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MAJOR marketing error with the Volt

9K views 73 replies 31 participants last post by  JRRF 
#1 ·
As I look at an advertisement for the new Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid Mini Van, I see the problem with Volt marketing. The hybrid mini van claims 33 miles on the battery before needing the engine. If the Volt had been marketed as a hybrid, all the confusion surrounding it's power train would not have existed. I know - technically it is not a hybrid according to some definitions. In reality, it is close enough for advertising purposes. I've asked people how an ordinary hybrid works - most don't understand the details of it. So the fact that a Volt is a little different doesn't matter.

I've owned a '13, '15, and '17. Very few people I've met understand them. Just call it a hybrid! Put a little plaque on the back or side that says hybrid, and call it good.
 
#12 ·
I think what he is saying is that had the Volt been marketed the way the Pacifica is being marketed, then GM would have sold more.

Not sure I agree with that since I have yet to see a lot of sales data on the Pacifica.
 
#3 ·
It's not a mistake at all. The Volt and the Bolt are about positioning GM for the future not about current sales. They lose money on Bolts if you don't count the CARB credits and it's doubtful that they make much money on a Volt so there is no reason to sell them in large number. What they want is for the world to know that they are in the EV business in a credible way so that 5 years from now, when batteries have gotten better and cheaper, and EVs start to be mainstream they will be able to say they've been building EVs for 10 years whereas their competition are new comers to the business.

When you hear the word hybrid what you think about is a Prius which gets great fuel economy but is so slow it can't get out of it's own way. When you hear EV you think Tesla which can blow the doors off of any muscle car on the road. With current gas prices no one cares about fuel economy so the word hybrid isn't a selling point. Positioning the Volt as an EV makes more sense in the long run even if it costs sales today.
 
#4 ·
The Volt can operate parallel or series, which is what makes it so great. Pacifica Hybrid is the same.

The issue I see with Volt marketing is that they implied it was series only hybrid, but in all honesty sales are lower because it is a $35-40k compact with mediocre performance (dynamics). To me, the Pacifica is a much better buy given it is comparable from the drivetrains, but much more practical and better equipped.

I think a new Voltec CUV could sell much better, especially if price stays the same.
 
#8 ·
I guess I'm indifferent. I could care less whether GM sells a few or millions of volts. I'm happy in my little world with my little car, just wish they'd make a bigger one... oh wait they did, except the CT6 PHEV isn't available in IL yet. My daughter just moved this week to Atlanta. There are dealerships there who are selling it, I guess I need to schedule a visit with the daughter, sneak over to the nearest CT6 PHEV and see if I can't drive home with one...when I have enough cash to do so.
 
#11 ·
I teach in public education, so I have coined the phrase, "We get em all"

The short of the long story is how people so easily discount those first 40-60 ALL ELECTRIC miles. To them, it simply isn't a very important metric because they don't think it through.

Only 50 miles of range?
Only 45 miles of all electric?
You have to burn gas?
What happens when that battery fails?
Can you ever get your money back?
Can you save money driving this over X?
I know a guy that gets 55 mpg in his X...
 
#13 ·
I think another point missing is that the Pacifica will appeal to a much broader audience than the Volt does. As many complain about the lack of hauling and storage ability that the Volt lacks, the Pacifica answers that.

As for marketing strategy, I think GM should have gone further and started off with asking "How would you like to wake up every morning and be able to drive 35/38/53 miles without using any gas?" Then proceed to explain that the Volt can do that and more if opportunity charging is available, and when it's not or if you like paying $3+ per gallon, you can do that too since it drives like a regular hybrid.
 
#14 ·
ROFL... on the statement that GM does EV marketing
 
#15 ·
I've thought this since the beginning. My most eye-opening moment was when a family member who had ridden in my Volt in both gas and electric modes got REALLY excited to tell me at Thanksgiving that she discovered the Fusion Energi and that it could drive electric and then switch back to gas when the battery died because it was a plug-in hybrid! According to her it wasn't limiting like my Volt was. My eyes almost popped out of my head.

"Chevy Volt, the plug-in hybrid with double the EV range."

"Chevy Volt, the plug-in hybrid with the most EV power."

"Chevy Volt, the only plug-in hybrid that won't turn on its engine for maximum acceleration."

It goes on and on. GM still can't market itself out of a paper bag.
 
#18 ·
Just enjoy the ride and forget about the rest of the world's inability to grasp this.
 
#17 ·
Simple, just ask real volt owner's what their lifetime MPG is, then flash to a shot after shot of their dashboards. End with Ari_c and his record breaking 5 digit miles without a drop of gas. The end the commercial with a fast talking announcer that 40K miles per gallon is not typical.
 
#20 ·
Yeah, that rear end looks great but that front end leaves a lot to be desired.... I'm talking about the silly grill of the Fisker Karma.
 
#33 ·
There are lots of hybrids. There is only one Volt.

Many people don't care what's under the hood of an ICE car. Eventually EVs will become that way too. But people like labels. V8, V6, overhead cam, exhaust gas recirculation, etc, etc. Hybrid itself is not a particularly good label, it's not descriptive.

People don't want to make decisions, to be asked questions. It's one more thing to figure out. A Prius only takes gas. One thing to do, same as any previous car. A Tesla only takes a plug. No decisions, you'll have to plug it in. A Volt takes both. Now it's more complicated, one has to think. When will I be able to plug in next? How convenient is the next plug? Did I really want to pay $2/hour for power and pay for parking too? How much gas will I need? Can I wait on gas until next month?

Is it so bad to ask people to think?
It will be interesting to see how Volt survives the Model 3 onslaught.
 
#39 ·
The only way to sell an EV to someone who isn't already looking for an EV is to have them drive one. Tesla is a special case because they are a prestige brand but for everyone else, and that includes the ICE prestige brands (Mercedes, BMW, Audi) as well as down market brands like Chevy, EVs aren't on anyone's radar. With gas priced well below $3 a gallon nobody cares about fuel economy, Prius sales are down 24%, so you don't want to emphasize the energy efficiency of an EV. The differentiator is the performance, they accelerate well due to the constant torque of electric motors, there are no transmission jerks because there is no transmission, and they are quiet. You can't appreciate any of that unless you try it. I wasn't looking for an EV before I bought my Volt. When the Chrysler service manager gave me the bad news about how much it was going to cost to fix my 300C I first drove a new 300 and it was awful, my 300C was a Daimler Chrysler, the new one is a Fiat Chrysler and the difference is the difference between a Mercedes and a Fiat. I then went across the street to a Chevy dealer, I asked if they had any AWD cars and was told that Chevy doesn't make any AWD cars just AWD SUVs (which I hate) so I was about to walk out when I saw a giant Volt poster. As a lark I asked to test drive a Volt because as a techy I was curious but my expectations were very low because I had test driven a Prius when I last shopped for a car in 2005 and it was dreadful. The Volt's performance blew me away, especially after driving the new 300. The 300 I drove had a 300HP V6 which was gutless compared to the Volt. The 300's transmission was jerking between gear changes, the Volt has a single gear so there are no changes. I did my due diligence and test drove Honda's, Audi's and Cadillac's (I didn't look at Toyota, Ford, or Mercedes because they didn't support Android Auto). Of those the only car that I liked, besides the Volt, was the Audi A4, but the Volt was better than any of them because of the electric drive.
 
#43 ·
"You know how cool the Tesla 3 sound, right? Imagine how cool it would be to have a slick, silent electric car that also had an onboard generator so you didn't even HAVE to stop at a charger for half an hour when you run the battery down. Now imagine if you could already buy one. Not just in fall of 2018, today."
 
#50 ·
I like that, but I would tweak the EV miles and drop the 350: "Tesla for the first 70 miles, Prius after that. All for about $25k (after tax rebate)."
GM LOATHES Tesla, so it's not like that would ever happen...

If you haven't seen this yet, you're probably not going to be very happy:
http://www.greencarreports.com/news...hevy-volt-plug-in-hybrid-bolt-ev-electric-car

My top five LOW-lights from Darin Gesse, person responsible for marketing the Volt:

"our customers don't really watch TV"
"These are not typical Chevy customers"
"to narrow down its focus to a regional or even city and neighborhood level"
"We won't spend much money on the car in large, sprawling, farm-state regions"
"We know they may not trust dealers"
 
#45 ·
I think the major mistake is not advertising at all. The new Hyundai Ionic has a great ad. People will know about it. It talks about the great look of the car, the great mileage. Everything the Volt has, but not many know about it. The advertisement doesn't have to get into the science behind the car. Just state the obvious.
 
#52 · (Edited)
#56 ·
A Voltec Equinox, Suburban, and Silverado would fix that quickly. Interestingly enough it seems that only Toyota, Honda, and Chrysler continue to make minivans. I wonder why Ford and GM haven't tried to get in in that market (not that I would ever buy one)
 
#58 ·
No vehicle sold today operates the same as the Volt. Even the Prius Prime can not run on pure electricity to 100 mph. Our 2016 Volt delivers 100% electric power until the battery is discharged to the level where the gas engine, by the way a very fuel efficient gas engine, starts up allowing you to continue on your destination whether its 10 miles or 200 miles.

My wife is the daily driver of our 2016 Volt. Her round trip to her business is 32 miles. She can make that trip for the entire month and side trips as well without ever having to use one drop of gas.

Even when just running on gas the 2016-17 Volt uses 87 octane grade regular gas and delivers better avg. gas mpg than the Honda Civic, Corolla, Elantra, and nearly every eco - box car out there.

Right now were approaching 16,000 miles and avg. mpg is 155, and 45 mpg on gas, per Volt Stats, which appears to under report the mpg on the gas engine, I believe 46+ mpg gas mpg's is the actual figure.
 
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