The Chevrolet Volt can probably be described as one of the most forward-thinking vehicles out of Detroit since the Ford Model T, and has been an unwarranted target of ignorant pundits and their flocks since its launch. With total January-August 2012 sales numbers resting at 13,497, it’s been criticized as a “flop”.
If that’s a flop, then so is the Volkswagen CC, which has sold 13,049 vehicles in the same time frame. Or perhaps the Lexus GX, which has only sold 6,772 units from January-September. What of the Acura RL, which has sold a laughable 295 units?
The point is, the Chevrolet Volt is currently outselling 129 of the 263 some vehicles currently sold in the United States. Which frankly, makes it a very decent seller when looking at the big picture.
Comments
This means little, the Lexus GX probably has a 10k profit on each one sold and the CC is a variant of the passat. The Volt is a volume car, this list includes low volume cars with high profit margins and even supercars.
That said, the sales are far from a failure and quite decent considering the Volt has become a punching bag for the media and politics. And they are growing. The volt has a bright future for it, now if only GM could lower the cost to build one by a few thousand…
Who says the Volt is a volume car? Perhaps lofty expectations bring about that perception, but let’s be honest, the Volt and plug-in vehicles as a whole, are currently niche vehicles until the technology becomes more affordable and therefore accessible.
First, the Volt is currently not “volume” car but it is expected to be a “volume” car, and GM is rightly treating the Volt as a car that will one day sell as much as the cruze.
If the Volt never becomes a “volume” car and remains “niche” , then GM has a big problem.
I meant that the list includes alot of cars that are inherently low volume, cars that are built to be sold to only a few, and thats how their makers want them. Not so with the Volt.
It would be nice if the Volt was a volume car.
But as you said, getting a few thousand out of the MSRP would make the Volt a volume car as it would appeal to a much greater number of consumers. That, or a Volt available for $40K, but with double the range.
Although the Leaf does that for much less than $40K, but it isn’t exactly flying off the lots now is it?
The problem with the Leaf is that while its range in reality is more than enough for the average daily commute, we are too scared, “range anxiety” is just too strong for people to buy a car like the leaf right now. I am, despite not having gone further than 50 miles a day for months. And the Leaf can never be your only car. Thats why the Volt is so brilliant.
At 35k, instead of 40k, I think sales would double, at least in California, if the Volt was 35k, it would cost only 22.5K starting and come with a carpool sticker! 5k may not seem like much, but its a dealbreaker for alot of people,
Good article guys… Nutin but the facts…Real journalism…
Babersher is right on.
GM intended Volt to be a niche product – a halo to show what they can do. Originally, Bob Lutz and John Laukner imagined Volt as a better Prius – but the batteries are still just too expensive, so the Volt does a nice job as a halo product that is only approximately $10,000 from being the car that outdoes the Prius family of autos.
I think is a start of what a lot of people want these days. Save on gas but not have worry about being stuck somewhere because the batteries ran out juice. The Volt is also a good starting point for a future set of vehicles. Maybe a Volt wagon, larger car, van or maybe it is found that a smaller gas engine or diesel engine options
The Volt has clearly been the target of some unjustified, and often ignorant attacks. There is a lot of misinformation floating around about the economics of the Volt.
However, it is also clear that the Volt, at least in its first iteration, is a highly unprofitable enterprise. I have posted what seems to be the first detailed analysis of the Volt’s profitability, drawing on public data and where necessary making estimates.
Even while trying to err on the side of GM in making those estimates, I calculate a lifetime economic loss to GM shareholders of $600 million on the first generation of the Volt, including nearly $1 billion in tax credits. Excluding the subsidies, the cumulative loss triples to $1.8 billion:
http://senatorjohnblutarsky.blogspot.com/2012/10/voltonomics-detailed-analysis-of-chevy.html
First, I love Animal House. But I’m going to respond to you seriously.
Why do you single out the Chevy Volt in your blog and not vehicles like the Tesla Roadster, Fisker Karma, Nissan Leaf, Mitsubishi iMiEV, or others?
It’s not hard to see through the spin that you and others like you try to create.
Anybody who has taken Business 101 identifies the Volt as a loss leader. New products with new technology usually end up in the category. It’s just the way it is. Dig up some metrics on the first cell phones or laptops, and let me know how well their profit margins were.
Fact, products like the Volt pave the way for even more cutting-edge products, which are inherently much better, and actually profitable from technology evolved from pioneer products. The next Volt? It could very well be nearly half the price as today’s Volt, without incentives, and with twice the pure-electric range.
While I have no numbers to support this, its all theory, I be the prius was unprofitable for 7 years, all the way to 2004, when the second gen came out. I also bet that the ATS, in a pure money sense, is losing money right now till other cars that will use the Alpha platform came out (cts and camaro).
And whats the problem with the Volt being unprofitable as long as GM is still making boatloads of money. No one has a problem with the fact Amazon lost money for its first 3 years in business. Amazon is still losing tons of money on the Kindle Fire and on almost every Prime member purchase. Google initially lost money on Android. Tesla and Fisker are burning millions. Boeing lost billions and is still losing money on its much hailed revolutionary Dreamliner 787. Companies often take great products out and lose money initially but then capitalize on long term success . We should be proud GM, a company oft criticized for bean counting and being short term, is securing a future for itself.
Its just like the Prius, when my family bought it over a decade, it was laughed at, it was a failure, I was crazy for buying it, now the prius family will soon outsell the camry.
I am confident the second gen Volt will be the best car for those looking to save tons of money on gas at an affordable price. Just like the 2004 Prius.
Senator you spelled your name wrong it’s spelled John Belushi.
I know everyone talks about the Volt being a disappointment because it is “unprofitable.” However, I think if we toss out the cost for a second, it is a pretty amazing little car. It has pushed the bar much farther than I expected and I would love to own one. And you are right, Babersher, I think if they could find a way to take 5K off the price, that would get it into more hands which would lead to more sales and more profitability.
I know they build cars to make money, but that is not always the case. I think sometimes they need to put something out there that is a legitimate product, not a concept car, to show people where they are going and to increase interest in the IDEA of the new technology. I am sure they learned a lot from the EV-1 and probably lost money on it, but I bet the intel from actually having those cars in the hands of real people was worth it in the long run. All that info can be used to push forward a car like the Volt, right past those other hybrid cars that are far less complex.
I know they are coming out of a nasty financial situation and I know they need to make money. But for me, I am glad the Volt is out there on the road. I may not be ready to go hybrid just yet, but it is getting better. I put a LOT of miles on my car so range is huge for me. I can’t wait to see what comes next!
How many of these sales were to the federal, state, and local goverments?
How many Prius go to the federal, state, and local goverments? as well as companies like Google which are fleet sales?
More than the Volt to say the least.
Not sure of the number Obama bought, but GovMotors makes a profit on the ones they sell to the taxpayer, that’s for sure: http://nlpc.org/cached/embassies-facing-security-cuts-waste-money-chevy-volts.html?q=stories/2012/10/02/embassies-facing-security-cuts-waste-money-chevy-volts
That doesnt make sense. First, Obama has decided to not buy any car until hes out of office, and that includes the Volt. Second, everyone is a “taxpayer” , you, me, virtually all the 300 something million americans.
BTW, your link doesnt work.
Some people you have to take with a grain of salt. Michael doesn’t realize the site he’s on. He either meant to post this to PentagonAuthority.com or WhiteHouseAuthority.com.