Cars
The first three months of 2015 marked the lowest-volume quarter of U.S. Chevrolet Volt sales since the summer of 2011, when Volt production was just ramping up.
Volt volume in January of this year, more specifically, fell to the lowest level since August 2011. With only 542 sales in the first month of 2015, Volt sales were down 41%.
Reviewed: 2013 Chevrolet Volt
February sales then tumbled 43%. Most recently, March 2015 volume slid below 1000 units for the third time in three months, tumbling 57% to just 639 units, just the fourth time in 38 months that GM has sold fewer than 1000 Volts in the span of a month.
Are fuel prices to blame, or the fact that the next, improved Volt has already been revealed? Both may be contributing factors in the most recent months, but a straightforward drop in demand, from low to lower, is the more appropriate response. Volt volume was in decline long before the latest fuel price decline.
Volt sales peaked during the car’s second full year on the market, 2012, before beginning a steady decline that saw monthly volume decrease on a year-over-year basis in 18 of 25 months, including each of the last eight months.
Initial expectations called for approximately 40,000 annual Volt sales in the United States. GM hasn't yet come within 16,000 units of matching that goal.
One thing is certain: there are Volts to be had. The drop to only 1874 first-quarter sales in 2015 occurred despite the fact that GM had, according to Automotive News, a 56-day supply at the beginning of January, a 192-day supply at the start of February, and a 159-day supply when March began.
The Volt was America’s 67th-best-selling car in 2012 but fell to the 70th position in 2013. The Volt then fell to 78th in calendar year 2014. Through the first-quarter of 2015, the Volt is now America’s 99th-best-selling car.
This post also appeared this morning on The Truth About Cars.
- August A Record Month For Chevy Volt Sales Thanks To Big Discounts; But Is It Really Good News?
All-electric and hybrid car sales so far account for just 3.5 percent of total vehicle sales in the U.S. this year. Not exactly what their makers expected when they launched these models. At a first glance, the situation is improving for General Motors,...
- Picture Quiz: Who Designed The Chevrolet Volt?
All in all, GM gave out 13 pictures of people that took part in the development of the Chevrolet Volt electric hybrid. From this group of GM employees, six were involved in way or another with the Volt’s design. In the photo gallery after the jump...
- Production Chevrolet Volt Spied At Transformers 2 Movie Set?
Could it be that the blue colored Chevrolet Volt that appeared along with a bunch of other GM cars like the Corvette Centennial Design Concept, the Chevy Beat and the ‘Bumblebee’ Camaro at a recent Transformers 2 movie set be the real deal?...
- It's For Real: Mitsubishi Motors Usa Breaks Mirage Sales Record In February 2015
Mitsubishi Motors USA broke its one-month-old, sixth-generation Mirage sales record in February 2015, soaring up to 1863 units, a 67% year-over-year improvement. The Mirage is a penalty box in the classic sense of the automotive term – in genuine...
- Editorial: The Chevrolet Volt's U.s. Sales Decline
For the seventh time in the last 12 months, Chevrolet Volt sales in the United States decreased in June 2014. Volt sales are down 12.6% through the first half of 2014, a loss of 1240 units. This article doesn't represent hatchet job, a vast right-wing...
Cars
The Modest Rise And Harsh Decline Of The Chevrolet Volt: Charting Quarterly U.S. Volt Sales
Volt volume in January of this year, more specifically, fell to the lowest level since August 2011. With only 542 sales in the first month of 2015, Volt sales were down 41%.
Reviewed: 2013 Chevrolet Volt
February sales then tumbled 43%. Most recently, March 2015 volume slid below 1000 units for the third time in three months, tumbling 57% to just 639 units, just the fourth time in 38 months that GM has sold fewer than 1000 Volts in the span of a month.
Are fuel prices to blame, or the fact that the next, improved Volt has already been revealed? Both may be contributing factors in the most recent months, but a straightforward drop in demand, from low to lower, is the more appropriate response. Volt volume was in decline long before the latest fuel price decline.
 |
| First-Generation Chevrolet Volt |
Initial expectations called for approximately 40,000 annual Volt sales in the United States. GM hasn't yet come within 16,000 units of matching that goal.
 |
| Second-Generation 2016 Chevrolet Volt |
The Volt was America’s 67th-best-selling car in 2012 but fell to the 70th position in 2013. The Volt then fell to 78th in calendar year 2014. Through the first-quarter of 2015, the Volt is now America’s 99th-best-selling car.
This post also appeared this morning on The Truth About Cars.
- August A Record Month For Chevy Volt Sales Thanks To Big Discounts; But Is It Really Good News?
All-electric and hybrid car sales so far account for just 3.5 percent of total vehicle sales in the U.S. this year. Not exactly what their makers expected when they launched these models. At a first glance, the situation is improving for General Motors,...
- Picture Quiz: Who Designed The Chevrolet Volt?
All in all, GM gave out 13 pictures of people that took part in the development of the Chevrolet Volt electric hybrid. From this group of GM employees, six were involved in way or another with the Volt’s design. In the photo gallery after the jump...
- Production Chevrolet Volt Spied At Transformers 2 Movie Set?
Could it be that the blue colored Chevrolet Volt that appeared along with a bunch of other GM cars like the Corvette Centennial Design Concept, the Chevy Beat and the ‘Bumblebee’ Camaro at a recent Transformers 2 movie set be the real deal?...
- It's For Real: Mitsubishi Motors Usa Breaks Mirage Sales Record In February 2015
Mitsubishi Motors USA broke its one-month-old, sixth-generation Mirage sales record in February 2015, soaring up to 1863 units, a 67% year-over-year improvement. The Mirage is a penalty box in the classic sense of the automotive term – in genuine...
- Editorial: The Chevrolet Volt's U.s. Sales Decline
For the seventh time in the last 12 months, Chevrolet Volt sales in the United States decreased in June 2014. Volt sales are down 12.6% through the first half of 2014, a loss of 1240 units. This article doesn't represent hatchet job, a vast right-wing...