Volt Central

Update

February 19, 2016: January, 2016, EV sales. 

October 5, 2015: Google search for 2016 Volt mileage:

2016 Chevy Volt EPA Ratings: 53-Mile Electric Range, 42 MPG On Gas. The 2016 Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid has been rated by the EPA at 53 miles of electric range, a nice boost on Chevy's earlier promise of "at least 50 miles."Aug 3, 2015

October 10, 2014: The Chevrolet Volt logged deliveries of just 1,394--its lowest volume since February--and lower than the previous September's 1,766. The total sales through September are 14,540.

November 5, 2013:

August saw the extended range Chevy set an all-time monthly record for any plug-in vehicle…ever, at 3,351 sold.  That result was halved in September with only 1,766 Volts sold.

For October, GM split those goal posts and sold 2,022 Volts – the 2nd best result of any plug-in car for the month narrowly beating out the Nissan LEAF for 3rd by 20 units.

However GM was up against a very aggressive year-over-year comparison when 2,961 were sold in 2012 - meaning the model experienced a 31.7% decrease.

Overall, 2013 total sales stand at 18,782, as compared to 19,309 – down more than 500 units or 2.7%.

June 12, 2013: Volt sales fall another 4% in May; GM slashes Chevy Volts by $4,000.

April 26, 2013: Tesla cannibalizing Chevy Volt sales. 

December 30, 2012: Nissan will replace batteries in "all" Leafs due to premature loss of capacity. Wow.

December 4, 2012: Chevy Volt sales down almost 50%, November over previous month.


November 27, 2012: LA Auto Show; GM to introduce "all-EV" Spark -- no gas engine back-up; Ford's all-electric Focus has a range of 76 miles on one charge (fail); price <$25,000 after $7,500 federal credit; Nissan Leaf at $27,700 with same federal credit; will sell Spark in California (remember, California mandates a certain number of high-mileage cars must be sold).

November 15, 2012: Nissan admits it won't meet EV sales target.

November 6, 2012: Chevy Volt sets sales record in October, almost 3,000 vehicles.
 
October 21, 2012, unbought at any price: link to Reuters here.

Nissan plans to offer a lower-priced version of its Leaf electric car, which has been selling well below the company's predictions, the Financial Times reported on Monday.

Nissan sold fewer than 12,000 Leafs in the first half of this fiscal year, up 11 percent on last year, but falling well short of its goal of selling 40,000 of the cars for the full year, the FT said.

"The main hesitation in buying the car is from (driving) range anxiety. Maybe we were over optimistic with the ramp-up as well,"

Nissan's move comes against a backdrop of disappointing early sales for plug-in cars, despite billions of dollars of loans, grants and consumer subsidies offered by governments in recent years.  

October 19, 2012: Volt battery manufacturing plant -- heavily taxpayer subsidized -- sitting idle; employees play cards instead; LG Chem, Holland, Michigan;

October 16, 2012: did the Chevy Volt's #1 fan just kill the Chevy Volt?

October 11, 2012: rumors that the US government is buying Chevy Volts, boosting sales, turns out to be true. 

October 2, 2012: August and September have been great months for auto sales, including the Volt:

With 2,831 sold, August was a good month for sales of the Chevrolet Volt. In fact, it was the most Volts sold in the U.S. in a single month, ever. Critics questioned whether those sales were legitimate, but there's no question the Volt is on a roll. Could Chevy orchestrate a repeat? September has answered that question with a resounding yes, and then some: GM sold 2,851 Volts last month. In September 2011, Chevy sold 723 Volts. With 210,245 vehicles sold across all brands, GM says that this was the best September, U.S. sales-wise, since 2008. [2,851 / 210,245 --> 1.3%. Pretty impressive.]

September 20, 2012:  tax credits for electric vehicles will have no impact on sales; waste of money; a crackpot? Nope: the Congressional Budget Office.

September 10, 2012: we knew it was bad; we didn't know it was this bad.

September 2, 2012: Volt sales to set record in August; but at huge cost to GM shareholders.

August 28, 2012: 54.5 mpg by 2025; with mid-term review.

The Obama administration issued new fuel economy rules on Tuesday that require auto manufacturers to increase the average efficiency of new cars and trucks to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. [See yesterday's entry below.]

August 27, 2012: GM to shut down Volt assembly line for four weeks. 

July 18, 2012: all the links you will ever need to bring you up to date regarding the Volt. File under "media fail."

July 3, 2012: Volt sales released; no more "sales targets"; will set supply to match demand; has idled plants to match demand; outselling the Nissan Leaf 3:1; California permits Volt with single passenger to us HOV; annualized for 2012 - maybe 18,000 tops;

June 28, 2012: GM/CEO -- Volt sales will miss forecast 

June 22, 2012: it seems we've heard this story before. Now one can google "Cruze fire recall."

April 26, 2012: even by 2025, not much of a market for EVs -- auto industry leaders

April 18, 2012: Ford Focus EV battery costs $15,000.

April 11, 2012: Prototype lithium battery blows up at GM factory; one seriously injured.

April 9, 2012: Few hybrid vehicles owners buy another hybrid -- LA Times.

Although the number of hybrid models in the U.S. continues to grow, few people who own one are sticking with the technology when they go to buy another car.

Only 35% of hybrid vehicle owners chose to buy another hybrid when they returned to the market in 2011, according to a study by R.L. Polk & Co., the automotive consulting firm. About 75,000 hybrid owners went new car shopping last year.

If you factor out the super-loyal Toyota Prius buyers, the repurchase rate drops to less than 25%.

April 5, 2012: 27 years for a GM Chevy Volt to "pay" for itself. Assuming it doesn't catch fire first.

Buyers who choose Nissan's all-electric Leaf ($28,421) over its approximate gas-powered equivalent, Nissan's Versa ($18,640), will likely wait nearly 9 years until they break even, according to a new report by The New York Times that examines the cost of fuel efficiency.

For drivers of the Chevrolet Volt ($31,767), the wait is even longer— 26.6 years.

April 2, 2012: GM to extend Volt's assembly line closure; sales strong.

March 12, 2012: update on the Volt. The photo is worth the link.

March 8, 2012: Volt promotional ad.

March 4, 2012: now Obama wants to increase the incentive from $7,500 to $10,000 tax credit, and given back at the point-of-purchase. It never quits. Pretty soon we'll be giving them away to save Government Motor jobs.

March 2, 2012: The president (February 28) says he will drive a Volt when he leaves office; less than one week after saying that, GM announces a 5-week halt on further Volt production for demand to catch up with supply. 

March 1, 2012: Volt has a great February: 1,023 vs 1,500 in December, 2011, it's best month.


February 3, 2012: Chevy Volt's Super Bowl ad.  You have to be kidding -- they're advertising the "feminine" Volt to the most "masculine" event on television?

February 1, 2012: it turns out that GM is no longer setting sales target for the Volt, and will instead "build to demand."

January 25, 2012: Somehow this strikes me as "beneath" what the chief executive officer should be saying about his product.  I remember when "everyone" was laughing at Apple; in fact, some competitors said Apple should liquidate and get out of the computer business. Meanwhile GM's CEO whines to Congress that his automobile has become a punching bag.

January 20, 2012: Chevy will ship a "special" version of the Volt to meet California emissions standards allowing carpool sticker and California income tax incentives. I am still confused. I thought electric vehicles produced no emissions. I don't think my battery-electric computer has emissions issues.

January 20, 2012: government closes investigation into Volt fires. Says no problem with the cars despite fact that all 8,000 sold have been called back to the dealers to be structurally changed.  Note: it was a "call back," not a "recall."

January 18, 2012: the Volt does not meet California emissions standards to qualify for state subsidies....

January 13, 2012: government denies delaying Volt fire disclosure. Well, someone delayed the disclosure.

After the initial post (below), I had second thoughts all day about one particular data point/comment that I posted.

But then this article erased all doubts.

It appears I wasn't the only one who had issues with "call back" vs "recall."

Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, a watchdog group, says he sees no evidence of a government conspiracy, adding that NHTSA frequently lets automakers use safety campaigns when there should be recalls. He blames that on the agency having too few investigators to regulate such a large industry.

"NHTSA frequently lets automakers use safety campaigns when there should be recalls...." but when batteries are exploding, this is a bit more than a sticky door handle.

Original Post 

When is a "recall" not a "recall"? When the recall involves a US government owned automobile company.

Is this a joke?

Government Motors is "calling back" 8,000 Chevrolet Volts to strengthen the structure around the batteries.

The move is similar to a recall and involves the 8,000 Volts sold in the U.S. in the past two years.

The person says GM will contact Volt owners and have them return the cars to dealers for several structural repairs.

The repairs are a step below a formal recall.

Considering the batteries are literally built into the car's chassis, it will be interesting to see how much work really needs to be done. Something tells me this is not going to be easy. And note the word "several" as in "several structural repairs."

Also note that is not a formal recall. "The repairs are a step below a formal recall."

I had never heard of such a thing: a "call back." I honestly do not know the difference between "call back" and "recall." Let's see what a google search will show: nope, "call back" and recall are synonyms. 

One has to chuckle: when a car has a minor problem such as a sticky door handle, owners are notified of a "recall."  But when one is talking about a potential explosion and fire, apparently, and requiring several structural repairs, it's a step lower, and referred to as a "call back."