Chevy Volt Bounces Back in August, Stocks Hit 1,361 Units

In July, Chevrolet’s vision of a greener future looked like it was in deep trouble, with just 125 being delivered, way below the carmaker’s expectations. Yet company execs have stated that this is due to lack of supply not of demand, and the most recent sales data might prove them right.

In August, deliveries of the Chevrolet Volt hit a total of 302 units, still not that impressive but a notable improvement. According to Ward Auto, stocks of the plug-in electric vehicles have now hit 1,361 units, up considerably from 226 at the end of July.

Off these, 700 to 800 will be used for demonstration purposes, as dealers across the nation need a way to get the green point across to their customers. As a consequence, the stockpiles can still be considered to be low, so sales can’t be expected to skyrocket any time soon.

“It will affect retail stock. It’s going to take us a month or two to really fill up the retail inventory for those dealers,” Don Johnson, GM’s U.S. sales chief reportedly said, according to the aforementioned source.

The company top executive says that adequate stocks will only be reached at the end around the second quarter of 2012. The automaker originally planed to produce 16,000 units this year, but only 3,172 Volts have reached their intended owners so far.

“It’s a magnet at grass-root events and displays. It’s a bit early to draw any conclusions,” concludes Alan Batey, head of U.S. sales for Chevrolet.