2012 buyers of the Chevy Volt, a hybrid-electric vehicle introduced in 2010, will now be allowed to drive in the high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane in the state of California. Previously sold Chevy Volts did not qualify to receive the sticker required for this privilege. Recent adaptations made for the 2012 model will now allow new buyers to apply for one of these highly coveted spots.
Chevy dealers hope that this will further entice buyers to try out this new technology which, while energy efficient, is also expensive. Having an additional carrot to draw in customers is key, especially in a state such as California which tends to be more willing to adopt new green technology before the rest of the country or world. Even without access to the high occupancy vehicle lane, almost one fourth of all Chevy Volts sold last year were sold in the state of California.
As a car designed for commuting, access to the high occupancy vehicle lanes fits in well with the Chevy Volt’s market objectives. The car is designed to provide drivers with the ability to make it to and from work using electricity saved in batteries without requiring the back up gasoline engine to kick in at all. The goal is to provide users with the ability to use the car on a daily basis without ever having to refill the gas tank. Hopefully, the extra effort made by General Motors to get the Volt qualified for the high occupancy vehicle lanes will pay off as environmentally conscious commuters and carpoolers will have even more reason to give this new technology a chance. The Volt could prove to be part of the solution to the United State’s continuing reliance on both foreign and domestic sources of oil and it is fair to allow it this added incentive.
In Ottawa, Canada, a Mike Nemat is fighting with his condominium complex about charging his electric car, a Chevy Volt. The residents of the complex split the electric bill for the whole complex, so they do not want all the owners to have to pay for his car. He is arguing that charging the car only costs around $1 a night to charge. In addition to that, many of the other condo owners do not care if he charges his car. Most of them are pleased to have an environmentally friendly car at their condo complex.
The problem that condos, or for that matter most places, are having with people plugging in their electric vehicles is they do not know how much it actually costs to charge an all-electric vehicle. In the case of the condo association, they are asking that the owner of the Volt pay to install a meter outlet for his vehicle. This will cost around $3000, which does not make much financial sense for the Volt owner. There are many other cases where people are traveling, and they cannot find a place that will allow them to plug in their car.
The reality is that a hybrid-electric car, such as a Chevy Volt, will cost between $20 – $30 per month in electricity charges. Condo managers, as well as the general public, need to find out the true costs of charging these vehicles before they declare it is not allowed. Electric cars are much better for our environment than gas cars, but unfortunately, buying one is very expensive. People who purchase electric cars should be allowed to charge them, instead they are faced with ignorance. Therefore, people who purchase electric vehicles need to do their homework before they make the purchase. They need to make certain they will have a place to plug the car in.
Checkout this CBC article to see a video with Mike explaining the details.
Reports are coming in for auto sales last month, and the GM’s plug-in hybrid – the Chevy Volt – has outsold the Nissan Leaf in monthly sales for the first time.
In October, General Motors sold 1,108 Chevy Volts to Nissan’s 849 Leafs. The Leaf has consistently beaten he Volt in sales, leading many to believe that the Volt was destined to fail. This jump is likely due to the fact that the Volt is available in far more markets than the Leaf currently. GM now has 2,200 Volt dealers across the country in 27 states.
“The Chevy Volt outsold the Nissan Leaf this month now that GM finally got some production, added more dealers and did significant advertising on the vehicle in October,” said Edmunds.com senior analyst Michelle Krebs. “Chevrolet had a significant advertising presence on the Volt and other models during the much-watched Major League Baseball playoffs and World Series, and that really helped build awareness.”
There still isn’t much in the way of options for entry level electric car buyers out there. There’s the Nissan Leaf and the Chevy Volt and of the two it seems to be Nissan that’s stolen the hearts of electric car buyers.
August numbers are in and the Nissan Leaf sold 1,362 while the Chevy Volt sold a modest 302. That makes five months in a row that the Leaf has come out on top over the Volt. The total combined sales of the two cars in 2011 tell pretty much the same story with the Leaf winning 6,168 to 3,172.
Of course a lot of this has to do with availability and the number of cars on lots to begin with. Good news for GM then as they just reported that production has ramped up to making 150 Chevy Volts per day. So will the story change in the future or is this just the reality that the Volt will never sell as well as the Leaf?
NASCAR stars Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon probably aren’t the first people you’d think of to own Chevy Volts, but they do. Granted the famous racecar drivers are clearly more associated with Chevrolet than just owners/appreciators of the Volt. But still, it’s cool to see a couple guys like this lending their voice to supporting an eco-friendly vehicle like the Chevy Volt.
GM production facilities have started building the 2012 Chevy Volt in Detroit again. The Michigan plant hasn’t produced a Volt for a month now but are returning to it hard by producing them at triple the previous rate.
The increase in Volt production is critical to GM competing against other plug-in electric and hybrid vehicles in the U.S. By the end of June the Nissan Leaf had outsold the Chevy Volt by 3,875 to 2,745 cars. Since then the Leaf numbers have continued to climb past the 4,000 mark.
But the Nissan Leaf is about to see a price hike, accompanied by the Volt’s increase in production this could cause their positions, in terms of sales, to reverse.
In case you’re wondering what the typical 2011 Chevy Volt buyer is like we’ve got the stats on what these early adopters are like according to a report from General Motors.
Of the 2,184 Chevy Volt owners they are 90% male, 80% have a college degree and 45% have an advanced degree. They spend 2/3 of their driving time in electric mode and of those who traded in a vehicle for the Volt, 14% were GM vehicles. Fifty percent paid extra for the 240-volt high speed charger and 93% of the buyers were either satisfied or very satisfied with their Chevy Volt.
A Chevy Volt owned by Dee and Storm Connors in Barkhamsted, CT was caught in a garage fire and ruined along with the home-converted electric Suzuki Samurai that was parked there. Now more recently, the same Chevy Volt, which has remained sitting in the remains of the burnt out garage, has apparently reignited somehow.
The Chevy Volt was not plugged in when it caught fire for the second time and the local authorities are looking into the cause of the second fire. The cause of the first Chevy Volt fire is yet to be announced although there have been rumors swirling that it was also caused by the Volt.
GM, who obviously have a stake in the results of this investigation, have sent their own team of experts to Berkhamsted after making a public request that people refrain from speculating on the cause of the fire until it’s been thoroughly looked into.
Clearly things like automotive production delays are of almost insignificant importance next to the loss of life and the suffering being experienced by the people of Japan right now. Please understand that this report was written to supplement US automotive Chevy Volt news and was not intended to detract from the dire situation there.
We did, however, find it interesting that the Chevy Volt the transmission is built in Japan. Specifically, it is apparently built in a factory that has been shut down as a result of the recent tsunami.
Ask people who don’t think that the Chevy Volt will be successful why they feel that way and nine times out of 10 they’ll tell you it’s priced too high. Undoubtedly this fact hasn’t slipped by the powers that be at GM and if rumors are to be believed, they’re working on a $30,000 version of the Chevy Volt right now.
A GM insider recently told FavStocks that a lower cost Volt is exactly what is being worked on by a re-engineering, increasing production and using a new, lower cost, lower range battery.
The new cheaper battery could see the Volt range drop to 20 miles, but that might be pretty palatable to most consumers when it comes with a $10,000 cut in the price tag too. Once you factor in the federal tax credit, a $30,000 Chevy Volt could very well compete with other eco-friendly cars like the super popular Toyota Prius.
Stay tuned to Eco Auto Ninja to find out what GM’s official statement on the prospect of a lower cost Volt is.
