Why the Volt and Ampera sales numbers are low

2013 is a fresh year, a clean page in history. Consumers now know of Ford's two plug-in hybrids (C-Max & Fusion), Honda's new plug-in hybrid (Accord), and obviously Toyota's (Prius). So perspective of the past doesn't apply anymore. In other words, previous excuses aren't valid. We start with an entirely new market.

The situation emerging poses new questions, now that real-world data is becoming easier to find. Focus will be on results, not approach. Only enthusiasts care about system details. It's very similar to what we saw in the past with the difference between ASSIST and FULL hybrids. The typical consumer couldn't care less how it operated. They were interested in how well the vehicle would fit their needs & budget.

I'm thrilled that technical debates are over. At this point, all comes down to sales.

To specifically address Volt & Ampera, how sales growth will be achieved remains a huge mystery. Somehow, GM must keep interest from being lost to the other automakers. What will that do to achieve that, knowing the tax-credit will eventually expire? It's one thing to deliver the vehicle itself. It's something entirely different to make it a high-volume profitable seller.

 

I think you give way too much credit to the average consumer. Many people still think my 2006 Prius needs to be plugged in for it to work, golf cart style speed limits, and so on. With these false prejudices still existing, it makes it harder to catch on. Right now only current hybrid owners, geeks, and a small circle of their friends and news watchers even know these vehicles exist let alone any differences between them.

 

Because GM has been (very) slow to get the second generation Volt and Ampera into the market.

It was understandable that the first generation Volt would have its shortcomings.
The main one was its four passenger seating, the other was it was too expensive.

The next generation Volt must be capable of seating five and the price must be
comparable to the Prius plug in if GM has any hope of selling 100,000 units in a single year.

 

Well, this selling 100,000 units a year dream will be a difficult one to come true in GM. Even Toyota stop making any Prius now, they still difficult to sell that.

 

Should Toyota increase the size and capacity of their battery to match the Volt or should Chevy reduce the size of their battery, reduce the range, and increase the usable space to match a Prius?

The "problem" is that both cars are poorly designed. Only Tesla has realized that the battery has to get out of the way.

 

That was a valid point prior to 2013. But going forward, the average consumer is going stumble across mentions of much higher MPG than 50 and wonder what's going on. They may not uncover details of how or even care, but they will come to realize there's a big difference.

 

Lets see, the Volt outsells all other PHEVs, outsells most of the combined, and sales are low?
It's sales since month of launch its selling the original prius since is month of US launch, and its sales a low?
Guess some people don't understand the way markets for new high-end technology work.
Of course the same people would have been singing a different story, if the statements were about the PHV sales or the original prius. Then again we've come to expect double standards from some.


Unfortunately, the average consumer won't know about the overall MPG.. since no one can actually advertise that, instead we see inflated MPGe for a small number of EV miles.. just adding to the confusion. But the high's MPGe numbers may get people to start looking deeper. Hopefully it will be a good year for all EVs as more education should address the biggest issue for new tech adoption: understanding the advantages!

Do agree that Tesla's figured the battery placement better..
If the world is lucky the Volt will keep the battery size and find a way to add the infrequently used 5th seat.

 

I've actually seen a dealer commercial for the PiP in the past few months, which is pretty shocking. Not seen a Volt ad for ages.

I think the Model S and the recent Leaf price drops (and I'm still checking daily for the new Leaf EPA numbers with the heat pump+wt drop+aero) could, ironically, do more for PHEV than the manufacturers of PHEV.

 

The group that can use these cars effectively is a small crossection of the total market. The cars are expensive, the tax deduction may not work for everyone, and if you live in an apartment without a plug in option it will not work.

Finally gas prices have moved below $4.00 which hurts sales and lengthens the return on investment from making this large purchase. To work as a mainstream vehicle it must make sense financially.

These problems exist for all the plug in vehicles and not the volt alone.

 

1104 Volt sales in January for the entire country.

We knew it would be quite a bit lower than last month's 2633, due to people rushing to collect the tax-credit. We also knew that January is notoriously a bad month for car sales anyway. But compared to Toyota...

874 for the plug-in Prius in January, availability still limited to the 15 rollout states.

Hmm?

 

Yes, prius sales were a bit disapointing , As stateded over at insideev's
January 2013 Plug-In Electric Vehicle Sales Report Card

For the Volt.. have a full article
Inventories Push Chevrolt Volt Sales To Yearly Low In January, Only 1,140 Sold

 

There's nothing to agree with. I didn't state an opinion. There was no adjective stating that about Prius at the link either. It did use "dismal" to describe Volt though. Reality is, 874 isn't that far off from 1104.

As for production shutdowns as an excuse, how long does it take to produce a few hundred more? We were told by the third year production capacity could be as high as 10,000 per month. What changed?

 

You did state an opinion, just not clearly. I was clearing up that both were lower than expected.. and offering an other reason for one of them being lower than you had provided.

Production is not an excuse, it is a fact. The question of "How long it takes to produce a few hundred" is irrelevant when there was a planned shutdown anyhow. The plant might be capable of 10K if running 2 shifts, but its now producing multiple types of vehicles, not just Volts -- that helps to reduce overall cost. If demand rises they can produce more.


I guess if adjetive phrase "less than expected", which is what was used in insideev (and directly quoted) is not disappointing for you, then you have an odd view of that phrase. Most people consider less than expected a disappointment.

 

VW managed their production stop just fine, producing enough to last well into the next year, knowing supply wouldn't be replenished.

How come GM couldn't do the same thing?

But that was expected. Remember, it's January and availability is limited to 15 states.

 

It becomes more clear that Volt/Ampera sales are loosing momentum in Europe.

Chevrolet Volt - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

EV Credit ending? Too much price?
Yet, PIP sold 2233 units in the same half year 2013...

Steady Q2 sales for Toyota Motor Europe resisting market decline

PiP to blame as being a competitor?

 

In Europe, one PiP is sold for every 3 regular Prius.

I think the incentives are more at a level playing ground for PiP, Volt/Ampera. We should expect PiP to do well there.

 

We can see that 1 out of 4 Yaris is HSD (Prius c), and also 1 out of 3 is Auris HSD. A bit of a stretch to say that Auris HSD is displacing sales from regular Prius, but the fact is that Prii looks a bit seen as green-car-too-much, so buyers prefer more discrete designs, they even not try to get in one to see the cabin!...

 

that means buyers from varying viewpoints are purchasing hsd for different reasons. that's a good thing. we need some standard hsd vehicles here for those types of people. yaris, corolla, whatever.