Details on GM's current dealer incentive program to goose August Volt sales, as reported by Jay Cole:
"...Why the sudden take off at the end of the 2012 model year, after three months at a selling level of about 1,700?
Malko said, “As people see their neighbors have one and as they start to understand the technology and are able to drive it, they put it into their consideration.” While also adding that the 2012s were not being discounted to clear lots.
The last statement is where the water starts to get a little murky.
It Is Not A Discount, But An Incentive To Sell
There is no question the Volt has been a sold seller, especially compared to the other plug-in offerings on the market, besting even the plug-in Prius in 3 of the past 4 months.
However, if you have been in the market for a Volt of late, there is no way to not notice the massive discounting going on in August.
And while GM is right in saying they are not ‘discounting’ the outgoing 2012 Volt over the 2013s, InsideEVs has learned that there is a dealer incentive program running behind the scenes that is exerting enormous pressure on many dealers to move Volts (both 2012 and 2013 model years) for way below invoice pricing during August and into early September.
According to sources to InsideEVs, the program works like this:
GM gives each dealership a target number of Volt sales between May and September. And if that dealership sells triple that number, the dealer gets a $2,500 credit towards future floor product purchases from GM on EVERY Volt they have sold during this period. The wind down of this program is September 4th.
Alright, How About $3,000 Off Then? Now Really Is The Time To Buy A Chevy Volt
So, imagine yourself as a dealer; and GM gives you a (3x) magic number of 120 Volts as a sales target. Now imagine yourself sitting at 100 Volts sold in mid August. If you move 20 more Volts over the next 2 or 3 weeks, you are going to receive $300,000 in credits from GM. If you fail to sell those last 20, you are going to get nothing.
How desperate are you to move those last 20?..."
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