2016 Chevy Volt To Have Lower EV Range, 30 Miles Or Less?

Hey John it has been a few decades since my undergraduate work but Price Elasticity rings a bell.
Price elasticity of demand - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

sub-prime credit has replaced price elasticity. The vast majority of people (US) now shop based on the monthly finance payment of an item rather than the sticker price.

 

I believe the Volt people have not found the optimal price to maximize revenue.

Year sure credit scores can eliminate potential buyers but ever notice sales increase with manufacturer rebates. The reason is the price meets the financial buying capacity of more consumers interested in the product.

 

Watch Tesla sales take off when they introduce the Model X. Reason lower price point opens the car up to larger buying audience and sure back out the bad credit risk.

 

Same question as always: WHO?

Who are the consumers they want to sell to?

We are all well aware of how price has been a major purchase factor for middle-market. Not persuing an affordable option means being stuck with a niche. The price has to be considerably lower to appeal to the masses.

The hope of a cost plummeting quickly isn't realistic. Batteries will continue to advance, but the "miracle" people are hoping for will take a few generations. After all, the computer & hardware industries have been continuously advancing rechargable batteries for decades.

 

Perhaps, but my theory is that the dealerships just haven't got up to speed on how to sell the vehicle and lenders haven't figured out how to allocate gas money out of a household budget to car payments and an electric bill.

The mortgage industry has just recently figured out how to account for solar panels on a home's roof.

 

I think you are thinking of the yet unamed Tesla model. The Model X is the SUV version of the Model S and will probably cost a bit more than the Model S.

The plan to introduce an economy Tesla, rumored to target $30K for a 140 mile EV, is indeed a game changer for 200,000 units a year.

 

Maybe.

One of the obstacles is fear. Most people are not comfortable with the EV. They don't understand it.

 

It's likely $15K would maximize revenue But, that would also create a very high negative cash flow.

One of the reasons for gm's bankruptcy was all the discounting. It didn't really sell more cars, it got consumers to wait for the discounts, and eroded resale values.

For the US market, with the tax credits, it really doesn't make much sense to make a smaller pack for price reasons. There really isn't a lower price that could be passed along to the customers. If the DOE is right and a battery will cost a car manufacturer about $300/kwh when the credits end, the 16.5kwh pack would only cost $5000. Say you dropped it to only go half the range, you only drop $2500 of cost. The other stuff, motors, inverters, recharging circuits are all needed. We can look at some of the conventional wisdom that the prius phv would sell much better than the volt because of lower price if we close our eyes and pretend there is no tax rebate. Then we would get very puzzled that this more expensive volt is outselling it, even with all the handicaps - made by gm, fewer seats, etc. People like the greater range and electric driving. That is the volts strength, and you lose much of it if you chop off too much of the battery pack.

Now there are some trade offs, mainly volume with that pack. I can see a shorter range ampere, perhaps with a tiny middle seat and a smaller pack. That may make some sense.

 

GM, for years now had their head in the sand (or elsewhere). Consumers learned the quality of GM products took a nose dive real quick. Toyota seized the market share lost to GM. To this very day GM salivates on the sales of gas guzzling pick up trucks (Ford does the same, to a lesser extent). Foreign car makers feast on the eroding market share that GM once had.

Discounting, yeah, thats' the mark of a corporation (desperation) trying to maintain their decreasing market share. If the Volts' current battery size is a winner, then why aren't customers grabbing any / all Volts being produced. Why hasn't GM added capacity / additional shifts to meet INCREASED demand for the Volt?

Bottom line: it has not happened. Unless GM revamps the cost of the Volt (decrease battery size = lower cost) to make the Volt more appealing to a greater market share, then all for naught. The Volt will stagnate in an ever increasing competitive market.

Tax credits are only a "Band-Aid" approach (short term fix) to entice potential customers to buy a Volt. Folks, tax credits will not last forever.

What happens when tax credits are gone, not renewed, what will the Volts' future? Yes, the same applies to the PIP, but unlike the Volt, Toyota has expanded to 4 models to offer the consumer. If the lack of tax credits impact sales of the PIP, 3 other Toyota models are available.

The Volt does not have that luxury.

DBCassidy

John,

You got my vote on the above. GM is serving as market niche.

DBCassidy

 

Yep, discounting is the mark of desperation

Toyota Motivated to Match 2012 Prius Plug-In Sales; Defends Discounting | Sales & Marketing content from WardsAuto

 

Meh, most manufacturers us deep discounts to motivate buyers in order to boost their short term sales numbers.

 

It's a sleezy dealer

The $9K off MSRP is really $1500 off MSRP + $7500 tax credit.

 

It is like any product, they sell at any price. It is just a question ow how many they sell.

 

I wasn't making fun of PiP discounts, just responding to the quackery from the previous post from our regular troll. I should have refrained.

 

That is not really a discount. The MSRP is 28.8 - $7500 = 21.3. $200 is really no significant discount but of course the devil is in the details. The residual winds up being $16 or $17.