Photo: GM
It’s kind of hard to determine how well the Chevrolet Volt is sitting on the US market right now. We don’t have market data that shows the effect of the government investigation into a potential fire risk, but November’s figures suggest GM’s extended-range EV is doing better than before.
Ever since its launch, we’ve heard every possible production figure - from 35,000 to 120,000 units, but the demand doesn’t look to be there. GM has only managed to shift 6,142 Volts for the year to date, which is way below what they originally estimated. The sales target of 10,000 to 12,000 will clearly be missed, and December is sure to be marked by the battery fire woes of customers.
However, supply won’t be an issue next year, because GM CEO Dan Akerson has told Detroit Free Press they will be making 60,000 units next year in the following statement: “We want to ramp Volt production to roughly 60,000 in 2012. I think Prius in its second year did a lot less than that, half. By this summer we will (be in) what I call the second generation, where we will achieve certain scale, and we should see an appreciable drop in the cost of the production of the Volt.”
However, supply won’t be an issue next year, because GM CEO Dan Akerson has told Detroit Free Press they will be making 60,000 units next year in the following statement: “We want to ramp Volt production to roughly 60,000 in 2012. I think Prius in its second year did a lot less than that, half. By this summer we will (be in) what I call the second generation, where we will achieve certain scale, and we should see an appreciable drop in the cost of the production of the Volt.”
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