Will the Chevy Volt change GM?
Too many questions?Since the debut of the Chevy Volt, I've gone from huge advocate to critic. It's not that I've given up on the Volt. If the battery is going to power the future of the automobile, then the Volt is critically important to GM's future.
Still, the Volt's game-changing potential will not be realized for at least a decade. Even then, any number of technological breakthroughs could quickly marginalize the importance of the Volt.
On the other hand, for the next 10 years, minimally, Toyota Prius sales will dwarf Volt sales. Likewise, with Prius-derivatives and other upcoming hybrid cars, Toyota might be selling 1 million hybrids per year as GM sells 50,000 Volts per year.
Ultimately, the Volt isn't a game changing vehicle for most Americans. Even according to Bob Lutz, it's only a vehicle for the 5 percent of Americans that are willing to pay a good chunk of extra cash to help the environment or to fight foreign oil dependence.
Of course, the same could be said of the Prius. However, the Prius will be a cash cow in the next decade. So, perhaps the same future awaits the Volt.
Until then, the Volt's game-changing abilities will be limited to perception. That alone could make the Volt an asset. Still, wouldn't a few cars on the government's Most Fuel Efficient list be even more game-changing?
posted by Dahcredyns at
8:49 AM
4 Comments:
take the Volt out of the picture and ask what is left in terms of GM strategy for the future.
I'm not saying they don't have one.
I just don't know what it is.
Bonus Question: If the Volt is acknowledged to be not a game-changer - then what is it's purpose?
GM's future could be flex fuels, fuel cells, better gas engines via HCCI technologies, their BAS and dual mode hybrid powertrains, smaller cars like the Chevy Cruze, for instance.
in my opinion the volt is not a game changer, nor is any current or upcoming EV.
perhaps the volt can evolve into a game changer, but that will take time. in that time many innovations are possible that could change everything.
the game is changing. automakers have to develop new cars to play this new game. the volt is one of GM's cards in the battery game, as is their dual mode plug-in hybrid powertrain.
ultimately, i think it possible that the biggest innovations won't even come from the automakers, maybe not even the battery producers, but from innovative game changing business models.
Indigo incarnates
I think the Cruz is going to help GM out more than the Volt. If you take long drives on a regular basis, the Cruz will get better gas mileage than the Volt too.
Without doubt, in the short term - at least the next decade - the cruze will offer much more.
Post a Comment
<< Home