According to the company, almost nine of 10 customers who traded in a vehicle as part of their purchase are new to the Chevrolet brand. That's why hundreds of Volts that could be sold to individuals are tagged for dealers as demo vehicles, meant for customer exposure to the Volt and to other Chevy products they might otherwise not see.
"The Volt is clearly bringing new customers to our dealership," said Rick Alpern, general manager of Keyes Chevrolet in Van Nuys, California. "We are seeing customers who own competitive brands that have never visited a Chevy dealership before. Now they have a Chevy on their shopping list because of the Volt."
Chevrolet expects to deliver Volts in all 50 states by the end of 2011. In fact, by the end of the year, more than 2,500 U.S. dealers will receive a dedicated Volt demo.
"We know the best way to experience the Volt is to get behind the wheel and drive it," said Cristi Landy, Chevrolet marketing director. "An added bonus is that our dealers are seeing that the Volt is increasing traffic onto our dealer showroom floors and is exposing consumers to Chevys line of 'gas-friendly' vehicles, including the Cruze, Malibu and Equinox."
"It's tough to limit the number of Volts for sale to potential customers when demand is so strong, but the Volt has value to the Chevrolet portfolio well beyond incremental sales," said Landy. "Our Chevy dealers will keep their Volt demo units for six months and then they sell these units at the conclusion of the demo period."
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