Chevrolet Volt Ushered In A New GM, But It’ll Continue Without It
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General Motors introduced the Chevrolet Volt as a concept in January 2007. By September 2008, it unveiled the production version. However, the Volt wouldn’t enter production until November 2010 as a 2011 model with the first model deliveries happening a month later in the U.S.
At the time when the Volt ushered in a new General Motors, its image was badly damaged from the June 2009 bankruptcy and subsequent bailout. The plug-in hybrid was supposed to be an integral part of the automaker’s future, leading the way for even more hybrid vehicles. Except Chevrolet Volt production ended last month, and the onslaught of hybrids never materialized.
It’s disheartening to see GM cease Volt production after just two generations. In 2007, Bob Lutz, then vice chairman of General Motors, pushed for the vehicle, even as internal opposition mounted. When GM filed for bankruptcy and the company was bleeding cash, Lutz continued to fight to develop the car. The Volt was supposed to revitalize the automaker, showing the world what GM is capable of in terms of engineering and forward thinking.
Things are different now, though. The Volt paved the way for the Chevrolet Bolt EV—and the automaker is invested in an all-electric future, promising 20 new electric vehicles by 2023. As Automotive News (subscription required) points out, General Motors and others will have to work hard to convince consumers that electric vehicles can match the capabilities of today’s gas-powered cars. And that could be difficult.
While the Bolt did outsell the Volt in 2017, sales have declined since. Gas is cheap right now, and, as General Motors navigates a massive restructuring, will rely on the high profits earned from trucks, SUVs, and crossovers to subsidize electric and autonomous vehicle research and development. The company plans an all-new electric Cadillac, riding on a new scalable EV architecture, to spearhead its electric efforts.
Yes, high-profit gasoline trucks and SUVs could serve as GM’s fallback plan. But, at least publicly, GM is convinced that consumers will be ready for fully electric vehicles. Yes, there are more competitors than ever dipping a toe in the EV market. But sales are still only a fraction of overall new-car sales in the U.S., and elsewhere in the world.
This is where nostalgia for the Volt comes into play. For many, it’s just another GM car with a bowtie and a funky powertrain. But underneath the glitz and glamour is a groundbreaking car. It may not have lasted decades, but it was important for General Motors—and the industry.
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Hopefully they can take what they learned and build on it quickly with future vehicles. GM doesn’t get enough credit for the engineering success of the Voltec platform and how groundbreaking it really was. It really did “just work” and it allowed GM to develop supplier relations for completely new types of parts. Hopefully the lessons learned will mean more efficient, durable, cost effective, and groundbreaking EVs from GM very soon. They can’t afford to squander their development advantages.
I think the drop in Bolt EV sales has a whole lot to do with Model 3 availability. A lot of Bolt customers were people who had pre-ordered a Model 3 but couldn’t get one because of production delays. They leased a Bolt instead. Now that Model 3s are available, there are a lot of benefits (the SuperCharger network chief among them) that cause people to spring for a Tesla instead.
The Bolt is marketed and styled as a practical, utilitarian car. I think the proportions of the Model 3 (in a similar price range now) are pretty dorky looking, but it’s being pushed as a more “upscale” car. I think all those considerations, along with the federal tax credit going away, make it increasingly difficult to sell the Bolt. Hopefully GM has a price reduction and improvements coming soon to keep it selling until they have their next-generation BEV3 architecture ready.
It should have worked, it seemed like the perfect compromise. EV range anxiety will be real for some time to come, be it due to temperature extremes, or simply because someone forgot to plug it in; the Volt wasn’t affected by that.
GMs greatest failure with the Voltec platform was their failure to expand it to the full lineup of their vehicles. If they had done this early on they could have produced in volumes sufficient to be profitable. But instead the technology was wasted and allowed to wither on the vine.
You take this and all of the back tracking GM has done with their electrification efforts and it seems a whole lot like old GM to me. I have little faith they will or can execute the strategy they have laid out.
I don’t think they wasted the opportunity. The issue is gas is cheap and their EV tax credits are running out. I think if the govenment would have changed the tax credit rule to run out for everyone at the same time I think you might have seen Volt derivatives. As it is Voltec based vehicles from GM will cost more than ICE only vehicles (no tax credit) and it could take years to recover the cost difference (two powertrains, low gas prices). Also a Voltec based vehicle would cost more than anyone else’s PHEV because GM EV tax credit is being phased out.
Tesla has shown there is a market at the upper end for EV’s. And at the higher end tax credits don’t impact the purchase price as much.
Forget the “cheap gas” reasoning. The Volt is uniquely positioned as two cars in one. An EV for many most of the time; a PHEV when the need to travel a distance occurs.
The Volt is brilliant. My commute is the American average, and my Volt does it all on electric, but is able to go on long trips with gas, and not the time-consuming recharging stops. 80% of my yearly miles are electric, but I don’t have lengthy re-charge times on longer trips! After I saw the Tesla’s warranty replacement rates for batteries and motors and got my $1500 back and kissed Tesla goodbye. I think after the panache wears off, and Tesla isn’t releasing some new toy every few weeks, to keep hype up, Tesla owners will slowly realize they overpaid and are under served (Tesla just closed its physical dealerships, for starters). Thank you Chevy, for making a meticulously engineered and manufactured car I am proud of, and trust. I’ll look forward to my next range-extended Chevy in 5-10 years, hopefully a Volt III. (Full electric is not fully viable in cold weather climates, as the range halves).
@Lion Pwr, as the original owner of a gen 1 volt with 120000 miles on it over 6 years, I can agree with you that is extraordinary car. However all it did was show me how much better the electric experience was than gas.
So I’ve been driving on all wheel drive model 3 for the last 6 months and I’m never going back. It is superior piece of engineering that unlike every other manufacturer’s vehicle on the market gets better over time. It literally improves as the firmware updates trickle out constantly.
I’m not sure why you think lower efficiency, less safe, model year locked feature sets, and no planned DC charging network makes for a superior product.. but OK. And the dealer for my Volt was like a lamprey, sucking money to stay alive. Since it was a Volt, they wouldn’t check the AC coolant levels for free. You have to do a “AC service” for $100. I knew more about my car than the dealship, excepting the Volt certified tech.
Good riddance! GM management squandered their chance to lead plain and simple. And my volt is going to my neice in highschool after the second bearing failure was repaired out of warranty… Want to know how much THAT cost? Tesla parts start to look good..
I have had a 2016 premier Volt for 2 years now. We absolutely love it. My husband and I discuss who can take it for the day or just the morning. My disbelief came from not seeing the car marketed AT ALL!! It is a different way of driving and the idea of comparing it to how fast you can fill up the tank verses charging is like comparing apples to oranges. Get with it GM and start pushing the brilliant technology that you came up with. We switched from Hondas to come back to you ….don’t make us go back to them or someone else.
I agree to the nth degree. Brilliant engineering and execution all for naught. I had no idea just how good of a car the Volt is/was until I owned one. It perfectly fits our life style and until that changes (not soon likely), I’ll keep driving it.