GM: No Delay in Volt Due to Cuts

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Chicago Auto Show

CHICAGO – The Chevrolet Volt’s market debut won’t be delayed as a result of the latest round of salaried worker layoffs announced Monday by General Motors Corp., the brand’s top executive says.

“We’re working around the clock, 24/7 on Volt to bring it to market, and it isn’t being delayed,” Chevrolet General Manager Ed Peper says at the auto show here. “It’s super important for us, and there aren’t going to be any cuts in the program.”

Work on Volt continues “around the clock.”

As for Vice Chairman Bob Lutz continuing to look over the shoulder of the Volt team now that he has announced plans to retire at the end of the year, Peper says, “(The) Volt is Bob’s dream, and until the day he leaves the office, he’s going to be focused on (the) Volt.”

Lutz says here that while he’ll retire before the Volt hits the market, he will return for the launch celebration of the new car.

Peper says the Volt is scheduled to go on sale in November 2010, and Chevy will start taking customer orders four to five months ahead of that.

As for upcoming all-new Camaro, Peper says Chevy has 11,000 sold orders at the moment. Production will launch in March and the sport coupe will go on sale in April. Initially, GM said sales would begin in first-quarter 2010.

“We expect to have 18,000 to 20,000 sold orders by March,” he says.