The Chevrolet Volt was hailed as the new paradigm in environmentally friendly transportation. It was THE justification for the Federal government’s bailout/takeover of General Motors, which had for decades been America’s largest corporation. The first Volts rolled off the assembly line in December with GM saying they would build at least 15,000 in 2011; more if the demand warranted, and 60,000 in 2012. But consumers are staying away in droves.
Sales of the Volt in December were 326 units. Admittedly sales didn’t start until the 10th and it is only being offered in California, the New York Tri-State area, Washington DC and Texas. But, except for Texas, the celebrated Volt ought to have sold like hotcakes in those left-leaning, populous states. GM has got to be disappointed. Surely the first full month would be better with production fully ramped up, right?
Wrong. January, 2011 sales were 321 and February sales fell to 281!
What? Sales are going down? How could this be?
Well it could be that, after all the hype, the Volt is really just another hybrid. Although it was hyped as a fully electric car, it turns out that it does have a gasoline-powered engine. And it is an expensive hybrid at that, with a base sticker price over $40,000 and fully equipped prices easily going over $50,000. There is a $7,500 bailout — er — tax credit for Volt buyers, but it doesn’t seem to have opened many wallets.
True, you can charge the Volt on household current without a special charging station. There are other differences with formerly available hybrids, primarily that the 4-cylinder engine can be used to charge the battery that powers the car instead of having the gasoline engine power the car directly. But at freeway speeds it will likely just be an internal combustion engine car like all the others.
The battery-power range is a mere 25-50 miles according to GM and Consumer Reports puts it much closer to the bottom number in real-world tests.
Add that to the fact that it only seats four, requires premium gasoline and CR says it only gets 30 mpg in full gasoline mode and it’s easy to see why it isn’t selling; $50,000 is just too much. After all, my 5-passenger, 6-cylinder Toyota Avalon gets 31 on the highway.
More: http://www.forbes.com/2011/03/16/chevy-volt-ayn-rand-opinions-patrick-michaels_print.html
[…] in March I wrote about the Volt (The Miracle Car Nobody Wants) and again in September (Timing Is Everything). Then General Motors was planning to build 15,000 in […]