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If Chevy/GM were serious about EV's, they would do this one simple thing..

15K views 61 replies 24 participants last post by  JuneBug 
#1 ·
They would MANDATE that their dealers install at least 2 EV charging stations and make them accessible to their customers. At the very least, do it at all Chevrolet dealerships. Set an installation deadline, and make sure all dealers meet it. Tell the dealers that if you want to sell our vehicles, you must install this equipment. Period. They could even cut a deal with one of the major manufacturers for a price break, but make the dealer pay for it. If Chevy wants to sell EV's, they need to have these charging stations on site so the salesman can at least demonstrate how to charge the vehicle. Imagine if every Chevy and Cadillac dealer had charging stations on site--this would be a huge network. The closest charging station to me right now is at a BMW dealer. They all have them. The second closest is at a Nissan dealer. They all have them. The third is at Whole Foods!! I am in close proximity to 7 GM dealers--none of which has a charging station. If GM truly has all these EV's in development, they need to do this NOW.

That's my rant for the day.
 
#4 ·
They reduced the number of dealerships a few years ago. Too many dealers they said at the time. They can get rid of them.

GM could mandate this, and pony up for one of the two charging stations. This seems like minimum requirement to be in the EV business. As I have said before, I am not sure GM can get out of its own way.
 
#5 ·
The dealers that are authorized to sell Bolts are suppose to install customer accessible charging stations as part of the deal. Chevrolet should be following up on the installations.
 
#9 ·
For GM owners...yes! They could use Chargepoint and allow registered GM EV owners to charge for free, and non-GM EV owners could be charged whatever Chargepoint normally does.
 
#8 ·
It might do in a pinch, but do we all want to travel to a Chevy dealer to charge our car while traveling regionally or nationally?

And the chances that the charge station will not be blocked or behind a locked gate at night? That it will be working?
 
#10 · (Edited)
No, as I said make them accessible to their customers--some dealers already do this. For example, Don Gill Chevrolet in Columbus, OH has 3 240V chargers and 1 DC fast charger on the lot, and they are working with the installers and the city to add more fast chargers up front. Why can't they all do this? GM could help with half the cost if the dealers gripe.
 
#11 ·
My local Volt dealer removed their charge point, so I had to travel all the way across town to the only other Volt authorized dealer.
They had two 3KW charge points, but they broke on my second visit.
Their lead salesman said they couldn't justify fixing it because there wasn't any value in it.
He might have said, "no market for it".
He was older, and closer to retirement, so at least attrition will fix him.

Now I don't service my Volt there any more, so he has probably lost value beyond the cost of repairing his point.
 
#12 ·
My Chevrolet dealer has a L2 EVSE right in front of the area where you drop off your car for service. I occasionally see a Volt out there charging but have never had mine charging there. Usually when I bring it in for service it is almost fully charged anyway.

What I have found in 5 years of Volt ownership is I NEVER use or need to use public charging stations. I charge at home in my garage overnight (2AM-6AM). I carry 1/4 to 1/2 tank of gas so if I happen to use up all of the battery it's not a problem.
 
#18 · (Edited)
I don't think Chey makes a lot of money on Volts/Bolts. First, the sales numbers aren't there. Secondly, I think it's more a case of tipping your toe in the water to get some experience on the technology, servicing them and the issues that go along with that. Allows them to ease on into it rather than getting a pail of cold water thrown on them. Thirdly, you don't ignore your money makers trying to change the publics attitudes, biases, misconceptions. That's not their jobs. As far as L2 chargers, they are a public relations gimmick more than anything not money makers. See how green we are. Entice the public to park, shop there rather than someplace down the block. Putting them in and paying .50 to a dollar per car to get you in the mall or what ever is a small price to pay compared to the money they put into advertising. They don't have a budget for getting them repaired which is why they are down for such a long time when they break down. Budgets come up once a year so it could be that long before anything is done. As for having them in Chevy dealers, there is no point other than using them to charge customers cars (like giving them a wash) before handing them back after a couple hundred repair bill for whatever. Who spends a hour or two a car dealership?
 
#19 ·
As for having them in Chevy dealers, there is no point other than using them to charge customers cars (like giving them a wash) before handing them back after a couple hundred repair bill for whatever. Who spends a hour or two a car dealership?
Even on the rare occasions I have my Volt or Bolt in for service, I don't stay at the dealer, I have them drive me home. Besides, my dealer's lot is crammed with cars for sale. Other than parking spots for car shoppers, they have no space to dedicate to public charging.

Even if they did have a spot, I would not use it. Like most Volt owners 99.9999999% of my charging is done at home. So the only time I might need a dealer charge is when traveling very long distances say, over 200 miles in my Bolt EV (the Volt has a convenient plan B, gasoline). For the Bolt, I'd rather charge by or near a restaurant, not a cramped dealer lot. YMMV
 
#20 ·
If GM was serious about EVs, they would have a CUV and SUV with a modified Voltec in them. Those are the sizes everyone wants. Just look at how the Cadillac SRX/XT5 and Escalade; and the Chevrolet Silverado and Equinox; and the Buick Encore, Enclave, and Envision outsell everything else.

Volts and Bolts sell OK, but the reason they don't sell like the Tesla Model 3 is because there's no buzz or excitement around them. I would argue the Volt is a better overall car than the Model 3, but the Volt isn't all-electric, isn't fast, and no one cares. The Bolt feels cheap inside, also isn't fast, and no one cares. Neither Chevy car has rear-wheel drive, memory power seats, AutoPilot, or a spacious interior. The only thing GM has on Tesla is that it has Apple Car Play and Android Auto!

If Chevrolet had an all-electric Camaro or if Cadillac had a plug-in XT5, they'd have some serious buzz around them and would sell. But GM has no electric vision, and most of the cars it makes fall flat due to incompetent marketing, pricing, or engineering (see Cadillac ELR or Cadillac CT6 PHEV).
 
#23 · (Edited)
Until we get longer term testing, real world pricing, and predictable availability on the Niro/Kona EV twins, and real availability on a $35K standard range M3, Chevy remains the only brand that has produced reliable EVs at a price point digestable to the middle class. But they don't sell.

If GM is serious about EVs, it needs a new brand. The cost to make a good EV and sell it profitably just doesn't match up with the brand image that Chevy has turned into in the passenger car market, which is a lower budget discount option compared to other car brands. GMC is all trucks. Buick is improving but is still too old and traditional feeling.

I bought a Volt after months of research, learning about liquid cooling and cell balancing and regenerative braking and loads of other info, and comparing battery degradation between different models and reading anecdotal evidence of Volt ownership before I bought my car. It was enough to get me past the badge, as I was previously a Toyota follower. I guarantee it cannot be done for most people who are looking to spend around $22K at least on a car, take only a day or two to research their options, and already have a negative idea about Chevy.

They need something that feels modern, which would be aided by being a new name. A dedicated EV brand, like what Volvo did with Polestar, could be a good start.
 
#29 ·
They need something that feels modern, which would be aided by being a new name. A dedicated EV brand, like what Volvo did with Polestar, could be a good start.
I agree, what about AMPERA? That would be a great name to use for an EV line. Most people in N. America have never heard the name. Hell, most people in Europe have never heard the name.
 
#24 ·
As far as rebranding, it didn't work out so well with the Saturn regardless of the initial hype.
 
#26 ·
You're correct, but Saturn was basically to Chevy what Scion was to Toyota. An attempt to get younger, less affluent people into slightly less expensive, new, built-to-cost cars. What car manufacturers didn't get for those brands is that young, less affluent people are generally a bad market for any type of new vehicle, because they're better served by the used market.

I'm thinking something more along the lines of FCA rebranding their pickups from Dodge to just be RAM, or, like I said earlier, Volvo spinning Polestar off into its own separate division. Heck, they can call the new brand Bolt for all I care, to have some name recognition to start with, but I think they need to move these very good vehicles away from the bowtie emblem.
 
#28 ·
Where's the big money in EVs? Excerpted from the detroitnews.com

"The companies could miss out on billions if they fail to make their offerings stand out. Ford alone expects to spend $4 billion just developing the first iteration of autonomous vehicles it intends to launch in 2021. The automaker spent $196 million on mobility in the third quarter of 2019; GM spent $200 million last quarter.

But there's a potential payoff: Morgan Stanley and consulting firm Frost and Sullivan estimate the market for autonomous cars for ride hailing and delivery will be worth $332 billion yearly by 2026."
 
#31 ·
So, is GM going to build all their EV's in China now? Might as well change the name to General Tso's Motors. :(
 
#33 ·
China is actively and agressively pushing it's car makers to produce EV's in a big way. The US has an expiring tax credit coupled with relaxing fuel efficiency standards. We are going in the opposite direction...toward 1950.
 
#32 ·
Slightly off topic, but... Given that gas prices are now below $2.00/gallon in at least 20 states (yeah, I know they move around, but there is no sign of any major increase anytime soon), what does that do to electric car sales, period?? I could argue that only people who care about the environment would buy them, because it would be hard to make an economic case for electric at this point. But maybe they've achieved a tipping point of commonality?

Not arguing either way, just wondering what thoughts people have.
 
#36 ·
I couldn't even get my dealer to charge my Volt when it was there.
AFTER they drove it 30 miles for testing.
 
#38 ·
Torque is amazing.
Silence and smoothness are addictive.
 
#39 ·
So I'm jumping in on this thread a bit late, but I think it's really easy to say "one simple thing" when referring to DCFC. However, that proposal would be extremely costly and complicated.

That being said, I do like the idea, but it cannot be mandated. I think GM should work with dealerships to "sponsor" DCFC sites at their locations for use by customers and the public. No matter how you cut it, it's a big ask from the dealerships as they are losing several parking spaces and most likely paying for the power.

Also, the other concern here is the advancement of technology. It would be silly for GM to install "slow" 125 kW chargers that are paired (say two 62.5 kW ChargePoint Express Plus) if they are eventually going to release vehicles that charge at 400 kW. Dealerships might actually want to demonstrate the ultra-fast charging.

The power site would also likely need to be improved, and at the very least, they would want a grid-tied battery system that offsets some of the demand charges. All in all, even if you did feel that a 125 kW paired charger with a grid-tied battery and possibly a solar canopy was the right solution for each dealership, you're looking at a per dealership cost of at least $200,000 to $300,000.

Now, if a case could be made for return on investment, maybe that would be worth it. But so far, I don't see it. As a long-range EV owner, I can't really think of a time I'd want to stop at a dealership just to recharge.
 
#41 · (Edited)
Seems like fast charging first needs to go in along major interstate corridors like Tesla is doing.
And they need to be setup sort of like gas stations for people to be comfortable using them.
Easy to access, easy to get in and out of, plenty of parking, and snack and food stuff close by.

As far as GM goes, if it wants to make a move like Tesla did, maybe it might be better off trying to buy a charging company like Chargepoint or Blink?
 
#47 ·
I agree that if a Chevrolet dealership is selling any electric vehicles, they should have at least one operational charging station so those vehicles can be charged before delivery and as needed for test drives / demonstration. I don't know how many dealerships have their own gas pump, or if they just fill up cars at the nearest gas station, but for electric vehicles they need a charger on-site.

I do not agree that customers should be able to use the dealership charging stations for free (or even if they pay for the electricity). Do you fill up your car with gas at the dealership anytime you need some gas?

Since all electric and PHEV's come with an L1 EVSE in the car, a really cost conscious dealer could count on using that, but someone might bring their BEV in for service and not have the EVSE in the car so the dealer at a minimum needs to have at least one portable L1 EVSE. The cost of installing a good L2 EVSE is not that much more so I would think most dealers would go for that option.
 
#48 ·
I agree that if a Chevrolet dealership is selling any electric vehicles, they should have at least one operational charging station so those vehicles can be charged before delivery and as needed for test drives / demonstration.
The local ones have 3.8 kw units that were meant to charge on the lot Volts but are of little use for transient BEVs. I took delivery of my Bolt with 40 miles on the GOM. Why? Water from an early thaw got into the wiring conduit of their EVSE so it was INOP at the time.
 
#49 ·
My dealer has a DCFC inside the service bay area. The two times I had my software updated, when I picked up the car it was plugged in to the DCFC. Of course, the car was almost fully charged when I had dropped it off, so kind of overkill. But hey, they have one and are darn sure going to use it! haha.
 
#50 ·
I try to avoid the dealer at all costs.
 
#51 ·
The BMW dealer near me has 2 charging stations available for anyone to use, 24 hours a day. The Nissan dealer has 2 as well, but they are only available when the dealership is open for business.
 
#52 ·
It makes more scene to have chargers at retail centers rather than a dealership. My dealership has 2 stations, but it's only 3 miles from my house. If I'm going to the dealership, my car will already be charged. They do "top it off" if they get a chance, but I don't expect them to, unless I were having battery specific service.

Our new Ikea has chargers, and since it is a place I'm likely to spend more time, I'd be more apt to use it, even at a marginal cost. Stick 'em at movie theatres, restaurants, downtown sporting events, shopping malls. Places where people have to drive a ways and have multiple reasons for being there.

There's a Chargepoint station at the AAA location about a mile from where my kids play hockey. When they have practice, and when the station is working, it is easy for me to get a 1/4 charge.

If the only stations were at dealerships, I would have no reason to use them.
 
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