Volt selling better in 2012????

[Herm]

Perhaps we'll see 'national' discounts on Volts to get their inventory numbers down, seem to recall the radio news mentioning either a 145 or 154 days of supply on hand so would expect something from GM other than simply furloughing a plant for 5 weeks ...

There is some suspicion in the GMI forum that GM is going to change something and is trying to reduce the existing supply while they switch over.. Perhaps a price drop, a new battery, or something like that..

 

[GaslessInSeattle]

Or, that higher ups in GM secretly never wanted the Volt to succeed in the first place and are gaining ground in their arguments as bad press and bad overall sales reinforce their self fulfilling prophecy.

Perhaps we'll see 'national' discounts on Volts to get their inventory numbers down, seem to recall the radio news mentioning either a 145 or 154 days of supply on hand so would expect something from GM other than simply furloughing a plant for 5 weeks ...

There is some suspicion in the GMI forum that GM is going to change something and is trying to reduce the existing supply while they switch over.. Perhaps a price drop, a new battery, or something like that..

 

[LKK]

I think the problem may be the average person has no experience with electric cars, they don't know how nice it is to drive one, nor do they have any experience to decide if an EV is right for them. Combine this with the fact that current EVs are a bit pricy, it's no surprise that initial sales are slow. I believe in time the public will discover the inherent advantages of the EV over ordinary ICE powered cars, and when that time arrives EV sales will takeoff.

 

[GRA]

I think the problem may be the average person has no experience with electric cars, they don't know how nice it is to drive one, nor do they have any experience to decide if an EV is right for them. Combine this with the fact that current EVs are a bit pricy, it's no surprise that initial sales are slow. I believe in time the public will discover the inherent advantages of the EV over ordinary ICE powered cars, and when that time arrives EV sales will takeoff.

While I agree that the average person has no experience with electric cars, I don't agree that the inherent advantages of EVs are sufficiently great at this time to overcome the inherent disadvantages versus ICEs. Commenting on the result of focus groups conducted at the National Transportation Research Center back in 2003 or so, one of the research associates made the following observations:

"When people do consider the environment, it's pretty far down the list. When they think fuel economy, it's pretty much from an economic standpoint. They're still thinking about price; they're still thinking of styling. Another factor that rates high is vehicle function."

There may have been some small movement since then in the direction of the environment, but I doubt it's very far given the economy, and may well be in the other direction. 'A bit pricy' remains an understatement; 'very pricy with lesser utility' remains the case for EVs. Add to that the fact that the federal tax credit benefits the people who need it the least to buy a car.

 

[DaveEV]

what I find dismalling is the hatred that some of you Leafers and Voltheads have for the other side..

it really is pathetic, especially considering that the success of each hinges on the other. The Leaf and Volt make much better bedfellows.

You should see the Volt bashing that goes on over at PriusChat... :roll: I think overall most people here are much more open about the Volt.

There is some suspicion in the GMI forum that GM is going to change something and is trying to reduce the existing supply while they switch over.. Perhaps a price drop, a new battery, or something like that..

I hope that's the case!

 

[cwerdna]

what I find dismalling is the hatred that some of you Leafers and Voltheads have for the other side..

it really is pathetic, especially considering that the success of each hinges on the other. The Leaf and Volt make much better bedfellows.

You should see the Volt bashing that goes on over at PriusChat... :roll: I think overall most people here are much more open about the Volt.

I used to be pretty anti-Volt but not as much after having test driven them. There are a few folks there who are very anti-Volt. I will say I'm definitely not pro-GM and the Volt's not for me. I do see their value proposition vs. having a pure EV and keeping a gasser.

My parents and I have been burned by them too many times (had 3 GM cars before) and I don't like some of their business and advertising practices. If GM could consistently produce cars w/above average reliability, were cars I actually wanted and met my criteria, I'd be more interested.

 

[spike09]

As an aside, I'm still trying to figure out how Toyota can justify an $8,000 MSRP premium for a base PiP over a base Prius. Assuming a 5kWh Li battery pack @ $625/kWh, that's $3,125 minus whatever the NMH pack costs them.

It's simple, it's called market based pricing. Basically you price at the perceived value of your target market.

The demand is real.The 2012 Toyota Prius C outsold monthly totals of Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf in just three days here in the US.

A local Miami dealer, Al Hendrickson Toyota, is adding a whopping $6,995 “Market Value Adjustment” over the MSRP!

 

[smkettner]

Perhaps we'll see 'national' discounts on Volts to get their inventory numbers down, seem to recall the radio news mentioning either a 145 or 154 days of supply on hand so would expect something from GM other than simply furloughing a plant for 5 weeks ...

There is some suspicion in the GMI forum that GM is going to change something and is trying to reduce the existing supply while they switch over.. Perhaps a price drop, a new battery, or something like that..

Or just poor management. Last year shutting down to gear up production was apparently a waste being paid for today.

 

[TomT]

Are there any that are large enough fools to actually bite at that price?! If so, they should throw in free psychiatric examinations with the purchase...

Al Hendrickson Toyota (Miami) is adding a $6,995 “Market Value Adjustment” over the MSRP.

 

[spike09]

Are there any that are large enough fools to actually bite at that price?! If so, they should throw in free psychiatric examinations with the purchase...

Al Hendrickson Toyota (Miami) is adding a $6,995 “Market Value Adjustment” over the MSRP.

I agree they should find a dealer with a lower markup but even with a $7K surcharge it is still under $28K for a 53MPG car.