Very good article...I love balanced articles, cheerleader articles and hater articles are usually a waste of time...
“I have spoken with GM engineers involved with the development of the Bolt and Volt who are justifiably proud of the technical capability of these products,” said Baum. “However, they are frustrated that the sales of these products have been below expectations given the marketing program.”
Has the "real people, not actors" in which they have been caught using actors (google is your friend) really been a strong marketing plan? A lot of GMC vehicles are really just Chevy vehicles with some appearance upgrades...GMC commercials showcase the products not the awards they win...
"We asked whether it would be a simpler matter to sell 75,000 Bolt EVs per year if the car had come from BMW."
I started a thread on this...Keep everything about the Bolt EV the same except put a Caddy badge on it, I predict it would have double the sales...Half of all EVs are sold in California, in the major metros people are very image conscience, many people I know wouldn't be caught in a vehicle with a bowtie unless it was a Vette (which doesn't even wear a standard bowtie emblem)...
It's not the engineers fault...It's the GM decision makers...What we do know about the plan is an interesting one...GM took the ICE Spark and "EV-ed" it which keeps costs and the MSRP down...What we do know about the Bolt EV was it started on the Sonic's platform, evolved into it's own platform which GM has stated will be used for the Gen2 ICE Sonic and is built in the Sonic's factory...Whether or not you agree with it, it seemed the original plan was to EV the ICE Sonic in which the benefits are lower MSRP...The Sonic is a lot like the Spark in terms design, who and more importantly why was that platform picked? Spark EV was never a strong seller despite only being sold in a few states...Heck, could they have just put the Bolt's powertrain and battery into the Spark EV, had a sub-$30K price (before incentives) and possibly have some more range due to the smaller footprint? Going back to the Sonic, if they just EV'ed it, not bother with the aluminum body or the space maximization, could it have had a $29,995 MSRP (again before incentives)?
If GM wanted an EV sales juggernaut, all they had to do was EV an AWD mid size EV...Equinox if they wanted to keep it under Chevy but I believe that is their WORST brand, even a GMC or Buick would be more "exclusive"...Then offer a Caddy model but keep the price competitive unlike the doubled price of the ELR and the Volt...If you have a bigger car you don't need to bother with space maximization...
“I have spoken with GM engineers involved with the development of the Bolt and Volt who are justifiably proud of the technical capability of these products,” said Baum. “However, they are frustrated that the sales of these products have been below expectations given the marketing program.”
Has the "real people, not actors" in which they have been caught using actors (google is your friend) really been a strong marketing plan? A lot of GMC vehicles are really just Chevy vehicles with some appearance upgrades...GMC commercials showcase the products not the awards they win...
"We asked whether it would be a simpler matter to sell 75,000 Bolt EVs per year if the car had come from BMW."
I started a thread on this...Keep everything about the Bolt EV the same except put a Caddy badge on it, I predict it would have double the sales...Half of all EVs are sold in California, in the major metros people are very image conscience, many people I know wouldn't be caught in a vehicle with a bowtie unless it was a Vette (which doesn't even wear a standard bowtie emblem)...
It's not the engineers fault...It's the GM decision makers...What we do know about the plan is an interesting one...GM took the ICE Spark and "EV-ed" it which keeps costs and the MSRP down...What we do know about the Bolt EV was it started on the Sonic's platform, evolved into it's own platform which GM has stated will be used for the Gen2 ICE Sonic and is built in the Sonic's factory...Whether or not you agree with it, it seemed the original plan was to EV the ICE Sonic in which the benefits are lower MSRP...The Sonic is a lot like the Spark in terms design, who and more importantly why was that platform picked? Spark EV was never a strong seller despite only being sold in a few states...Heck, could they have just put the Bolt's powertrain and battery into the Spark EV, had a sub-$30K price (before incentives) and possibly have some more range due to the smaller footprint? Going back to the Sonic, if they just EV'ed it, not bother with the aluminum body or the space maximization, could it have had a $29,995 MSRP (again before incentives)?
If GM wanted an EV sales juggernaut, all they had to do was EV an AWD mid size EV...Equinox if they wanted to keep it under Chevy but I believe that is their WORST brand, even a GMC or Buick would be more "exclusive"...Then offer a Caddy model but keep the price competitive unlike the doubled price of the ELR and the Volt...If you have a bigger car you don't need to bother with space maximization...
Overall agree but until Tesla announces the TM3 is delayed, can't really speculate...Also I'm not sure it'll be three years, I think it'll be closer to 1.5 years but that's just me speculating...
