Early years for the Volt were rough and slow but GM stuck with it. I can't imagine GM is going to give up on electric cars. Electric cars are the future, ICE is going to die out.
I'm sure they are committed to the Bolt, but the complication is the Sonic. The Sonic is in deep trouble with low oil prices. All small "economy" cars are. The question is, if they pull the plug on the Sonic, can they fill the Orion plant with something else? Bolt sales are not enough to keep the plant open. If it closes, where does the Bolt go and how long before it's back in production?
Unfortunately, in the world of a publicly traded auto company, success is measured in units moved and profit made. What the magazines say and what the owners say is irrelevant. In the light of dollars and cents, the Bolt has so far been a pretty big failure. If things don't pick up after the Model 3 release, the Bolt will start to be an embarrassment to GM.
I understand GM's thinking on advertising, but the roll out to foreign markets has my head scratching too. What is clear is that GM is not a very nimble company. The Canadians are asking for more, the Koreans are asking for more, the Norwegians and the rest of Europe is asking for more and they are telling these people to wait while they pile Bolts up in markets here in the states where clearly people don't want them. This tells me that GM had devised a roll out plan and it's cemented in stone and they just can't easily change the plan.
Makes perfect sense to me. Electric cars are not generally profitable, but maybe they'll be profitable in a few years. GM made a nice car, got some awards, gained some experience, and made Bolt available to the handful of people like us who are willing to overpay for a nice electric car, thereby keeping their current losses manageable. GM remains positioned well for whatever may happen in 5 or 10 years.
Might have to be really short to fit into the Jolt since it seems to have the same battery platform as the Bolt, which adds a lot of inches under the driver seat.
Like we need another Chevy that sounds the same! Volt, Bolt, Jolt... which one's which again? I get really tired of explaining my car is not a Volt and it's not a hybrid.
Yep!! me too, waiting and waiting :crying:And during this time, i'll wait here in quebec at least six month, maybe eight, to have mine...
Sighs.
The American worker needs to sell himself instead of demanding protectionist laws. If US auto manufacturers hadn't ransomed themselves to UAW, perhaps there would be more domestic production.
Are you saying the Model 3 is marginally unprofitable at -$15k per unit? If so, where do you get your numbers? Most people will elect to purchase higher optioned Model 3s anyhow, which should boost profit. Tesla has a high marginal profit with the Model S, and I expect they will have at least a modest marginal profit with the Model 3. A company can be "unprofitable" in a tax sense, and yet still be marginally profitable.
https://cleantechnica.com/2017/05/20/ubs-chevy-bolt-drivetrain-4600-cheaper-thought-tesla-model-3-likely-profitable/Makes perfect sense to me. Electric cars are not generally profitable, but maybe they'll be profitable in a few years. GM made a nice car, got some awards, gained some experience, and made Bolt available to the handful of people like us who are willing to overpay for a nice electric car, thereby keeping their current losses manageable. GM remains positioned well for whatever may happen in 5 or 10 years.
Seems a lot smarter than Tesla's plan, which appears to be: "Let's sell a million cars at $35k, and lose $15k on each unit sold. We're the leader! Yay! Wait, what...we're bankrupt?"
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