GM lets dealers sell demo Chevy Volts to meet 2011 sale’s targets
10,000 Volt sales in 2011 should happen
Good news for Volt buyers, but a few questions about production capabilities
GM just made 4,100 Chevy Volt plug-ins available for sale today, according to the AutomotiveNews, by enabling GM dealerships to sell their demo models — something GM dealerships couldn’t do before today. Combined with another 1,100 Volts on their way to dealerships, GM should now be able to meet their 10,000 2011 Volt sale’s goals.
While that’s great news for Volt buyers, why was it so hard for GM to meet its goals?
Let’s be honest, the Volt is drawing customers into GM dealerships. Sure, most of them are buying something other than a Volt, such as a Chevy Cruze, but they are at least buying a GM vehicle, and that halo effect was one of the main reasons for the Volt in the first place, at least in the interim. Now, however, many dealerships won’t have a Volt to display, at least until the end of January, when GM is requiring that dealerships replace their demo models.
So, will that mean limited Volt supplies in early 2012, or will it mean that GM hits its January target of 5,000 Volts produced per month — perhaps even ramping up significantly sometime in December?
Ultimately, I don’t really care whether GM hits its 2011 targets or not. It’s an interesting benchmark, but 2012 sale’s targets — 45,000 sales in the US alone — is a far more interesting metric at this point in time, at least in my opinion.
Anyway, it seems GM is either playing a PR game in an attempt to meet its 2011 Volt sale’s goals — and considering their sluggish stock whom can blame them — or its a strong indicator that Volt production is ready to ramp up to around 5,000 units per month by December or January — inline with their 2012 Volt sale’s goals.
Like I said………
Those naysayers who think nobody is buying the Volt, are not going to change their mind just because Chevy sold 10,000 this year.
Thanks for making my point so quickly KP.
Lets be real honest – I don’t think the Volt is drawing too many people anywhere. Even with a low supply, they still can’t sell them. They’d draw more people if they did a Prius NUMMI project and produced a Chevy version of it. It would be a better vehicle and more affordable than the Volt. But, alas, they shuttered that plant/project.
Dahc,
I guess GM is just tired of all the nay sayers who were making a big deal out GM not being able to sell 10,000 Volts this year, and counting all the demo Volts sitting on lots as unsold vehicles that nobody wanted.
I think GM is wasting their time though. The nay sayers will simply find something else wrong with the Volt. Even If they sell 10,000 this year, they will still not be satisfied……
[...] sell demo Chevy Volts to meet 2011 sale?s targets Posted on November 7, 2011 by administrator Good news for Volt buyers, but a few questions about production capabilities GM just made 4,100 Chev… This entry was posted in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink. ← Official: Lotus [...]
[...] GM lets dealers sell demo Chevy Volts to meet 2011 sale’s targets for more. Category: autos Tags: chevy [...]