Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

CHEVY VOLT SALES PLUNGE 32% IN OCTOBER

by MIKE FLYNN 1 Nov 2013, 9:28 AM PDT 58 POST A COMMENT

On Friday, General Motors reported its monthly sales figures for October. Overall the auto company said it sold 33,000 more cars this October, compared to the month last year. Overall sales increased just over 15%, beating Wall Street expectations. Tucked into its sales figures, however, was a staggering 32% drop in sales of the company's iconic Chevy Volt. The company sold just over 2,000 Volts in October. Last October, the company sold almost 3,000.

Overall, sales of the Volt are down 3% for the year so far. This comes as GM has increased its total car sales by just over 9% for the year. The Volt, which has played a central role in the company's rebranding since its government takeover, is badly trailing the rest of the automaker's fleet. The sales disappointment comes even as the company offers special leasing terms and zero-downpayment for the Volt.

Despite nearly constant media promotion, there simply is little mass market demand for electric vehicles. Even if a consumer were shopping for an electric vehicle as an extra car, several battery fires in Volt vehicles doesn't do much to recommend the car.

Consumers don't like their luxury or vanity products spontaneously combusting.

bagwell

link to this idiot?

bullshti bullshti bullshti

gasoline prices have nose-dived, down to 2.57 in my area!!!!!! if gas was $5/gallon again, sales will pick up.
...and I've heard about zero Volt fires...damn....haters gonna hate.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Governm...ales-Plunge-32

mmarshall

No. With a Volt, gas prices generally make little difference, especially if you plug it in each night and limit daily round-trips to less than 40 miles. That's because the gas engine will run very little....only the extreme minimum that the engineers program into it to keep the engine parts lubricated, the oil/coolant warm, and the engine/fuel-system from deteriorating from disuse. For short trips, it is, in effect, almost a totally-electric car.

Well, call me a hater if you want, but I told you guys, when I first reviewed a Volt, that, even with tax-credits, not only was it significantly overpriced (especially with dealer-markups), but that, IMO, it was also an ergonomic disaster in the dash/console area. It sold in moderate numbers for while (still not very well), because of its novelty, press-hype, and a desire of some people to one-up the Prius next door. But now, the chickens have come home to roost....people are now looking at this car with clearer, more objective eyes, even after GM's recent price-decrease on it, and passing it up.

bagwell

Mike, what I'm saying is higher gas prices ALWAYS cause EV and hybrid sales to spike.

mmarshall

To an extent, yes. But the point I was making was that the Volt, Prius Plug-In, and C-Max Energi are not typical hybrids in that sense, but, plugged in and driven moderately, are essentially electric cars, with only very minimal gas-use at most. People who buy these vehicles (even though they aren't cheap) aren't likely to be concerned if gas is $5 a gallon or like, in your area, it is half of that. They are likely to make their buying-decision based on other factors. In fact, a number of opinion surveys have found that more hybrid buyers actually do it to make an environmental/low-emission statement than for gas-mileage.

IS350jet

I guess to own one is to love one because the surveys are in, and the Volt retains one of the highest customer satisfaction ratings of any car built today.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/In...n-survey-again

mmarshall

Sure. Owners like the fact that they can plug it in each night, and, if not going long distances the next day, treat it pretty much like an all-electric car...that's no secret. But, even with tax-credits, one pays for that privliledge (IMO, more than the car is worth), though GM's recent price-drop took at least some of the sting out the sticker-shock and dealer-markups. And, IMO, one must put up with poorly-done ergonomics with the dash, console, and shift-lever.

LexFather

One month does not make a trend. People love to bash electric/hybrid alternative fuel cars....

mmarshall

Simply pointing to one or two of them (Volt, Prius Plug-in) like I did, and stating the opinion that they are overpriced and/or have a couple of ergonomic problems is not what I would call bashing. For every car I review, I print a list of PLUSSES and MINUSES, as I see them. There is no such thing as a perfect car, and never will be.

gengar

What's so staggering about the sales drop is that Chevy just slashed the MSRP by $5000 two months ago. This is on top of the existing $7500 federal tax credit and additional tax credits in certain states. All this shows how little consumer demand there actually is for this car, and how much sales figures were propped up by fleet sales (especially to the government). This is just proving to be a disaster for American taxpayers.

I have no problem with EVs and hybrids. What I have a problem with is government destroying society's wealth by forcing taxpayers to subsidize consumption of undesirable products. The Volt is the perfect example of this type of wealth destruction.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

great post.

i believe tesla is selling about 1000 vehicles a month. there's so much hoopla about them you'd think they were selling like camrys. the volt and leaf have sold like the plague.

the prius has done well due to its 'uniqueness', strong fuel economy, and relative space efficiency, and the fact that most people have poor math skills.

mmarshall

Demand for the Volt has also been tempered by the introduction of the competing Toyota Prius Plug-in and Ford C-Max Energi models. Both of them, like the Volt, are essentially pure-electrics, with only minimal gas-engine use if kept to short trips and recharged regularly. And, though both are priced higher than I myself think they are worth, neither one was as anywhere near as overpriced as the Volt was its introduction. Back then, Volts started at 41K, usually had 3-5K worth of options on them, and then, on top of that, another 3-5 K in dealer-added markups (pure profit). So, for sales-purposes, you had essentially a 50K car that, even with the $7500 tax-credit, still cost 42-43K out the door...outrageous, IMO, for a Cruze-platform compact with some advanced electronics. The recent price drop, of course, helps, but, even so, with the usual load of options, and the same tax credit, still probably means out the door in the upper-30s-range....unless the dealership is willing to discount, or at least remove some or all of the mark-ups.

And they wonder why this car isn't selling?

mmarshall

They are beginning to sell in the D.C. area....I see them occasionally see them on the road. Many people in this area, of course, have the high incomes for a car like the Model S, and the commuting nature of the area (and its mass-transit) tends to limit the length of daily-trips, which is ideal for pure-electric cars. Of course, pure-electrics like the Tesla aren't suitable for those who commute really long distances......and we have plenty of them in this area, too, due to its massive local economy.

The space-efficiency arguement, though, particularly with the Prius-V wagon, has been muted a little with the recent introduction of the regular hybrid Ford C-Max and C-Max Energi...both of which are somewhat roomier inside than Priuses. The C-Max, though, has been hurt by questionable MPG claims and (some) reliability issues,

dc893

Why would anybody ever want to be seen in something as ugly as a volt? How about make an electric car that actually looks half decent?