STILL TOO HIGH? Chevrolet To Slash 2014 Volt By $5000 After It Fails To Lure Buyers

Hmmm...still too high. People want a EV but do not want to pay for it. The sweet spot is a $15K EV not a $35K one.

You're saying that the feature laden, high technology Volt should be priced like a smart car. Wow. Just wow.

The real problem is it's cheap looking styling. Compared to the original concept, this production car is a completely dumb down and low rent version. Both Nissan and BMW were able to maintain the "futuristic" and fresh styling, which can demand +30K base price (regardless of the consumer's own personal taste).

That's a good point OBie. The car does not look like it costs nearly as much as it does. If it looks like it does now, $20-$25k tops. If it looks elegant and futuristic, it can command a higher price tag.

But would it look better if it was priced at $16K? I bet so.

An i3 would look a helluva lot better at 16K as well, but that ain't gonna happen either. I want some of what you're smoking today.

Agent009 is smoking it everyday and has gone too far already. He just hates the Volt, hates GM, and is not too keen on EVs. That's all.

This is what I am talking about when I say Autospies is anti-GM. Chevy Volt sales were very, very good in June (admittedly, with discounts) and better than other electric vehicles, like the Leaf.

And Autospies somehow manages to take from that the Volt has “Failed” to lure buyers.

Admittedly GM is looking for a prices that most people will consider fair for the vehicle – which I think, ironically enough, will help the Cadillac ELR by helping GM learn what the market will tell for this type of vehicle – though those are aspects that Autospies will ignore.

The Volt *has* failed to lure buyers.

• GM itself projected to sell 40,000 vehicles annually. They've been selling roughly HALF that so far.

• GM loses money on each volt it sells. According to some analysts, as much as $49,000 on each volt!

• GM itself has declared their previous sales pitches "didn’t have the effect we hoped for.” This means they'll have to cut prices even deeper, losing even more (taxpayer-backed) cash on each luxury sale.


THE VOLT IS A FLOP.

You people with financial or emotional attachments to GM need to wake up and MOVE ON.

GM is not losing that kind of money on each Volt, and they clearly believe at some point they will be profitable, hence the price drop. You're letting your political bias stand in the way of accepting what a good deal this has become.

A few corrections to the third paragraph of my post.

Admittedly GM is looking for a price that most people will consider fair for the vehicle – which I think, ironically enough, will help the Cadillac ELR by helping GM learn what the market will bearl for this type of vehicle – though those are aspects that Autospies will ignore.

I've asked this in the past but I'll ask again. In my neck of the woods (West Coast), I hardly see advertising or marketing for the Volt. I would think that the WEst Coast is somewhere they really try to get penetration. I see A LOT more ads for Prius and Ford C-Max/Fusion though (internet, TV, newspaper, etc.). Don't mean to be a conspiracy theorist but is GM trying to undermine and deep-six this like how they deep-six the GM EV1 back in the 1990s?

Not quite, but there is certainly a battle inside GM (and frankly inside all established car makers) on EVs. GM does advertise the Volt, barely. For example there is a billboard on Times Square, a couple of commercials on YouTube, and a couple of ads in a magazine or two. It compares to advertizing the Corvette for example, but it pales in comparison to the barrage of GM ads on all other models.

The pricing drop is due to the fact that next Volt is already in development and will be out in a couple years. This also helps create a larger price gap between the Volt and the ELR, further validating ELR's mission as a premium electric hybrid (a la Tesla, etc).

The title of this article is ridiculous. The Volt hasn't 'failed' to lure buyers. Buyers have a choice to make and regardless of price, they choose what's best for them. The Volt, HANDS DOWN, looks way better than a Nissan Leaf. I looked a Leaf a few years ago just as it was hitting the market. People, don't be fooled...it's just a cheap Nissan and Nissan products are notorious for being cheap. The Leaf does not offer a real world solution to the electric equation due to infrastructure limitations. The Volt bridges the gap of where electric technology is now and where it's headed.

I think the price of a midsize sedan is the sweet spot (22-25 thousand). GM isn't aiming to make a profit with this car. It is using it to develop technology and get a position in the electric car market while it waits for technological advancement and decreasing production costs. It is similar to Tesla's strategy (although with obvious differences). Tesla wants to enter the mass car market eventually but is waiting for technology and costs to be right (so it will make high priced sports cars to keep cash coming in). GM is getting into the mass market and will probably stay with the payoff in the end. It has the cash to enter immediately. It doesn't need electric sports cars to finance its development. GM is betting that prices will come down and technology will eventually make electric cars practical competitors for petrol cars.