SHOCKER: Volt Owners Tell GM - Longer Range And More Room

Chevrolet Volt customers are telling General Motors they want three things in the next version of the range-extended electric car: a fifth seat, a longer electric driving range and a lower price.

Larry Nitz, GM's executive director of hybrid and electric powertrain engineering, said GM is working on the next generation of the Volt, expected in 2016, but he wouldn't say how the car will evolve. The 2014 Volt's sticker price is $34,995, including shipping but before tax and other incentives.

Since the Volt debuted in late 2010, GM has been regularly quizzing customers about the gasoline-electric car's real-world performance.

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MattDarringer - 6/23/2014 12:07:34 PM

+1 Boost

Styling it so that it does not look like a Pontiac Aztek would be a good thing too. It's good that GM has the Volt, but its refinement is OK for a $20K car not for a car costing much much more.

Making Volt a sub brand with a hatch, sedan, and crossover would be a daring move.

MorePower - 6/23/2014 6:59:50 PM

+1 Boost

Focusing on people that have already "bought into the Volt Kool-Aide" is not quite the right solution.

Chevy does not market the Volt effectively, as well as hampering the Volt with a price tag that is too high with styling that is not attractive.

mre30 - 6/23/2014 8:03:40 PM

0 Boost

Volt focus group participants said they loved their Volts, but wished that it could be sold as a 2-door coupe, with a fancy leather and wood interior, and be badged as a Cadillac, so they can buy it for $75,000.

In a management rotation (see HBS Marketing Case #242c - "Multi-Disciplinary Engineering Immersion in Marketing"), Mary Barra (then head of Engineering but now the new GM CEO, ran that focus group). While she was off questioning rich people and feeding them shrimp, wine, and Evian, one incompetent junior engineer in the "ignition-switch" department single-handedly decided to design a junky ignition switch and put it into cheap GM cars.

I wish I could laugh - GM is awful and should be renamed "OM" for "Obama Motors". Sad, sad, sad...

TomM - 6/24/2014 1:14:18 AM

+1 Boost

1 - I don't think the Volt will have any real success until it has at least 100 mile range on Electricity AND is priced nearer to the Hybrids of other makes.
2 - I agree that more models are needed - but I would add a Mid Size (Malibu-Fusion) which is where the action is going to be.

If GM cannot get their plug-ins closer to the price of other hybrids - then they should reconsider their decision not to produce true hybrids.