Ready to launch? 4,351 plug-ins delivered so far

Between the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf, delivers in 6 months plus are just over 4,000 total plug-in vehicles. If this trend continues, being first could ultimatley feel more like being last.

Plug-ins 2011: Oversold, undelivered

Volt and Leaf launches more about marketing than sales

“If you ain’t first, you’re last.” While that line was silly in the movie Talladega Nights, it can ring true in the world of marketing, at least sometimes. Chasing “first”, for example, certainly didn’t turn out well during the Internet Bubble for most companies.

Regardless, back in late 2010, Nissan and GM rushed to be the first automakers to deliver the first mass-produced plug-in vehicles. Yet, more than half a year later, it’s still not clear whether either automaker has really delivered.

According to the latest reports, combined deliveries for the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf are 4,351 vehicles, with the Volt barely leading the way at 2,184 deliveries.

Is this acceptable?

Certainly, some bugs were to be expected when launching the kinds of next gen technologies found in the Volt and the Leaf, but were both plug-in vehicles over-promised and under-delivered?

It’s probably a little too early to make that call just yet. Still, it seems clear that neither vehicle was really ready for launch. Both probably should have been 2012 launches. Of course, then neither might have been first. Nevertheless, if deliveries for both vehicles can get back on track in the next few months – something both GM and Nissan are promising – then these delivery failures shouldn’t result in any long term collateral damage.

If, however, problems linger into next year, being first might feel more like being last.

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