Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

GM VC not happy with Europe's response to plug-in vehicles

General Motors Vice Chairman Steve Girsky has had it up to his eyeballs with Europe. It's one thing to attempt to bail out GM's Opel subsidiary in the beleaguered European auto market. It's another to market the Opel Ampera plug-in hybrid to such tepid response.

"All the governments in Europe said, 'We want EVs, we want EVs.' We show up with one, and where is everybody?" Girsky said last week at the Geneva Motor Show, as reported by Automotive News Europe.

Girsky expects a lot more from European governments to instill demand for EVs. "We're hoping for some support from other places, whether its subsidies or infrastructure help or something like that," he said.

Something needs to be done to increase sales for the Ampera, which sold fewer than 6,000 units last year. That was enough to grab more than 20 percent of the market of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles in Europe, but it was far removed from its US cousin, the Chevrolet Volt, which saw sales triple to 23,461 units in 2012, Girsky said.

For now, the Opel Ampera is a loss leader for GM, which will continue to sell the plug-in hybrid. The global automaker is working hard to drive down costs as it maps out the next-generation Volt and Opel. "We're willing to absorb some losses on this because it's new technology," he said.

http://green.autoblog.com/2013/03/15...g-in-vehicles/

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

General Motors Vice Chairman Steve Girsky..

mmarshall

Come on. A second-grader can see the main problem with both the Volt and its Ampera twin....it's simply overpriced.....even with tax-credits, which is what I've been saying ever since the car was released (and, yes, I passed the second-grade). That's one reason why it's not selling in Europe...besides also having a lot of competition there from small diesels. Here in the U.S., the Volt may sell in somewhat higher numbers, but that's primarily because, outside of a couple of small VW TDIs, its lacks the small-diesel competition here that it gets in Europe. It also, in the U.S., competes only against the Toyota Prius Plug-in and the all-electric Nissan Leaf, which, IMO, are also somewhat overpriced, but not to the same extent as the rip-off Volt.



If GM actually is losing money on every Volt sale (which I personally don't believe for a second, despite its admittedly costly lithium-ion batteries), then the company should simply discontinue it and replace it with a more moderately-priced hybrid...or better yet, a good small diesel.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Cruze diesel

SteVTEC

There's so many super efficient small diesel cars in Europe, who on earth would want to buy a Volt there?? Heck, nobody would want to buy a Volt here in the U.S. if some of those same ultra-efficient TDs were available here in the U.S.! 100+ mpg (imperial) if driven well.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Agreed. There's some VW Polo's that easily get 70mpg out there