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2012 Chevrolet Volt Production Begins, Capacity Is Tripled

 
1,854 views Jul 19, 2011

2011 Chevrolet Volt outside Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant

2011 Chevrolet Volt outside Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant

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Last month, the 2011 Nissan Leaf took the lead in the U.S. electric vehicle sales wars from the 2011 Chevrolet Volt. Through June, Nissan sold 3,875 Leafs, despite production delays stemming from the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Chevy Volt sales totaled just 2,745 units through June, with vanishing inventory levels contributing to the Volt’s low sales.

Presently there are fewer than 100 2011 Chevy Volts in dealer inventory, and only 11 percent of dealers selling the Volt have cars on their lots.

One reason for the Volt inventory shortage has been necessary retooling at the Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant that builds the extended-range electric car.

Despite this, GM’s chairman and CEO Dan Akerson stated as recently as last month that Chevy would meet its production goal of 10,000 Volts for the U.S. plus 5,000 Opel Amperas for export.

2012 Chevrolet Volt

2012 Chevrolet Volt

Enlarge Photo
After a month long production halt, assembly of 2012 Volts began this week. If Hamtramck can build 3,750 units per month, the company could easily hit its latest 2011 target of 16,000 units, as confirmed by Rob Peterson, GM spokesman.

The plant now has three times the production capacity for Volts, which should translate into the ability to produce 45,000 Volts annually--a number first announced last summer.

While CEO Dan Akerson had initially mentioned a 2012 total as high as 120,000, boosting Volt production has many challenges, including a nascent supply base for some of the electric machinery in the car.

Now that Chevy has the production capacity it wanted, one question remains:  when dealers have inventory, will buyers continue to embrace the Volt?

[The Detroit News]

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Comments (4)

  1. fb_1001015277 avatar John Briggs Posted: 7/19/2011 12:30pm PDT

    Build, Baby, Build. Many other states still waiting to see their first Chevy Volt which is currently as elusive as BigFoot.
     
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  2. fb_1491948054 avatar Kurt Ernst Posted: 7/19/2011 2:16pm PDT

    @John, Chevy needs to continue to build awareness in new markets as well. When I drove a press fleet Volt for a week down here in FL, no one seemed to know what the car was.

    Personally? I love the Volt and really want to see it succeed.
     
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  3. fb_1001015277 avatar John Briggs Posted: 7/20/2011 4:30am PDT

    Well here in Massachusetts, people seem to be more aware of the Volt. However, I am not sure how many of those people would recognize the Volt on the street.
     
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  4. robok2 avatar robok2 Posted: 7/20/2011 7:04am PDT

    @Kurt. I'm just guessing but perhaps GM has thus far focused its marketing on the areas where the Volt has been released. If so, I would assume GM will start marketing more, but again, just a guess. If you drove a press fleet car, you probably know much better than me.
    Going again next week to see if/when my Volt will be ready. I can wait for the car but after six months without one word from the dealer, I may be looking elsewhere for dealers or even a different vehicle. Disapponting.
    Where's Ramon's inevitable attack on the Volt?
     
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