The all-time record was set in March this year, when Chevrolet sold 2,289 Volts, topping a previous high watermark set in December of 1,529 Volts sold.
Compared to April’s (expected) downturn of 1,462 Volt sales, last month things went in a more positive direction for GM’s still-proving-itself technological halo, even as new competition has since come online from Toyota.
In March, the Japanese maker of the long-established Prius began delivering its long-awaited plug-in version, which as soon as April topped the Volt in units sold at 1,654 versus 1,462.
May saw the tables turn with the Prius plug-in hybrid selling just 1,086 units. During the same month, Nissan’s Leaf improved its numbers for a distant third place of 510 units sold.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Al Castignetti, vice president of Nissan’s North American sales said part of the Leaf’s shortfall was due to lack of availability.
“I have huge dispersion issues,” Castignetti said. “In places like California, dealers have pretty good inventory, but I’ve got states that literally have no Leafs, and we’ve got to address that.”
As for the plug-in Prius, while the Volt’s May victory is not insignificant, it should be noted the first three months for the Toyota PHV were better than the first three months for the all-new Volt last year, and Toyota’s hybrids have a comparative legion of fans.
Taken as a whole, last quarter the Prius line – comprised of the Liftback, Prius c, Prius v, and Plug-In Hybrid Vehicle – established themselves as the third-leading seller worldwide.
Without a doubt there is positive pressure favoring everything Prius that Volt and Ampera fans will yet want to watch and see as to whether it proves a continued sales booster for the plug-in Prius in months ahead.
The good news for Volt fans is it is doing relatively well even if persistent critics continue nipping at its heels, putting the opposite spin news at every turn.
Yesterday, when I typed the keywords “Chevrolet Volt sales” into the search bar for Google News, up popped at number one the headline: “Chevy Volt May Sales Dismal – Ad Spending Ineffective.”
Oy vay. Will the disgruntled GM dealer now agitating as a pundit for a right-wing screed site ever give up? Apparently not yet as evidenced by his lead-in sentences:
“General Motors reported that Chevy Volt sales for May came in at a paltry 1,680,” wrote the NLPC about the second-highest month for an all-new technology it has been kicking against since its inception. “To put this in perspective, GM sold 29,579 Chevy Malibus during the month. The funny thing is, I do not recall seeing as many TV ads for the Malibu as I have for the Volt.
Yes, this is true. It’s also true studies show consumers largely do not know what to think about advanced technology and are yet entrenched in what some might consider an old-school comfort zone.
And just as bad news can influence the stock market’s direction – in which sentiment can sway results – it might be that highlighting the Volt in the worst possible light could have a similar deleterious effect if people were to listen to the negative spin.
Do you think NLPC is unmindful of this potential? Could its reporting be a deliberate attempt to sway opinions against the nascent technology?
Further, could it be that the Volt and what’s in back of it represent a threat? What would happen if more people supported it, and built on the stepping stones already placed by those who see the Volt as an idea whose time has come?
These and more questions could be probed, but this is the reality for what may be America’s most politicized automobile – critical slants that others have said are ultimately shameful.
How so? Here we have the most advanced, environmentally friendly technology to come out of Detroit in a time when America is seeing its manufacturing off-shored and oil supplies finite. Yet do some people waving the American flag with a picture of the Statue of Liberty think they are doing America a service to tear at GM’s potential success?
At any rate, May was a good month for the Volt that’s still putting behind it a federal battery fire inquiry, congressional show hearing, and many other critical voices that also amounted to mud thrown at an idea that could very well prove out.
If we look at month-to-month sales as a “sprint,” the Volt is standing on the winner’s podium for May. What’s more important is the long-term endurance race in which the Voltec technology is still very much competing.
Even if the PHV outsells it on another day, and the Leaf comes along as well, the big picture is electrified technology is progressively succeeding. It’s not necessarily a zero-sum game, but one where each of these different approaches contribute to a departure from conventional fuels.
At the same time, they are forcing automakers to create high-mpg conventional cars as CARB and CAFE and European legislation also add pressure on every automaker to clean up its act in order to continue onward.
These are interesting times for automotive technology and depending on one’s vantage point, the stakes range from significant to very high.
Source: GM-Volt.com
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