Production of the much anticipated and much talked about Chevrolet Volt has been indefinitely put on hold. The main reason? Low sales volumes and a surplus supply of ready vehicles.
GM managed to move 7,700 Volts in 2011 off showroom floors, which was slightly short of its goal of 10,000 units. For 2012, Chevrolet has aimed for 60,000 units, but has sold only 1,600 thus far.
Analysts have cited the vehicle’s price to be a major turn off for consumers. The car has won several awards, including the coveted North American Car of the Year in 2011 and the Green Car Vision Award in 2009. It’s European cousin, the Opel Ampera, was named the European Car of the Year at the ongoing Geveva Motor Show.
Despite all this, the car doesn’t seem to be getting a similar response from the consumers. “People who could afford six-figure cars will buy Honda Civic Natural Gas cars just so they can drive past all that traffic,” said Bill Visnic, an analyst with Edmunds.com to CNN Money.
The production hold will last for a few weeks. GM will be temporarily laying off close to 1.300 workers during this gap which begins on March 19th.
