Volt is to know. The rest are just guessing.