• News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
  • News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
Sign up Now (For Free)

Sign up for our newsletter and receive the latest automotive news in your inbox!

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for subscribing!
News
Read Now
  • All News
  • Automakers
  • Automobiles
  • Auto Shows
  • Business
  • EVs & Environment
  • Guides
  • Lawsuits/Legal
  • Regulatory
  • Ride-Sharing
  • Safety & Recalls
  • Technology
Recent
  • Automakers Scrambling to Ensure They Qualify for New EV Tax Credit
  • Rivian Adding Second Shift to Hit 25K Production Goal
  • With Auto Thefts Up 8%, Trucks Most Stolen Models
  • The End Comes for the Mercedes-Benz Metris
  • GM Loses Appeal of Conspiracy Lawsuit Against FCA
  • National Average for Gas Drops Below $4 a Gallon
  • Worker Killed at GM’s Orion Assembly Plant
  • Heritage Edition Bronco: A Horse of a Different Color
  • First Look: 2023 GMC Canyon
  • Automakers Cheer as Biden Signs $52B CHIP Bill
Editor’s Choice
    Reviews
    Read Now
    • All Reviews
    • Classic Cars
    • Concept Cars
    • Convertibles
    • Coupes
    • Crossovers/CUVs
    • Diesel
    • Hot hatches
    • Hybrids
    • Luxury Vehicles
    • Minivans
    • Muscle Cars
    • Pickups
    • Sedans
    • Sports Cars
    • Super Cars
    • SUVs
    Recent Reviews
    • A Week With: 2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5 Limited AWD
    • A Week With: 2022 Mercedes Sprinter 2500 Cargo Van
    • A Week With: 2022 Toyota RAV4 Prime XSE AWD
    • A Week With: 2023 Kia Sportage Hybrid EX AWD
    • A Week With: 2022 Volkswagen Golf GTI 2.0 Autobahn
    • A Week With: 2022 Infiniti QX60 Luxe AWD
    • First Drive: 2023 Genesis G90
    • A Week With: 2022 BMW M4 Competition xDrive Convertible
    • A Week With: 2022 Jaguar F-Pace R Dynamic S
    • A Week With: Genesis GV70 3.5T AWD Sport Prestige
    Editor’s Choice
      Guides
      Car Warranty
      • Endurance Warranty Reviews
      • BMW Extended Warranty
      • Extended Warranty For Cars Over 100k Miles
      • Extended Car Warranty Cost
      • Subaru Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Reviews
      • CarShield Cost
      • Aftermarket Car Warranty
      • CARCHEX Warranty Reviews
      • Reputable Extended Car Warranty Companies
      • Used Car Warranty Companies
      • Best Car Warranty
      • Is CarShield A Scam?
      • Mercedes Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Plans
      Insurance
      • How To Identify A Car Insurance Company
      • Geico Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • How Far Back Does A Car Insurance Company Look
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance For Used Cars
      • State Farm Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance From Progressive
      • Dollar A Day Insurance
      • Auto Insurance For SSI Recipients
      • Car Insurance Rates After A Suspended License
      • Auto Insurance For Salvage Vehicles
      • Average Cost of Dodge Ram 1500 Car Insurance
      • Car Insurance Florida
      • Full Coverage Auto Insurance
      • GrubHub Insurance
      • Amazon Delivery Auto Insurance
      Shipping
      • Car Shipping Companies
      • uShip Reviews
      • Auto Shipping From California To Hawaii
      • Montway Auto Transport Reviews
      • Cheap Car Shipping
      • Easy Auto Ship Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Miami
      • Auto Shipping To Alaska
      • Car Shipping Cost
      • Auto Shipping Hawaii
      • Auto Shipping Puerto Rico
      • Sherpa Auto Transport Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Atlanta
      • Auto Shipping Boston
      • Auto Shipping. Chicago
      About
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Terms of Use
      • Privacy Policy
      • Affiliate Disclosure
      • Sitemap
      TheDetroitBureau.com

      More than just “another” place to find news, reviews, spy shots, commentary, features, and guides about the auto industry. TheDetroitBureau doesn’t stop with the press releases or confuse a few lines of opinion with insightful, in-depth reporting.

      Contact Us

      Like what you see? Have some ideas for making The Detroit Bureau.com even better? Let us know, we’d love to hear your voice.

        Media
        Listen Now
        • Headlight News: All Episodes
        More from TheDetroitBureau
        • Guides
        • Latest News
        • Auto Reviews
        • Podcasts
        Headlight News

        TheDetroitBureau.com’s Headlight News offers a look at the past week’s top automotive news stories, as well as what’s coming up in the week ahead. Check out the week’s top story and our latest review…along with a dive into the past with this week in automotive history.

        home > news > Automobiles > GM Delaying Volt’s 2nd Shift – But Maker Claims Sales Still on Target

        GM Delaying Volt’s 2nd Shift – But Maker Claims Sales Still on Target

        “We’re on target,” but the definition may be shifting.

        Paul A. Eisenstein
        Paul A. Eisenstein , Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
        Oct. 07, 2011
        Chevy will have to triple sales in the final quarter to meet sales targets for the Volt.

        General Motors will delay until sometime during the second half of 2012 its plan to add a second shift at the Detroit plant producing its much-ballyhooed Chevrolet Volt.

        The maker insists that even on a single shift it can meet the sales goals it has set for the plug-in hybrid for 2011 and the even more ambitious numbers it has targeted for next year.  But with retail sales still running slow, it appears GM may be leaving a bit of wiggle room in those figures as it races to triple sales of the Volt during the final three months of the year.

        The Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant, known locally as Poletown, went down for an extensive changeover during the summer.  The factory, which produces vehicles for several GM brands, as well as the Volt, was to add a second shift this autumn and continue ramping up production of all those various models.

        The Final Word!

        But most of the attention has focused on the Volt.  The maker has said the Poletown plant would turn out 16,000 battery cars this year, including some sold abroad as the Opel Ampera.  The total also was to include at least one demonstrator vehicle for each of the 2,600 Chevy dealers in the U.S.  But the goal was to complete retail sales of 10,000 Volts in the States by year-end.

        According to Rob Peterson, the GM spokesperson representing the Volt program, the delay in adding a second shift should not impact the production of battery cars at the Detroit plant.  During the changeover, he told TheDetroitBureau.com, the maker recognized ways to become “much more efficient,” and can meet the 16,000 production total by “adding 350 jobs to the first shift.”

        Meanwhile, “Our (production) targets for next year haven’t changed, either,” Peterson added, in reference to previous GM statements that total 2012 output would be 60,000 units – 15,000 for export and the rest for the American market.

        What is not clear, however, is how GM will define success for 2011.  Last month, as TheDetroitBureau.com reported, sales of the Volt totaled just 723, bringing volume for the first nine months of the year to 3,895.  (Click Here for that story.) The maker would have to nearly triple sales during the final three months of 2011 – to just over 2,000 per month – to make the 10,000 target.  (That figure does not include dealer demo models.)

        According to Peterson, there will absolutely be at least 10,000 vehicles sold by December 31, or “they will be on dealership lots.”

        Technically, a manufacturer like GM gets its money the money a vehicle is shipped from the factory, but a vehicle is generally not considered sold at a retail level until a consumer signs the necessary paperwork.  So, that would suggest that the maker might stretch its definition of success.

        Pressed, Peterson said it would be acceptable to consider Volt on target if the sale of perhaps “500” or so vehicles hadn’t yet been completed, and insisted that dealers remain “enthusiastic” about the demand they’re seeing from potential buyers.

        Part of the challenge is that Volt was initially available only in a handful of so-called launch markets, including California, Michigan and Washington, D.C.  It is only now being delivered to retailers in the rest of the country as production continues ramping up.

        While some observers might fault GM if even 9,000 to 9,500 of the plug-in hybrids were sold by December 31, others might be assuaged seeing a steady monthly climb in the sales figures.  The real challenge for GM will be to maintain momentum going into 2012 – especially if it continues to foresee the huge production bump it has called for next year.

        How to Care for Your Car

        Cheap Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice

        Best Extended Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice
        Recently Published
        General Motors Chair and CEO Mary Barra confirmed during her 2022 CES keynote address that Chevrolet will launch the Chevrolet Equinox EV in the 2024 model year.

        Automakers Scrambling to Ensure They Qualify for New EV Tax Credit

        Yesterday
        Rivian line at Normal plant

        Rivian Adding Second Shift to Hit 25K Production Goal

        Yesterday
        Car thief NICB

        With Auto Thefts Up 8%, Trucks Most Stolen Models

        Yesterday

        One response to “GM Delaying Volt’s 2nd Shift – But Maker Claims Sales Still on Target”

        1. Pingback: GM streamlines Volt plant, delays 2nd shift - Page 4 - GM Inside News Forum

        Leave a Reply Cancel reply

        Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

        Share this article:
        © The Detroit Bureau 2022
        • Guides
        • Privacy Policy
        • Terms of Use
        • Affiliate Disclosure
        • Contact Us
        • Sitemap
        Follow Us: