“We want to stay sharply focused on technology. We don’t want to be caught flat-footed as we were in 2008,” Akerson told analysts at Deutsche Bank’s Auto Industry Conference in Detroit on January 11th.
The company originally wanted to roll out 10,000 Volts this year and 60,000 in 2012. However, it now plans to surpass these figures with 25,000 units this year and is in talks with suppliers to further increase the output for 2012. The plan is heavily-dependent on the availability of parts, if the outsourced parts necessary to build more Volts can't be supplied, this strategy will have to be dropped.
The increased output should allow GM to reduce the cost of the Volt’s drivetrain and battery systems, thus lowering prices for customers in future years. In addition to the Volt itself, Chevrolet is also considering the possibilities of applying the car's drivetrain to a range of additional models from different GM brands.
“The only way they will get cost down is with more production. They are in a race to get costs down concurrent with selling 200,000 Volts,” said Jim Hall, principal of 2953 Analytics Inc., an automotive consulting firm in Birmingham, Michigan.
Reportedly, GM might announce this production increase in the coming week at the Washington Auto Show.
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