March Sales to Reveal New Momentum for Chevy Volt, Exec Says

DETROIT – Expect a solid sales month from the Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle in March, says General Motors Vice President Chris Perry, as the controversial car shakes off fallout from last year’s crash-test battery-pack fire.

“We’ll see a nice lift in March sales,” says Perry, who heads global marketing for the Chevrolet brand.

“But again, we’re going to build to demand. It will see some good numbers in March, I think, and throughout the year,” he tells WardsAuto after unveiling the redesigned-for-’13 Impala large sedan and Traverse large CUV, which gets a mid-cycle enhancement for ’13. Both make their public debuts next week at the New York auto show.

The $40,000 Volt was intended to remake GM’s image, after its 2009 bankruptcy, as a builder of environmentally friendly high-tech vehicles, much as its key competitor, the Prius, turned Toyota into the greenest manufacturer a decade ago.

But following a government crash test last year, the battery pack of a crumpled Volt caught fire. The National Highway Traffic Safety Admin. and GM were able to duplicate the result a second time.

The auto maker answered by adding extra protection to the pack. It also offered to buy back Volts from owners concerned about the vehicle’s safety. Only a handful wanted out of their cars and a recall never was issued. NHTSA since has declared all Volts on the road safe.

Sales of the one-of-a-kind car suffered anyway. GM delivered 1,529 Volts in February, the 2-year-old car’s best month ever since 1,529 units in December, according to WardsAuto data.

However, sales in January had dipped to 603 units and pushed inventories to an all-time high of 6,319 units, or a 154 days’ supply, prompting GM to schedule a 5-week production stoppage at the Volt’s Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant beginning this month.

The auto maker may schedule a longer-than-usual summer shutdown at the factory to keep a lid on Volt inventories, as first reported by WardsAuto.

“There was a bit of a hangover from the investigation last year, but for the most part our research tells us that’s behind us,” Perry says.

The U.S. presidential election this year has not done the car any favors, either. Conservatives sharply criticize the Volt as the “Obamacar,” a symbol of the controversial government bailout of GM three years ago, and say a $7,500 federal tax credit available to buyers of the Volt amounts to a federal subsidy.

GM Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson admitted earlier this year the car had become “a political punching bag” that was tarnishing the Volt’s technological achievement.

More recently, GM announced it would give owners a free replacement for their 120V charging cords because they could overheat.

The auto maker also has struggled to educate everyday consumers about how the Volt operates, using its battery for between 25 and 50 miles (40-80 km) of electric driving and then switching over to its small internal-combustion engine that works as a generator to provide the electricity for about 320 miles (515 km). After that, drivers need to plug in or refuel.

Perry thinks a new TV marketing campaign for the car, using real owners talking about the technology and the fuel they save, will help.

“The new marketing campaign has reignited awareness, familiarity and consideration of the Volt,” he says. “Volt owners are passionate advocates for the car.”

Perry cites as evidence a closely watched Consumer Reports annual customer-satisfaction survey from December showing the Volt as the best-performing vehicle, with 93% of owners saying they would buy the car again.

GM and the industry report March sales on April 3.

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