I’ve been seeing a lot of commercials for the Chevy Volt, and this advertising blitz might be paying off. The Chevy Volt outsold the Nissan Leaf for the first time in October. In October GM sold 1,108 units of the Volt, which is a significant increase over the 723 units sold in September.
The Volt is still running behind GM’s sales targets, and it seems like the company was banking on all the PR buzz around the vehicle to drive sales. Perhaps a marketing push was also needed. The commercials are pretty good. They stress the gas savings of an electric car with some humorous situations at gas stations.
As more and more automakers go electric and introduce plug-in hybrids, it will be interesting to see if this segment really takes off. Right now the sales numbers are miniscule but that could change quickly.
Earlier this fall, Dan Patrick of The Dan Patrick Show took delivery of his 100% electric Nissan LEAF. Nissan wanted to capture his first thoughts as he gathered up his radio crew – The Danettes and hit the road.
Check out the crew’s reactions to the first mass produced, 100% electric, zero emissions vehicle!
The Detroit News is reporting that the Nissan Leaf is the winner of the 2011 World Car of the Year Award!
New York— The Nissan Leaf won the 2011 World Car of the Year, besting the Audi A8 and the BMW 5 Series.
“It’s a great honor,” said Brian Carolin, senior vice president of ales and marketing for Nissan North America. “The Nissan Leaf truly is a game changer.”
The award was the latest sign of the ascendancy of fuel-efficient models over high-performance models at this year’s show in New York.
General Motors Co.’s extended range Chevrolet Volt won World Green Car at the New York International Auto Show today, defeating BMW 320d and the Nissan Leaf.
The World Car Design award went to the Aston Martin Rapide, defeating the Alfa Romeo Giulietta and the Ferrari 458 Italia.
There has been a lot of fanfare surrounding the GM/Chevrolet/Chevy Volt recently and I must say the press has mostly been pretty darn good. I’ve been sitting back trying to learn as much as possible about the Volt while keeping an open mind. Then the NY Times has an opinion piece that doesn’t read to well for the new GM product. Matter of fact the piece pretty much rips the new car for the lackluster styling compared to the 2007 concept we were shown and the heavy price tag of $41,000! Must say that many valid points were made here and one has to wonder how well (profit wise and branding) this car will turn out to be for the New GM? If the price scares away customers and the competition gets stronger (ie..,Nissan Leaf) the Volt could turn into a blown circuit for The General.
From the New York Times:
GENERAL MOTORS introduced America to the Chevrolet Volt at the 2007 Detroit Auto Show as a low-slung concept car that would someday be the future of motorized transportation. It would go 40 miles on battery power alone, promised G.M., after which it would create its own electricity with a gas engine. Three and a half years — and one government-assisted bankruptcy later — G.M. is bringing a Volt to market that makes good on those two promises. The problem is, well, everything else.
For starters, G.M.’s vision turned into a car that costs $41,000 before relevant tax breaks … but after billions of dollars of government loans and grants for the Volt’s development and production. And instead of the sleek coupe of 2007, it looks suspiciously similar to a Toyota Prius. It also requires premium gasoline, seats only four people (the battery runs down the center of the car, preventing a rear bench) and has less head and leg room than the $17,000 Chevrolet Cruze, which is more or less the non-electric version of the Volt.
The beat of the electric car goes on with the 2011 Nissan Leaf gearing up for launch. According to CEO Carlos Ghosn 2010 production is already sold out! With a suggested cost of $25,000 after U.S. federal and state incentives for clean car purchases the Nissan Leaf finds itself in the sweet spot of many U.S. and overseas car buyers.
From the Detroit News:
Nissan Motor Co. has collected nearly 20,000 pre-orders for an all-electric Leaf car that it plans to start selling in the United States and Japan in December.
“The production for 2010 is already sold out,” said Carlos Ghosn, chief executive of Nissan and its French partner and shareholder Renault SA.
Nissan has gathered 13,000 pre-orders from prospective American buyers who paid a $100 refundable deposit, and 6,000 pre-orders in Japan, Ghosn said. The automaker will start taking firm orders in August.
