That’s a drop in the ocean when viewed in the light of total new vehicle sales in the U.S. market, which surpassed 14.5 million last year. On the other hand, that figure accounts for a three-fold increase compared to 2011.
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Among the prerequisites for Chevy dealers is an additional US$5,100 they had to pay for specialized tools needed to service the extended-range hybrid, the bulk of which, US$4,735, accounts for a battery de-powering tool. This is needed to drain the battery and remove sections of it, rather than the whole pack, and send them back to GM for repair.
It may not seem important but it was big enough of a deal for some dealers to stop carrying the Volt.
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Then came November: one way to look at it is that Volt sales rose by 33 percent compared to the same month in 2011. That’s small consolation, though, for GM when total sales were just 1,519 cars – that’s nearly half the number of the preceding months.
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On Wednesday, the company’s top product development executive said GM will focus on electric vehicles, and plug-in and mild hybrids instead of conventional hybrids.
“The plug-in offers a unique opportunity to change the way people commute,” Barra told the reporters attending the GM Electrification Experience in San Francisco. “Plug-based solutions will play a significant role in our technology portfolio going forward.”
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The issue was that on some cars, the electric motor for no apparent reason at all, stopped working while on the move. The advisor said that the steering and brakes of the Volt still worked, but added that if it were to occur, the driver must coast to a stop, power the car off, wait for 2-5 minutes and then power it up again.
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There’s no such thing as a free lunch, though; in the case of plug-in hybrids, you have to factor in the energy consumed to charge the battery at your home, which adds to the electricity bill.
General Motors’ OnStar service is currently testing an application that will inform Chevrolet Volt owners about the cost of charging their extended-range plug-in hybrid.
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At a first glance, the situation is improving for General Motors, as its Volt extended-range hybrid sold a record 2,800 units last month. Year-to-date Volt sales have so far reached 13,000 units, which certainly compares very well to the 7,700 cars that were sold in 2011.
For example, before the discounts, Bunnin Chevrolet in Culver City, California was selling three to five Volts per month. Last month it shifted 36 cars, mostly leases, and sales manager Chad Kelman told The Detroit News that the dealership is having a hard time keeping enough units in stock.
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However, that's not what caught our attention; this is what did and we quote Toyota's press statement:
"This sales figure represents sales momentum that has propelled the Prius Plug-in to a stronger first full six-months sales pace (6,061 units) than Chevrolet Volt Plug-in (2,745 units) and the all-electric Nissan Leaf (3,875 units)."
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In the case of the Volt, the answer is a bit complicated since it’s not your run-of-the-mill gasoline- or diesel-powered car. It’s a problem shared by every hybrid and all-electric vehicle manufacturer: the development costs, the tooling, the battery packs and the powertrain, when added up, simply make for a very high price.
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The reason is a software glitch on the OnStar communication system that affects the 2013 Chevrolet Cruze, Equinox and Volt, the Cadillac ATS, SRX and XTS, the Buick Verano plus the GMC Terrain.
GM spokesman Alan Adler said that the issue has been identified as the system failing to alert the OnStar call center in an accident that the vehicle’s airbags are not deployed, like a rear-end collision.
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In a time when Fisker is facing battery issues and the lack of money flow, the company believes a veteran in the field will bring his wealth of knowledge to help the ailing brand.
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It makes perfect sense then that it is almost non-existent in China, where its US$40K price is nearly doubled due to taxation imposed by the government on imported cars.
This is a fact that GM representatives readily acknowledge. Ray Bierzynski, the company’s head of electric vehicle strategy in China, won’t disclose any sales figure, but told Automotive News that the Volt is “a very low-volume” car.
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The Michigan-based carmaker did its math and discovered that ever since the Chevrolet Volt went on sale at the end of 2010, owners of the plug-in hybrid electric car have collectively saved a supertanker of gasoline after driving 40 million miles (64 million kilometers) on electricity and avoiding the use of more than 2.1 million gallons (8 million liters) of gasoline.
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The new promotion kicked off last Friday, March 23, and will continue through this Friday, March 30. Up until today, AutoNation Direct has sold 18 vehicles.
Some of the previous deals include a 2012 Nissan Maxima V6 for US$16,797.50 (€12,650), a 2012 Chevrolet Camaro 2LS V6 for US$12,720 (€9,605), a 2012 Ford Focus Sedan SE for US$9,842.50 (€7,430) and a 2012 Chevrolet Volt for US$22,615 (€17,080).
The company says that the vehicles will appear randomly on its site, meaning that one will have to spend hours on end refreshing AutoNation Direct's eBay store page and be faster than anyone else to grab the deal when it appears.
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In addition to the federal tax credit of up to $7,500, Colorado is now offering residents who purchase or lease a new Chevrolet Volt a state tax credit of up to $6,000 for a total price reduction of as much as $13,500.
The Volt is priced from $39,145. If you include the $13,500 federal and state tax credits, the cost drops down to $25,645 for Colorado buyers.
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GM spokesman Randal Fox told Reuters that he did not know the total number of the vehicles affected, but said it was fewer than the 11,000 or so Volts sold so far in the States. He also made a point to note that this was not a safety recall.
"It's just an effort to offer a more consistent charging experience. It's not a safety recall. It's more of a customer-satisfaction program," Fox said.
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All in all, six Ampera sedans will participate in the “Alternative Energy” version of the rally, which starts in Annecy-le-Vieux, Clermont-Ferrand and Lugano on March 22 and finishes three days later in the capital of Monaco, Monte Carlo.
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In its first three days on the market, the Prius C sold 1,201 units, with Toyota making it a point to note that it surpassed the combined sales of the Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf for the entire month of February. In other related news, our local grocery disclosed that it sold more apples in an hour than Prius C in a day.
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