GM’s Vice Chairman Steve Girsky went to the Detroit Auto Show with good news and bad news about his company's resident hybrid bellwether, the Chevy Volt. The bad news was that the Volt missed its 10,000-car sales target by about 2,200 in 2011. But Girsky came armed with reports showing that
NJ Chevy dealers, along with dealers across the country, under-stocked the Volt in 2011 as GM was pushing other compact models. Then came the good news; Girsky outlined plans for a concerted sales effort featuring the Volt to be rolled out in the New Year.
“I don’t think the dealers are really pushing this car yet, as most of them only have one or two,” he told GreenCarReports.com this week.
NJ Chevrolet dealers had been slow to push the Volt as it was still developing a following and hammering out battery issues. But with a year of sales under their belt, GM says it is ready to work with
NJ Chevy dealers and dealers around the nation to drastically improve sales numbers by July, to see once and for all if it is a hit or a flop.
Volt salesmen seem to be learning the habits of their customers one day at a time. According to Girsky, the median income of the average Volt buyer is around $175,000. Given the high ticket price of the 2012 Chevrolet Volt, that’s hardly surprising.
“[The Chevy Volt] is bringing more BMW customers to GM than Cadillac is,” he joked.
Battery issues seem to be a thing of the past as well, as Chevy announced an NHSTA safety fix for 2012 models that should allow dealers to sell with confidence and get the Volt into the stratosphere with other GM hybrid winners like the Ford Fusion hybrid.
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