The 2016 Chevrolet Volt (aka Volt 2.0) is almost ready to hit the streets, but we would be lying if Volt sales have been far lower than what General Motors would like, despite the accolades and abilities. In that sense, what would it take for the Volt to really become a sales success?
According to Green Car Reports, the 2016 Chevrolet Volt hitting 50,000 units may not be a far-off possibility. How so? They tracked sales for the Toyota Prius from its debut in the American market to five years later. Initial sales were slow, but by its fourth year, the Prius hit about 25,000 units; come the Prius’ fifth year and it hit 50,000 units. In comparison, the Volt is currently in its fourth year and is estimated to hit about 25,000 − just like the Prius. Based on that, and the fact that the 2016 Chevrolet Volt is expected to have a significantly lower MSRP, 50,000 units seems plausible.
Currently the Volt and the Prius are two very different cars with different price points, not to mention the market conditions were much different when the Prius began to gain traction. Right now, the price of fuel is relatively cheap, which reduces the per-mile cost advantage that the 2016 Chevrolet Volt may have. Or any high-efficiency vehicle, for that matter.
The all-new 2016 Chevrolet Volt will be introduced in January at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, with sales beginning in the second half of 2015.
Comments
I truly have so much faith in the Volt and cannot imagine the 2016 letting us down. The Spark EV is a beautiful thing but Volt is the key to hybrid success… what range anxiety?!! 😉
It all comes down to proper marketing. That was their greatest failure on the present car. After the first year of a media blitz on technology you heard little.
Also the price of oil and gas will play a big part. If oil is down they will need to be prepared to sell more trucks. If oil is back up then the market will be prime for the Volt.
They also need to really focus this car in areas where the eviro people are in greatest density. While it does ok here in Ohio they still need to focus in places like California.
I hope all goes well but GM’s greatest failure post Chapter 11 has been marketing from the Volt to Cadillac.
Scott3:
I agree with you on all points (especially on GM’s lackluster performance in regard to marketing, advertising and story-telling about the Volt…) they needed to hit this hard to counter all the falsehoods that came out from the “yellow journalism” sources.)
And yes, I agree that “enviro-people” are probably prime candidates as targets, but let’s not discount “regular folks”… We need to get through some very thick skulls out here in the sticks. I’m on my second Volt. The first one (a 2012) took me 27,000 miles and used 42 gallons in the 27 months I owned it, committing between two ranches here in Texas (not exactly an “enviro-state” but the leader in the USA for wind turbines) and my first Volt demonstrated that an EV can work probably even better for “country people’ than it does for “city-slickers.” I have no rush-hour traffic to contend with, just a lonely country road with a few coyotes, rattle snakes and about three stop signs on my 45 mile daily commute, so in essence, I’m able to get greater efficiency out here in the boon docks (without really trying very hard) than Volt drivers who contend with stop and go traffic.
This car works so well for me, that I’m now driving a 2015 that works even better than the 2012 did… and few “country bumpkins” understand this and I can’t understand why. Running both Volts mainly on a charge from either of my two locations is like “deja-vous all over again” when in 1970 when I was a senior in high school, about $4 with of gasoline got my 1970 Camaro down the road about 100 miles (when gasoline was 37 cents per gallon) and fast forward 44 years later, I’m driving my Volt about 100 miles down the road for about the same cost.
I think if GM could tap into the mentality that some of us have who lean to the right, that driving a Volt is also patriotic, it would bolster sales and marketing efforts. We’ve pretty much already won the hearts and minds of “enviro-people” now lets go after the ones we haven’t won over.
I drive a Volt to lessen my consumption of “jihad-juice” and now that we see in the news that the terrorist group known as ISIS is making up to $200 million per month selling black-market crude oil to finance their terrorist actions and their war, I feel even better that my first Volt went 27,000 miles and only needed 42 gallons of jihad-juice. (GM needs to hire Jeff Foxworthy and Jeff Gordon for marketing and make this car ALSO appeal to red necks… not just “enviro-people” who are already embracing this technology… It is the thick-skulled people out here in the sticks that we need to win over as well.
SUVs are hot and sell. Why not make one…mid-size and not the Equinox or Traverse… start from scratch with a new design and make an SUV just for volt technology. Trailblazer comes to mind.
I am so sick of GM, Cadillac and Chevy having the same cars with different emblems and trim.. it is a joke.
I would love an SUV with volt technology… GM needs to wake up
Well this is like the insurance commercial. It is just not how it works.
GM would like to do a CUV model with Voltechnology but they are not quite to the point where it is ready yet.
They need to get ahead more on the new Volt and get the second and third gen technology out in the new car and into production. They need to continue to drive cost down. They also need to extend the battery range more as the Volt does well but they still want it better than it is. If you do a CUV the range will drop due to the aero frontal area drag and the fact the vehicle will weigh even more.
Once they make more headway with Batteries and with new lighter platforms like the D2XX we may see one soon after that.
This a growth segment and while it will continue to grow it will be slow as new things still need to be developed and it is very expensive to do with very low if any profits while jump starting this segment. Sure GM could make a car like the Tesla and sell it for $75K-$100K but their interest has been the much tougher lower price segment for normal buyers.
I would not be surprise if they make a move to a CUV by 2020.
I think the Volt is a great idea, but that the price point makes it useless; I can get a Sonic for $15K that will get 40mpg, and it would take a long time driving a Volt for me to save enough on gas to make up for the extra $15K+ I would have to pay in order to buy one of those instead.
A “volt” powertrain in a $20K car might see mass adoption.
Your comment precisely shows the misunderstanding of the Volt that Chevy hasn’t been able to clarify. My lifetime mpg average for my leased Volt is 100 mpg. The majority of owners may do this well OR BETTER! That changes the math underlying the justification for owning a Volt, besides the fact is is a superbly engineered car. My electricity costs me about 1/4 to 1/3 (lately) of the equivalent of how far 1 gal of gas would cost me to go as far. Owners of Volts who’s commute is <= than the pure electric range is in their climate literally have averages more than 1000 mpg. That's only because the car is forced by the car's computer to burn available fuel stored in the tank after 1 year.
After owning a GEN I Volt, I have faith that GM will engineer an excellent vehicle once again with the GEN II Volt.
GM has yet to prove it can market the Volt however, so it will still have to be proven whether the Volt is a marketing success or not.