It looks like orders for the Chevrolet Volt have been flowing in since GM announced it was taking orders just last week. The auto-maker has now announced it will increase U.S. production capacity of its “extended range electric vehicle” by 50 percent, from 30,000 units to 45,000 units, in 2012. The announcement came as U.S. President Barack Obama toured the Detroit-Hamtramck facility, where the Volt is being produced for sale later this year.
The announcement of increased production is the latest in a line of announcements that bode well for the success of the Volt. Last week, participating Chevrolet dealers in launch markets began taking customer orders for the 2011 Chevrolet Volt, following the release of retail and lease pricing. The company also recently announced an eight year or 100,000 mile warranty on all the vehicle’s battery components and the number of U.S. launch markets for the vehicle was recently raised from three to seven.
On his tour President Obama had the opportunity to test drive a Volt off the production line. The test drive was only about 40 feet but that was apparently enough to impress the President who said, “pretty smooth,” as he stepped out of the vehicle.
GM says that in the past few weeks, more than 25,000 people have joined the Chevrolet Volt enthusiast list. Maybe the U.S. President is one of them.
I even have friends pre-ordering them based upon the favorable lease rates, which are far below what a car payment would be if they bought.
My brother would save about $150 a month in fuel costs because of his long commute (even if he had to dip into using gas everyday). His old clunker is costing him an annualized average of $150 a month in repairs, too.. Not having airbags is also a problem of safety for my brother, and the Volt has a great airbag arrangement for safety.