Latest Bolt sales numbers (June) are up slightly

[oilerlord]

Last month I chatted with an EV specialist at an RI dealership with 100 Bolts on the lot at that time. Not in transit, on the lot. I walked and looked. This dealership was all-in with EVs. They were a volume dealership. They told me they could get all the allocation they wanted. They planned to sell hundreds and hundreds of Bolts in their urban market (RI is a tiny state where a 50 mile trip is something you boast about at parties).

Then I talked with a smaller dealership here in CT. They got what they were allocated, not a car more, and it was a handful of Bolts. They planned to keep only a few on the lot in fear they wouldn't sell. And in fact, after they sold everything they got the first two months, subsequent Bolts have been sitting unsold and lonely and unwanted. And we're a CARB state.

I also talked with one MA rural dealer who laughed at the idea they would ever have a Bolt on their lot. They would not order one for a customer. They would not accept one on allocation. They had no plans to supply a charger, etc. They literally laughed when I brought up an EV.

So there are three very different Bolt stories from real dealerships. When we talk Bolt sales, I think this reflects how complex the story is.

Well said.

From Elon Musk's "insights", to the Bolt's low sales / high inventory numbers, and various conspiracy theories surrounding the matter, why GM actually decided to build a car that apparently only the relatively few choose to buy, does reflect how complex the story is.

Another question is why we're not seeing real people (not actors) on TV in group amazement over the car telling us how cool the Bolt is, but we are subjected to an onslaught of TV ads showing real people (not actors) telling us how great the Sonic, Malibu, and their trucks are.

Yup, pretty complex indeed.

 

[marshallinwa]

I believe word-of-mouth is what is going to sell the Bolt. However, when you have a large number of early adopters, like me, who think the front seats stink, that not the response that is going to sell Bolts.

I have no problems with front seats. Got several friends interested, they all love the cool tech like surround vision, front and rear camera views, rear mirror camera, Android auto connection, wireless charging, smooth driving feel, one pedal driving, blind spot warning in side mirrors, etc., etc....

That's great news for you.

I hated the front seats. When I talk about cars, I tell everyone that I would have gotten a Chevy Bolt, but the seats where so bad I decided not to buy or lease one.

 

[oilerlord]

(Bad) word of mouth may be part of it, but I think the car is still too expensive, and at it's current pricing, the Volt presents much better value (which is supported by solid sales results).

At $199 per month, I think a lot of potential Bolt buyers would be perfectly satisfied with the seats.

 

[SeanNelson]

I see nearly 2000 being available within 500 miles of New York. But the Midwest is clearly lacking since there's only 200 or so available within 500 miles of Chicago. Texas seems to have all 24 within 500 miles of Houston, but Texas only started receiving inventory in June and wasn't slated to get them until August.

"Available" doesn't mean squat. I can go onto the websites of my local dealers and see almost a dozen Bolts that are "in stock". But if I actually talk to the dealers the story is "those cars haven't arrived yet, they're all spoken for, as are all the rest of the cars we expect to get for the remainder of the year".

 

[devbolt]

I see nearly 2000 being available within 500 miles of New York. But the Midwest is clearly lacking since there's only 200 or so available within 500 miles of Chicago. Texas seems to have all 24 within 500 miles of Houston, but Texas only started receiving inventory in June and wasn't slated to get them until August.

"Available" doesn't mean squat. I can go onto the websites of my local dealers and see almost a dozen Bolts that are "in stock". But if I actually talk to the dealers the story is "those cars haven't arrived yet, they're all spoken for, as are all the rest of the cars we expect to get for the remainder of the year".

So is your issue that your local dealers have a crappy online inventory system? If there's a VIN listed, at least you know at some point the car will physically be on the dealer's lot. Whether it's spoken for already is another issue. Sometimes a car that is spoken for gets passed on and if you are lucky, you can claim it before someone else does.

 

[dandrewk]

I see nearly 2000 being available within 500 miles of New York. But the Midwest is clearly lacking since there's only 200 or so available within 500 miles of Chicago. Texas seems to have all 24 within 500 miles of Houston, but Texas only started receiving inventory in June and wasn't slated to get them until August.

"Available" doesn't mean squat. I can go onto the websites of my local dealers and see almost a dozen Bolts that are "in stock". But if I actually talk to the dealers the story is "those cars haven't arrived yet, they're all spoken for, as are all the rest of the cars we expect to get for the remainder of the year".

So is your issue that your local dealers have a crappy online inventory system? If there's a VIN listed, at least you know at some point the car will physically be on the dealer's lot. Whether it's spoken for already is another issue. Sometimes a car that is spoken for gets passed on and if you are lucky, you can claim it before someone else does.

The issue is that ALL Chevy dealers have fictional inventory numbers. When I was shopping for my Bolt in December, EVERY dealer in the Bay Area appeared to have dozens of Bolts on their lots, when in reality none of them had any. The same thing exists today, and GM is not alone in doing this.

This is why any purported numbers of "Bolts for sale" are totally bogus. As are any wild speculations from certain members here who pretend to be marketing geniuses. The reality is NOBODY KNOWS what GM's marketing strategy re: Bolt is, except for GM itself. This reminds me of "trade talk" about sports team's players.

 

[devbolt]

"Available" doesn't mean squat. I can go onto the websites of my local dealers and see almost a dozen Bolts that are "in stock". But if I actually talk to the dealers the story is "those cars haven't arrived yet, they're all spoken for, as are all the rest of the cars we expect to get for the remainder of the year".

So is your issue that your local dealers have a crappy online inventory system? If there's a VIN listed, at least you know at some point the car will physically be on the dealer's lot. Whether it's spoken for already is another issue. Sometimes a car that is spoken for gets passed on and if you are lucky, you can claim it before someone else does.

The issue is that ALL Chevy dealers have fictional inventory numbers. When I was shopping for my Bolt in December, EVERY dealer in the Bay Area appeared to have dozens of Bolts on their lots, when in reality none of them had any. The same thing exists today, and GM is not alone in doing this.

This is why any purported numbers of "Bolts for sale" are totally bogus. As are any wild speculations from certain members here who pretend to be marketing geniuses. The reality is NOBODY KNOWS what GM's marketing strategy re: Bolt is, except for GM itself. This reminds me of "trade talk" about sports team's players.

Yeah, it's an industry wide problem, not just Chevy's. At least with my dealer they clearly marked which units listed on their site were ones that were in-transit verus ones that were on the lot. My specific Bolt was listed as being in-transit for some 6 weeks as it languished in QA and then suffered snow-related transportation delays. A co-worker of mine had also ordered a Bolt and he was tracking our VINs and seeing when they showed up on the dealer's website and what their status was.

 

[SeanNelson]

I see nearly 2000 being available within 500 miles of New York. But the Midwest is clearly lacking since there's only 200 or so available within 500 miles of Chicago. Texas seems to have all 24 within 500 miles of Houston, but Texas only started receiving inventory in June and wasn't slated to get them until August.

"Available" doesn't mean squat. I can go onto the websites of my local dealers and see almost a dozen Bolts that are "in stock". But if I actually talk to the dealers the story is "those cars haven't arrived yet, they're all spoken for, as are all the rest of the cars we expect to get for the remainder of the year".

So is your issue that your local dealers have a crappy online inventory system?

No, my issue is with your statements about "availability", because it's based on information that's misleading at best.