"mkbruin, Atlas VP" (mkbruin) 04/16/2015 at 17:30 • Filed to: None

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Why was the first generation Volt such a market failure?

CB > mkbruin, Atlas VP 04/16/2015 at 17:33

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Timing, price, range anxiety, people not understanding what it was, not knowing it was an option, take your pick.

Personally, it's probably the fact that it's new-ish tech and no one wants to be an early adopter since they don't want to be the one to find out what's wrong with the car.

Denver Is Stuck In The 90s > mkbruin, Atlas VP 04/16/2015 at 17:33

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G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3 > mkbruin, Atlas VP 04/16/2015 at 17:37

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Mainly cost.

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > mkbruin, Atlas VP 04/16/2015 at 17:37

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Higher cost than a Pruis, confusion on what kind of hybrid it was, released not too long after GM recovered from bankruptcy, there were a few factors. I think G2 will be more successful because it looks more like a normal car, the tech has been proven, and it seems like more people know about it now.

nermal > mkbruin, Atlas VP 04/16/2015 at 17:47

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I blame a complete disconnect in the sales chain.

A Volt buyer is different than a "traditional" Chevy buyer. As a result, you need to treat them differently. There wasn't enough focus on this from GM corporate down to the dealer level. As a result, whenever a potential Volt buyer went into their local Chevy dealer, one of two things happened:

They got mad and left because they knew more than the sales guy.

The sales guy just sold them a Cobalt / Cruze instead.

Cé hé sin > mkbruin, Atlas VP 04/16/2015 at 17:48

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Expensive, odd looking, answered a question nobody seems to have asked. I've only ever seen one and I doubt if I'll be seeing many more as it's being withdrawn from Europe.

472CID > mkbruin, Atlas VP 04/16/2015 at 18:14

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I don't know if I'd call it a failure. It certainly wasn't wildly successful, but they did sell ~80k of them, not too bad for how expensive it was/is.

Spasoje > mkbruin, Atlas VP 04/16/2015 at 19:05

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I mostly blame GM marketing it as an electric car without the Volt actually being an electric car. Things probably would've went better had they just been honest - then again, the same could be said about GM in a lot of other cases, so...

ranwhenparked > mkbruin, Atlas VP 04/16/2015 at 19:57

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Expensive, small, Chevy brand, and GM did a poor job marketing it and educating people on exactly how it worked and why it was different from a regular EV and a regular hybrid.

Snooder87 > mkbruin, Atlas VP 04/16/2015 at 21:43

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It's ugly and expensive.

Why would anyone buy a Volt when toyota sells a Prius for cheaper? To "buy american?" Those people don't buy ecoboxes.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > mkbruin, Atlas VP 04/16/2015 at 22:58

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Honestly, I still want one and might pick a used one up at the end of the summer.

When they first came out, I'd say price. That, and GM didn't really do a very good job of trying to sell them or trying to capitalize on the technology. A Voltec powered truck would be a very interesting option. It also didn't help that most dealership employees have absolutely no clue on how they actually work, and thus, don't bother to even try selling them.