The Apr 2017 EV Sales Numbers are in (1292 Bolts)

[dandrewk]

I haven't seen or heard or read a single ad devoted specifically to the Bolt on TV, on the radio, on the Net or in any magazines or newspapers placed by GM. All I've seen are just teaser ads for Bolts printed in automotive ads by Chevy dealers in my local papers.

You're not looking hard enough. For several months, the newspapers that belong to the Bay Area News Group have run full, two page ads for the Bolt once a week. These papers include the San Jose Mercury News, East Bay Times, Marin IJ etc. That covers a much larger readership base than the SF Chronicle.

No TV ads, no national ads, and I don't expect them until the Bolt is available nationwide this autumn.

 

[sgt1372]

You're not looking hard enough.

<snip>

No TV ads, no national ads, and I don't expect them until the Bolt is available nationwide this autumn.

That's certainly true because I already have a Bolt and didn't need to look at any advertising to convince me to get one. I sought it out and made the effort to get one on my own, asI believe most) if not all) of us here did likewise.

However, the purpose of advertising is to reach and persuade the unconverted and, if I haven,'t seen much advertising, then I doubt many potential converts have either.

I've seen lots of the recent "aren't we great because we've won so many awards" aired on TV by Chevy with a Bolt sitting out front but no specific mention of the Bolt (or any specific Chevy model for that matter) except for their trucks.

A really piss poor effort if you ask me. I agree that they "should" be expected to advertise the Bolt more aggresdivrly when it is supposed to be available nationeide later this year but, if no such advertising is forthcoming, we'll trally have to question whether GM is seriouly interested in selling the car or not.

 

[SparkE]

So long as they are selling as many as they want to, they don't 'need' to do anything.

The glut in CA makes me think that they want to pile up sales in CARB/ZEV locales.

The people crying for them (outside a very small # of states) makes me think that Chevy is ramping up production very slowly. And given the reports of not inconsequential problems I read about on-line - a slow ramp-up might be the best thing. It (hopefully) gives them time to fix any big problems before shipping car #5000, and having a large recall.

 

[dandrewk]

You're not looking hard enough.

<snip>

No TV ads, no national ads, and I don't expect them until the Bolt is available nationwide this autumn.

That's certainly true because I already have a Bolt and didn't need to look at any advertising to convince me to get one. I sought it out and made the effort to get one on my own, asI believe most) if not all) of us here did likewise.

However, the purpose of advertising is to reach and persuade the unconverted and, if I haven,'t seen much advertising, then I doubt many potential converts have either.

I've seen lots of the recent "aren't we great because we've won so many awards" aired on TV by Chevy with a Bolt sitting out front but no specific mention of the Bolt (or any specific Chevy model for that matter) except for their trucks.

A really piss poor effort if you ask me. I agree that they "should" be expected to advertise the Bolt more aggresdivrly when it is supposed to be available nationeide later this year but, if no such advertising is forthcoming, we'll trally have to question whether GM is seriouly interested in selling the car or not.

Understood, but realize if you are trying to "persuade the unconverted", then you are talking full scale, national advertising aimed at EV's in general and the Bolt in particular. This amounts to huge $$$ to produce commercials and buy air time.

It would be wasteful to commit huge amounts of resources at this point. Why convince somebody to buy a Bolt only to have them discover they can't even order the Bolt until September? Why waste advertising dollars in the summer (dead sales) months? Much better and more efficient to wait for the fall season.

 

[Anonymous]

Fix the seats Chevy!!!

As a "big guy" at 6 foot 1/2 inch with too much girth on my frame, I not only find nothing wrong with the seats, I actually find them lumbar supporting for my sore back!!!

I look forward to sitting in the car and sometimes, actually putting the seat back and taking a nap (Keep ignition ON, turn off lights, of course to save KWh, radio on for entertainment and fan as necessary)!

I was very, very interested in the car. But after driving the car, I didn't buy or lease due to the seats.

That's good news for you in that you find the seats acceptable. Unfortunately, I didn't.

When I read threads from those who bought or leased the car and are suffering from major back pain issues due to the seats, I feel sorry for them that they did buy or lease this car.

Frankly, I don't think the sales numbers are all that great so far. The forum thread here is showing about 60 cars owned or leased out of 987 registered members. Since Tesla and Nissan are bringing out new electric cars within a year, that can't be good news for a company with a car that has a seat issue.

7,500 miles since January 3rd and not a hint of "major back pain."

On the contrary, I feel the seats have a lumbar support positive effect on my back!

What did YOU buy or lease?

 

[Anonymous]

There's a theory that GM is selling as many Bolts as they want to sell...by limiting production and allocating most of the cars to CARB states. Bolt inventory is rising in California while buyers in other countries wait months to receive their order. While the Bolt may not technically be a compliance car, GM is treating it like one. No doubt the margin on these cars is pretty skinny without those CARB credits.

Lack of any apparent advertising for the Bolt by GM is also evidence of this.

I haven't seen or heard or read a single ad devoted specifically to the Bolt on TV, on the radio, on the Net or in any magazines or newspapers placed by GM. All I've seen are just teaser ads for Bolts printed in automotive ads by Chevy dealers in my local papers.

I have seen two page ads for the Bolt EV in the Los Angeles Times on numerous occasions!

 

[marshallinwa]

7,500 miles since January 3rd and not a hint of "major back pain."

On the contrary, I feel the seats have a lumbar support positive effect on my back!

What did YOU buy or lease?

I didn't buy or lease the Bolt. The seats where a deal breaker for me.

 

[marshallinwa]

So long as they are selling as many as they want to, they don't 'need' to do anything.

The glut in CA makes me think that they want to pile up sales in CARB/ZEV locales.

The people crying for them (outside a very small # of states) makes me think that Chevy is ramping up production very slowly. And given the reports of not inconsequential problems I read about on-line - a slow ramp-up might be the best thing. It (hopefully) gives them time to fix any big problems before shipping car #5000, and having a large recall.

Outside of the Canadians, who is crying for a Bolt? There are plenty to choose from here in the Puget Sound region. Plus some of the Southern California dealers will ship out of state at a price that may be better then what you can get locally.

A restricted roll-out does make some sense since UBS thinks GM is apparently losing money on everyone they sell, it gives GM some time to ring-out some of the cost in building a Bolt, and it limits the amount of money GM needs to spend to fix issues that have cropped up

https://www.scribd.com/document/348864125/Margin-Report-UBS-Model-3-Bolt-EVV

 

[oilerlord]

Outside of the Canadians, who is crying for a Bolt? There are plenty to choose from here in the Puget Sound region. Plus some of the Southern California dealers will ship out of state at a price that may be better then what you can get locally.

A restricted roll-out does make some sense since UBS thinks GM is apparently losing money on everyone they sell, it gives GM some time to ring-out some of the cost in building a Bolt, and it limits the amount of money GM needs to spend to fix issues that have cropped up

https://www.scribd.com/document/348864125/Margin-Report-UBS-Model-3-Bolt-EVV

The loss that UBS reports may be correct, but it doesn't take into account the value of the CARB credits. Because GM doesn't receive those credits from other countries (or other states), they aren't that motivated to sell them in other markets - hence there is big inventory in CARB states, but little anywhere else.

Elon Musk discussed the issue of if the Bolt loses money, makes money, and how many Bolts that GM plans to sell:

"...you shouldn’t ask like why, well, GM appears to be losing $10,000 a car on the Bolt. No, they’re not. They are making it up on CARB credits. But they get the full retail value of the CARB credit, whereas we [Tesla] get the wholesale value when we’re lucky. But the CARB credits are only effective at a production rate of about 20,000 to 30,000 vehicles a year. So that’s why you’ll see, mark my words, it’s not going to be any higher than that for the Chevy Bolt. That’s on order of 25,000 units a year, or 0.10% of our initial production rate for the Model 3, or (~5%) of what Model 3 will be next year.

http://insideevs.com/elon-musk-talks-carb-zev-credits/

 

[SeanNelson]

Outside of the Canadians, who is crying for a Bolt? There are plenty to choose from here in the Puget Sound region.

This Canadian visited a dealer in Bellingham who had no Bolts on the lot and an allocation of 8 vehicles, 6 of which were already spoken for.

 

[Anonymous]

7,500 miles since January 3rd and not a hint of "major back pain."

On the contrary, I feel the seats have a lumbar support positive effect on my back!

What did YOU buy or lease?

I didn't buy or lease the Bolt. The seats where a deal breaker for me.

Sorry for the miscommunication, I wanted to know what you chose to buy or lease in lieu of the Bolt EV?

 

[HotPotato]

That’s on order of 25,000 units a year, or 0.10% of our initial production rate for the Model 3, or (~5%) of what Model 3 will be next year.
http://insideevs.com/elon-musk-talks-carb-zev-credits/

.1%? If he's right that the Bolt will do 25,000, then he's saying the INITIAL production rate for the Model 3 will be 250,000 a year, ramping up from there? That sounds...how do I put this politely...infeasible. Existing Tesla line workers are already so overworked they're dropping left and right from burnout and injuries and talking to the UAW about representation, and quality is still spotty even after years of making the same car. If Tesla can't consistently make a quality product and keep their workers whole at low production volume, I don't know how they expect to do it at high production volume. "Robots!"...are not a magic solution; maintaining and repairing robots is already what a lot of those guys do.

I like what Musk has done, is doing, and will do. It's in the interest of everyone who loves EVs that Tesla is successful; nobody is more committed. But it's not cute when he gets "creative" when projecting how long things will take.

 

[SparkE]

That’s on order of 25,000 units a year, or 0.10% of our initial production rate for the Model 3, or (~5%) of what Model 3 will be next year.
http://insideevs.com/elon-musk-talks-carb-zev-credits/

.1%? If he's right that the Bolt will do 25,000, then he's saying the INITIAL production rate for the Model 3 will be 250,000 a year, ramping up from there? That sounds...how do I put this politely...infeasible. Existing Tesla line workers are already so overworked they're dropping left and right from burnout and injuries and talking to the UAW about representation, and quality is still spotty even after years of making the same car. If Tesla can't consistently make a quality product and keep their workers whole at low production volume, I don't know how they expect to do it at high production volume. "Robots!"...are not a magic solution; maintaining and repairing robots is already what a lot of those guys do.

I like what Musk has done, is doing, and will do. It's in the interest of everyone who loves EVs that Tesla is successful; nobody is more committed. But it's not cute when he gets "creative" when projecting how long things will take.

25,000 is 10% of 250,000.

25,000 is 0.10% of .... 25,000,000 .

 

[michael]

7,500 miles since January 3rd and not a hint of "major back pain."

On the contrary, I feel the seats have a lumbar support positive effect on my back!

What did YOU buy or lease?

I didn't buy or lease the Bolt. The seats where a deal breaker for me.

Sorry for the miscommunication, I wanted to know what you chose to buy or lease in lieu of the Bolt EV?

A Volt for me. Two of them actually. Originally intended one of each..

As I type this I'm sitting on Southwest Airlines. This is more comfortable than the Bolt was for me.. Seat is wide enough. Doesn't press up against my thighs. Only problem is fat guy in the next seat.

 

[marshallinwa]

Outside of the Canadians, who is crying for a Bolt? There are plenty to choose from here in the Puget Sound region.

This Canadian visited a dealer in Bellingham who had no Bolts on the lot and an allocation of 8 vehicles, 6 of which were already spoken for.

Drive down to Seattle. I see one dealer is offering bonus tag discounts on the Bolt.

 

[marshallinwa]

That’s on order of 25,000 units a year, or 0.10% of our initial production rate for the Model 3, or (~5%) of what Model 3 will be next year.
http://insideevs.com/elon-musk-talks-carb-zev-credits/

.1%? If he's right that the Bolt will do 25,000, then he's saying the INITIAL production rate for the Model 3 will be 250,000 a year, ramping up from there? That sounds...how do I put this politely...infeasible. Existing Tesla line workers are already so overworked they're dropping left and right from burnout and injuries and talking to the UAW about representation, and quality is still spotty even after years of making the same car. If Tesla can't consistently make a quality product and keep their workers whole at low production volume, I don't know how they expect to do it at high production volume. "Robots!"...are not a magic solution; maintaining and repairing robots is already what a lot of those guys do.

I like what Musk has done, is doing, and will do. It's in the interest of everyone who loves EVs that Tesla is successful; nobody is more committed. But it's not cute when he gets "creative" when projecting how long things will take.

I just wanted say the percent quote isn't mine.

 

[Anonymous]

As I type this I'm sitting on Southwest Airlines. This is more comfortable than the Bolt was for me.. Seat is wide enough. Doesn't press up against my thighs. Only problem is fat guy in the next seat.

Really?!?

Shouldn't that make Southwest Airlines a deal breaker for you?

Maybe the guy in the next seat is thinking: "the only problem is the thin guy in the next seat!!" hahahahaha :lol:

 

[Anonymous]

Drive down to Seattle. I see one dealer is offering bonus tag discounts on the Bolt.

So, what did YOU buy or lease in lieu of the Bolt EV?

 

[marshallinwa]

Drive down to Seattle. I see one dealer is offering bonus tag discounts on the Bolt.

So, what did YOU buy or lease in lieu of the Bolt EV?

We went with plan B and test drove a Volt and Hyundai Sonata PHEV.

After test driving both vehicles, we went with the Sonata PHEV. Most of our daily driving is under 20 miles round trip, so it should work out OK.