GM expects 100k March Sales of 30 mpg or Better Vehicles

[herm]

Hypermilers will do MUCH better

Herm Perez - CleanMPG - April 2, 2012

and now is time for the other shoe to drop and make eAssist standard on all light duty trucks --Ed.

DETROIT – Combined U.S. sales of the 12 General Motors vehicles that get an EPA estimated 30 mpg or better on the highway are expected to reach 100,000 units or more in March, the highest total in company history. GM will release its total March sales on April 3.

“GM’s strategic investments in four-cylinder and turbocharged engines, advanced transmissions and vehicle electrification have been very well timed,” said Mark Reuss, president of GM North America. “Three years ago, about 16 percent of the vehicles GM sold achieved at least 30 mpg on the highway. Today, that number is about 40 percent, and we have more new fuel-economy leaders on the way, including the Chevrolet Spark, Cadillac ATS and the Buick Encore.”

By the end of 2012, GM will have all-new or significantly freshened Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac cars and crossovers in segments that represent 60 percent of the U.S. light vehicle industry. This includes the all-new 2013 Cadillac ATS 2.5-liter and 2.0-liter turbo I-4s, the all-new Chevrolet Spark and the four-cylinder 2013 Chevrolet Malibu, all of which are expected to achieve EPA estimates of 30 mpg highway or better when the ratings are released later this year.... [Read More]

[lightfoot]

Advertising on highway mileage AGAIN:
"Combined U.S. sales of the 12 General Motors vehicles that get an EPA estimated 30 mpg or better on the highway are expected to reach 100,000 units or more in March.."

It would be more exciting if it was 30mpg combined.

[herm]

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...403/1148/rss25

GM touts uptick in March sales for Chevy Volt
By David Shepardson Detroit News Washington Bureau 8 Comments

General Motors says March sales of its plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt have surpassed February's sales, with more than 2,000 sold — and the company's chief executive is bullish on the future.

But GM said it also plans to suspend production of the Chevrolet Volt for an extra week this summer as it tries to control the electric car's inventory; it could cancel that plan if sales stay strong. GM sold 1,023 Volts in February and 603 in January.

"Last month, we doubled sales from a net low, and this month looks like we could double again," GM chairman and CEO Dan Akerson said in a recent interview in Annapolis, Md. "The car is fundamentally a great value. It's a very, very safe car, but that didn't matter."

He said the Volt will succeed, and not because of a lull in political attacks. "Nothing's better than success to stop the discussion," Akerson said. "If we get to 2,000 or 3,000 a month consistently for the rest of the year, it will all fade to black."

The more than 2,000 Volt sales in March are the best month so far for the car, and the company in February started building lower-emission Volts that allow single drivers to qualify for access to carpool lanes in California, GM spokesman Chris Lee wrote in an email to The Detroit News.

"We're rebuilding sales momentum and will manage our future production schedule appropriately," he said.

Akerson noted that GM has 7,000 pre-orders for the European version of the Volt, the Opel Ampera.

[echoman]

I must say that im happy to see GM getting those highway numbers. notting mentioned about city mileage. Of course every year these numbers should rise so at least this is as bad as it will get

[lightfoot]

"General Motors says March sales of its plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt have surpassed February's sales, with more than 2,000 sold...."
The number of Volts sold in March is 2289.

To put that number into perspective, in March GM sold a total of 231,052 cars and light trucks, so the Volt production was less than 1% of GM's total output. For example, GM sold 32,297 Silverado pickups, or 14 for every Volt sold.

And in March Toyota sold more than 25,000 Priuses of various types, or a bit over 10 for each Volt.

Sources:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mar...les-2012-04-03
http://online.wsj.com/mdc/public/pag...autosales.html
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-0...as-prices.html

[rfruth]

wonder what the ratio of vette vs silverado sales is ?

[herm]

Originally Posted by lightfoot

And in March Toyota sold more than 25,000 Priuses of various types, or a bit over 10 for each Volt.

I know, PT Barnum is still right.. "There's a sucker born every minute"

Whats the EV range on a Prius?.. a mile?

[ksstathead]

EV range on Prius exceeds that of any other gas-only car. What is your point, exactly?

[JusBringIt]

Originally Posted by ksstathead

EV range on Prius exceeds that of any other gas-only car. What is your point, exactly?

LOl

GM should be advertising sales for vehicles over 40mpg highway. THAT would be significant.

[herm]

I'm pointless

Still, it is suspicious that GM will add an extra week to the summer line shutdown for the Volt, with healthy demand and orders for Europe to be fulfilled. New battery tech?.. price drop?