GM is basically giving away Chevy Volts
The automaker is offering as much as 4 times the average incentives.
General Motors (GM) recently bragged that the Chevrolet Volt, its well-hyped plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, posted its best-ever monthly sales in August of 2,831 units. What North America's largest automaker didn't mention is that it is practically giving the vehicles away as rival Toyota (TM) rules the alternative-fuel car market.According to The Associated Press, GM's per-vehicle discount may be more than three or four times the industry average, depending on which data source is used. Patrick Michaels of the Libertarian Cato Institute pointed out that two-thirds of Volt sales were actually leases and that government purchases are distorting the figures.
The problem with the Volt and other alternative-fuel vehicles is that they are still more expensive to own than their conventional counterparts because gasoline prices in the U.S. continue to be relatively low compared with those in the rest of the world. In fact, gas prices recently declined for the first time since July. As the Prius has illustrated, consumers will buy vehicles that don't run exclusively on gasoline if the price is right.
As noble an experiment as the Volt may have been, GM can't continue to produce it at a loss, which Reuters recently pegged at $49,000 per vehicle. Though the automaker denies that figure is accurate, it does admit that the Volt is not profitable. The plant that makes the Volt is currently idle because of lackluster demand. More incentives to move Volts may be in the works.
For now, the Volt appeals to consumers who are motivated to do right by the environment, regardless of the cost. That is a small market indeed.
Jonathan Berr does not own shares of the listed stocks. Follow him on Twitter@jdberr.
| Tags: | gmJonathan BerrTM |
Latest news from our forced partners at gm, 1 billion to be spent on manufacturing in Russia .......... way to reward those who bailed you out gm!
In the 40+ years of estimated life I have left ............. never will I purchase a GM product and I will do my best to convince all others as well!
Vote this retard out in Nov ...............ANYONE BUT OBAMA!
it is an overpriced car, and if there wasn't a rebate, (tax credit) applied to the car, then I suspect no one would buy the car. Even at this level of tax credits, people still aren't buying the car to make it profitable. If any of their other cars were doing as poorly they would cease producing the car, it has happened often.
My beef, tax credits are paid for out of the tax payers pocket, not the government.
And please give me a break, I haven't gotten gas in such a long time I forgot how to even put gas in the car.............lame commercial.............
I'm currious, where do I pulg it in once I get to work and park in a public parking area?
Please get over the Volt, reward a company that actually produces a car worth buying without a tax credit for "alternative" energy.
The only Volt sales seem to be to the Government, and agencies like the EPA don't want them. Small wonder, as they don't come with marshmallows for when they catch fire.
I refuse to pay the extra money to make the UAW happy. eff em and their piece of crap car.
First before contemplating the purchase of any automobile a buyer need's to be realistic.
Why are you thinking about the purchase? Does this purchase make sense? If your purchasing a vehicle due to the price of gas then there are plenty of 40mpg cars out there for half the price. Another thought is how far do you need to drive with this vehicle before a recharge is needed?
I personly could get by with 100 miles and no gas powered requirement at all,from where i live i could drive into the nearest town and back, do all my errands and still have about 25 miles of charge left, using lithium power would work well, as i have several total electric power tools and they are just as strong fully charged as they are 2seconds before they die. Hybrid is junk. Tesla has the right Idea,but the cost is wayyyyyyyyyy out of range for the average consumer, niassan leaf
is cheaper but the one person that ownes one that I know said it was the worst investment he ever made due to his electric bill going up over 200.00 a month for charging his leaf, plus he now has 275.00 a month car payments. Someone needs to build a vehicle thats around 15,000 and can go 100-150 miles on a charge that won't drive up your home power bill! The technology is here all we have to do is elemanate the GREED!
A couple of the major stockholders of GM are the Goverment and the UAW. The company is managed by the Goverment for the benefit of the UAW, and the UAW, for the benefit of the UAW. Whether the company operates at a profit or loss is not material. The taxpayer, the real owner of GM, is not a consideration. UAW pensions and beneits have never been better!
After the UAW votes in the next election, GM will probably go bankrupt again due to poor management.
The active and retired salary employees continue to get the short end of the stick.
Amen.
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