GM Volt August Sales = 2,831 Units, New Record

[alan1]

Can I take my marine deep cycle batteries down there and charge them?
What about my cordless drill?
Or my laptop?

I like free electricity. Especially when that electricity comes from a coal powered plant or nuclear plant.

 

[Katzndogz]

Insight: GM's Volt: The ugly math of low sales, high costs | Reuters

(Reuters) - General Motors Co sold a record number of Chevrolet Volt sedans in August — but that probably isn't a good thing for the automaker's bottom line.

Nearly two years after the introduction of the path-breaking plug-in hybrid, GM is still losing as much as $49,000 on each Volt it builds, according to estimates provided to Reuters by industry analysts and manufacturing experts.

Cheap Volt lease offers meant to drive more customers to Chevy showrooms this summer may have pushed that loss even higher. There are some Americans paying just $5,050 to drive around for two years in a vehicle that cost as much as $89,000 to produce.

 

[AquaAthena]

By any means, the volt has been a failure. Even if an individual volt has been a benefit to an individual volt owner. In totality, the car has failed.

Maybe as a second car, for people who can afford something that isn't practical, the Volt, could be the new toy, of the year, if one wanted to support Government Motors. For those of us who would never support it, the Volt is no more than an electric shock, so to speak.

SNIP : Insight: GM's Volt: The ugly math of low sales, high costs | Reuters

Nearly two years after the introduction of the path-breaking plug-in hybrid, GM is still losing as much as $49,000 on each Volt it builds, according to estimates provided to Reuters by industry analysts and manufacturing experts.

Cheap Volt lease offers meant to drive more customers to Chevy showrooms this summer may have pushed that loss even higher. There are some Americans paying just $5,050 to drive around for two years in a vehicle that cost as much as $89,000 to produce.

And while the loss per vehicle will shrink as more are built and sold, GM is still years away from making money on the Volt, which will soon face new competitors from Ford, Honda and others.

GM's basic problem is that "the Volt is over-engineered and over-priced," said Dennis Virag, president of the Michigan-based Automotive Consulting Group.

 

[nitroz]

Who needs a volt when you can get a prius for under $20,000 that gets 45+ mpg?

 

[Katzndogz]

Who needs a volt when you can get a prius for under $20,000 that gets 45+ mpg?

That has to be the reason I see one out of every five cars on the road as a Prius, and have never seen a Volt one time.

 

[Rozman]

Aren't they losing money on every one produced.
Aren't they costing more to produce then what they sell for?
I am asking because I don't know but I have heard this.

 

[Katzndogz]

The last time the Volt saw increased sales was because another government institution bought up an entire fleet. That was Government Electric. Now it's evidently the Pentagon that bought a fleet to artificially pump up the sales.

 

[Katzndogz]

Aren't they losing money on every one produced.
Aren't they costing more to produce then what they sell for?
I am asking because I don't know but I have heard this.

See post #23.

 

[freedombecki]

2,830__ at what 20k each (I don't really even know). What is that__ 56 million. And how many billions did we give them?

That's just it. The Congress' nutcase plan to subsidize green projects and taking over private industry lets them lose $40,000 per unit, put a car on the salesfloor people can't afford even at its loss, your family is at risk if you run out of juice in a blizzard on a mountain, and the union workers' takehome pay swells while the taxpayer's pocket empties...

And the owners walk away with 100% of their investment with interest thanks to taxpayers, straining under the weight of what the founders said was not a good idea--a strong federal government nobody can beat back using both fists.

 

[freedombecki]

Can I take my marine deep cycle batteries down there and charge them?
What about my cordless drill?
Or my laptop?

I like free electricity. Especially when that electricity comes from a coal powered plant or nuclear plant.

The best part of the plan is you can use your green stamps if you are a Democrat. Because the ACLU will fight and humiliate anybody who says you cannot use your green stamps.

 

[RGR]

The quiet part scares me, just like a loud engine scares deer and keeps most of them from leaping in front of a moving vehicle.

So attach some of those cool little deer whistles to the bumper, and enjoy the quiet, non gasoline burning, American job supporting Volt!

 

[RGR]

Who needs a volt when you can get a prius for under $20,000 that gets 45+ mpg?

Will that Prius run without gasoline for, say, a month? My Volt will. And has.

Having said that, I gave serious consideration to waiting for the plugin Prius. It is a good hybrid.

 

[Katzndogz]

The Volt sales was due to the Pentagon buying a fleet of them. Like the last rise in sales was because the government bought a fleet for GE.

 

[Not2BSubjugated]

I like the bit about electric avenue here in Oregon.

If we make taxpayers subsidize each automobile, then make those same taxpayers pay for charging stations, we can make the Volt more economically viable for those who choose to buy one!

Then, when we assess the economics of the entire deal, let's ignore the cost that's spread out over the American populous via taxes and declare victory based on the fact that the people who own the Volt and are therefore benefiting from the subjugated largess of the masses are TOTALLY HAPPY ABOUT IT! Go go gadget handouts!

And if anyone who doesn't own one complains about having to pay for 'em, we'll just make 'em feel bad for not wanting to pay their fair share.

Everybody wins!

 

[martinjlm]

The Volt factory is being retooled to build the more popular Chevy Impala.

Not instead of the Volt.....in addition to the Volt. The earlier 5-week stoppage included time to add the 2013 Malibu. So the Detroit-Hamtramck plant will build Volt, Malibu, and Impala on the same assembly line.

Not unusual in the auto industry.

 

[martinjlm]

The Volt sales was due to the Pentagon buying a fleet of them. Like the last rise in sales was because the government bought a fleet for GE.

any data behind that?

 

[martinjlm]

Who needs a volt when you can get a prius for under $20,000 that gets 45+ mpg?

Will that Prius run without gasoline for, say, a month? My Volt will. And has.

Having said that, I gave serious consideration to waiting for the plugin Prius. It is a good hybrid.

Only one month? Still haven't seen a gas pump. Voltin' it since March.

At this point the only time the engine starts is once every 6 weeks for Engine Maintenance Mode. Burns 0.1 gallons of gas to make sure the seals and bearings stay lubed and the pistons condition the cylinders.

 

[martinjlm]

Who needs a volt when you can get a prius for under $20,000 that gets 45+ mpg?

That has to be the reason I see one out of every five cars on the road as a Prius, and have never seen a Volt one time.

Or it could be that Prius has been available for sale for about 10 years and Volt for just under 2 years. And in those 2 years, Volt has sold more than Prius in Prius first 2 years (data available on request).

 

[martinjlm]

It was such an awesome popular car, oops;

"Submitted by Heritage Foundation on Sep 5, 2012
General Motors is halting production of the poorly selling Chevy Volt to accommodate a redesigned Chevy Impala. The impending four-week shutdown of the electric car represents yet another setback following news of disappointing sales for the second year in a row:"

"Through July, GM sold 10,666 Volts in the U.S., according to researcher Autodata Corp. Akerson had aimed for sales of 60,000 globally, of which 45,000 would be delivered in the U.S. In June he said sales would probably total 35,000 to 40,000."

Ouch!

GM Stops Production of Unpopular Chevy Volt

So a plant that builds two car models (Volt and Malibu) shuts down to tool up to add a third model. Where's the story here? Why not "GM Stops Production of Malibu"? Because that also happened to get the plant ready for the 2014 Impala.

Happens in the auto industry e-v-e-r-y f-r-I-g-g-I-n' year. But now it's news?

 

[martinjlm]

Aren't they losing money on every one produced.
Aren't they costing more to produce then what they sell for?
I am asking because I don't know but I have heard this.

Five minute lesson on the economics of a NEW vehicle program from someone employed in the industry......


PRODUCT VALIDATION TESTING: 10s of millions
INVESTMENT IN NEW ARCHITECTURE: Typically anywhere from $750 M to $2B
CAPITAL EXPENDITURE to TOOL PLANT: 10s of millions
COST OF LABOR TO PRODUCE: Varies based on plant location, number of employees, wage rates, a number of other factors, including the fact that the same employees also build two other car lines in the same plant
COST OF MATERIALS: Varies based on vehicle content and country of origin of the material. Volt batteries and electric motors add a significant amount of cost.

Now, the problem with the Forbes and Reuters article is it factors the stuff in GREEN into the "cost" of the vehicles sold today, when in actuality, they are factored across ALL vehicles produced on that architecture, in order to be accurate, they would have to spread those costs across all Volts made today, plus all Volts yet to be made on that architecture, in that plant from that tooling, and all derivatives of Volt (Opel Ampera and Cadillac ELR so far) that will ever be made on that architecture in that plant. There is NO WAY they could possibly know those things. Their numbers would only be accurate if GM stopped selling Volts at the time at the article came out and bulldozed the plant. Ridiculously inaccurate.