GM To Curb Production Of Chevy Volts. Again.

Posted by in Blog, News on August 27, 2012 7:52 pm / 5 comments

It what should be the least shocking news to anyone even remotely familiar with the car business, General Motors is set to stop production of the Chevy Volt for the second time this year. From the Wall Street Journal:

General Motors said it plans to suspend production of its battery-powered Chevrolet Volt for 26 days as part of a move to pare excess inventory.

Production of the Volt at its Hamtramck, Mich., plant is set to stop Sept. 17 and resume on Oct. 12, a GM spokeswoman confirmed. It is the second time this year output has been idled due to soft demand for the electric vehicle.

GM will use the downtime to prep the assembly line for building the 2014 Chevrolet Impala starting early next year, the spokeswoman said. The plant already produces a small number of the Chevrolet Malibu sedans and the European version of the Volt, known as the Opel Ampera.

About 1,400 hourly workers will be affected by the production suspension.

The Volt has been heavily promoted by GM as an example of the company’s technological prowess. But it also has been criticized as a boondoggle by critics of GMs 2009 financial rescue by the U.S government. Supporters of the bailout, including President Barack Obama, say the Volt represents an innovative step forward. Detractors point to the Volt’s weak sales as an example of the government pressing GM to build a car that meets policy goals but isn’t in sync with U.S. consumers. GM shut the Hamtramck plant for five weeks earlier this year after a prolonged holiday shutdown.

The problem with the Chevy Volt is exactly what this article says, it may very well meet with the goals of the Obama Administration, but this car simply has not meshed with what consumers want. Even with the government providing a tax-credit for this vehicle, a $40,000 compact car is never going to make it mainstream and is certainly not a product that is going to save General Motors.

 
 

5 Comments

  1. Soapy Johnson says:
    August 27, 2012 at 11:21 pm

    Feb 2011, NASCAR forced to race in “Chevrolet Volt 400″ publicity stunt. Some bad things happen — http://placeitonluckydan.com/2011/05/nascar-pulls-plug-on-chevrolet-volt-400/

  2. @Bobbleheadguru says:
    August 28, 2012 at 5:42 pm

    For those who care about the facts, here is the direct quote from GM from the USA article.

    Source: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2012/08/gm-suspends-chevy-volt-production-over-slow-sales/1#.UD06j5Hekrs

    “We are not idling the plant due to poor Volt sales. We’re gearing up for production of the new Impala,” Chevy spokesman David Darovitz said in an email. The 2014 Impala, a complete redesign, is a key model for Chevy, and GM wants to take extra time preparing the factory to ensure a high-quality launch, Darovitz said.

    The Chevy Volt is outselling the Leaf, the Corvette and even the Prius when it launched. The Prius mocked when it launched many years ago. It is now a top selling, profit making machine. Not a bad template for the Chevy Volt, an even more revolutionary car, to follow.

  3. Tommy says:
    August 28, 2012 at 6:31 pm

    And I’m sure that isn’t spin. Let me know how close they get to their projected sales of 60K units…

  4. Biff says:
    August 29, 2012 at 12:49 am

    Yeah-why let the facts get in the way of a good rant. By the way, the Wall Street Journal used to be reputable-now their just the print version of Fox News.

  5. KP says:
    August 29, 2012 at 9:54 am

    Raise your hand if you know someone who’s bought a Volt.

    If you’ve raised your hand, ask them what they think of it. I’m interested to know.

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