[Ziv]

Wow. Did they price the thing insanely high or what? I see Volts nearly every day I drive. And it is still cool to see a fellow Volt driver cruising along the "mean streets" of Arlington. Some people think it is all rich people here, but the youtube video linked below shows just how tough this area is. ;-)


https://video.search.yahoo.com/vide...fr2=p:s,v:v&hsimp=yhs-001&hspart=mozilla&tt=b

 

[Aus1]

Not completely - It was 65K AUD fully loaded in one trim level similar to Low end Merc / BMW / Volvo or low end full size Japanese SUV.

Our Australian prices are crazy compared to the states and coupled with the fact our government offers NO incentives for purchasing an EV or EREV.

The Australian dollar is now near 30% lower than it was - great for manufactures to export - but GM, Ford and Toyota are closing the Australian car industry by 2017.
GM never did get HOLDEN who designed up excellent rear wheel drive cars, they should have left them to it and used them as a niche export model manufacture, now it's going to cost them 2B to wind it up and in the long term they have handed the market share to the competition. Ford also had the worst decline in sales ever, Hyundai now sell more cars in Australia than Ford does.

Biggest market losers in the Australian market in the near term will be Ford and GM, Toyota - people always buy Toyota or Mazda regardless. The once loyal Australians are now motivated are now likely to cross shop and buy else where .... Mercedes sales have sky rocketed with the recent motoring award they won locally.

I don't know what will GM do EV wise in Australia after the fall out of the Volt, the way the whole thing played out with dealers.
Plus the now unfavourable exchange rate.
Mitsubishi Australia has a hard time getting their dealers to sign up for the plug in outlander as the dealers are all pointing at GM and the Volt Australian experience.

I find this all to frustrating to read and watch, when compared to other markets around the world where people have REALLY EMBRACED EV's and are receiving the benefits as owners.

Interestingly people don't view the Volt as a rich persons car, poor person who buys a cheap Merc here seems to be the one copping all the flack and innuendoes of being wealth with money to burn or give away (Reality most Merc owners do not after spending 2K a year on dealer serving LOL!)
People who buy a locally produced performance Holden V8 HSV just get envy or distain - not the wealth thing and if stands out a key scratch magnet by some young knob who is jealous they can't have one of their own.

 

[Ziv]

I think Holden designed the Bolt, which shows they must be out front on the design end. Flexible (skateboard?) platforms with the pack under the cabin are going to be the shape of BEV's for the next several years at least.

 

[Aussie Pete]

Funny I hardly saw any Volts in Brisbane and then the last week I had my car I saw four of them. Look out for my black Volt should be popping up via Pickles Auctions soon (writing this on 07April2015) has extras like sill plates, colour coded bumpers/skirts, and venture shield stone protection all round.

 

[pompom]

Maybe one of them you saw was mine. I had only seen a total of 3 volts in Brisbane apart from mine.

 

[wildcatgoal]

I'd like to live in Austrialia and will bring my Volt if you get my citizenship and a rich, pretty Aussie wife. Then we can hang.

 

[Aussie Pete]

I'd like to live in Austrialia and will bring my Volt if you get my citizenship and a rich, pretty Aussie wife. Then we can hang.

All us Aussies hope you'll take the Aussie women, they need it since we're shopping in Asia LOL. You can also get an easier Visa to work and live here via our Free Trade Agreement. For Aussies we use the E3 visa into the USA.