automotive

Chevy Adds 4 Markets For Volt Introduction

Chevy

Chevrolet had planned to introduce its forthcoming electric car, the Volt, in just three markets. But demand has been so great that the company has added New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Texas. Chairman Ed Whitacre broke the news in Austin, Texas, on Thursday at a luncheon for the city's chamber of commerce.

During his keynote speech, he also announced that the company is going to battle consumers' "range anxiety" -- the fear of getting stuck somewhere with a dead battery. The company will send a Volt on a "Chevy Volt Freedom Drive" from Austin to Manhattan this week -- a 1,076-mile trip to be made by a bevy of GM engineers who will Twitter and blog about the trip, which is timed to end on July 4.

"Austin is one of America's greenest cities so it makes sense to offer Volt here first," said Whitacre, who added that the cross-country drive "will prove that the Chevy Volt is as comfortable in Texas as it is in New York," partly because "it can handle the Austin summer and Manhattan winter."

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Whitacre took the opportunity to pinion Barry Mayer, chair of the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, on his choice of vehicle. When Mayer confessed that he drove a Lexus, Whitacre called him to the podium and gave him the keys to a new Corvette. "I'd love to give everyone in this room a GM vehicle today [but] we are supposed to be making a profit," he said.

"I won't stand here and tell you GM is all the way back," said Whitacre. "But for starters, we are making money again. That's an important milestone for GM." He reiterated that in April, the company paid back its loan from the U.S. and Canadian governments and that it plans to invest $2.3 billion in U.S. production facilities and add 9,000 jobs in North America.

"And we are adding shifts and keeping plants open when normally they close for summer maintenance -- a first for us," he said. "All because we are selling cars and trucks so fast we can't keep some in stock." GM says it got its sixth consecutive month of 20% or greater year-over-year sales increases, although volume is down versus May. The Detroit automaker posted a 36% increase in sales across its Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC brands in June this year versus last, and a 32% increase in sales in the first half of 2010 versus the period last year.

Discounting fleet sales, GM's June gains were about 10.7% over last year, but 12% off last month. That followed a generally weaker June across the industry: Ford's June sales fell 13%; Toyota's fell 14%; Chrysler also fell 12% versus May, and Nissan and Honda sales were also down.

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