GM-VOLT : Chevy Volt Electric Car Site

Yesterday the New GM announced its sixth consecutive profitable quarter, a $2.5 billion profit, increase in U.S. market share, and that it was financially in the black in all markets, including Europe which posted its first profitable quarter in many years.

“It was a good quarter and another step in our journey of sustained, profitable growth,” said GM CEO Dan Akerson to analysts during a conference call of the company’s success since exiting bankruptcy in mid 2009.

In North America, the company’s net income was $2.2 billion, up 41 percent compared to the second quarter of 2010.

The Volt is not a sales leader yet, but GM is heavily invested in it, and indicators remain that it will be in due time.

Its Opel division was up too, allowing GM of Europe to post a $102 million quarterly profit.

GM’s net income for the first half year was $5.4 billion, although Chief Financial Officer, Dan Ammann said he expects second-half profits to be “modestly lower.”

In order to exceed expectations this past quarter, GM said it was operating it plants at 103 percent of capacity on a two-shift, annualized basis. A year ago production was at 93 percent.

The company also gained market share aided by the unfortunate March calamity in Japan which set its rivals back. For example Toyota saw its profits plummet by 99 percent for the quarter of April through June.

GM’s market share in its home country is now 20.4 percent up from 19.4 percent a year ago, according to the Automotive Data Center.

“Our U.S. launch product cadence over the next couple of years is further reason for optimism that we can continue to stabilize, if not grow, our U.S. market share,” Akerson said.

Although earning news had surpassed analysts’ expectations, GM stock shares mirrored the fall of the Dow Jones Industrial Average by sinking 4.3 percent yesterday on the New York Stock Exchange. This was a $1.18 per share decline to $25.99 and GM’s shares are now priced about 21 percent below their initial public offering price of $33.

Things however were not just bad for GM’s stock, but the entire market. As mentioned, the Dow fell 4.3 percent and the NASDAQ also withered by over 5 percent. In the past 10 trading days, there has been a market correction of 10 percent.

As is the case with many corporations in America, GM is sitting on lots of cash, not willing even to buy back its own stock.

Still government owned

Even though it could pay its way out of the “Government Motors” moniker, GM is taking a different route than did Chrysler, which chose to refinance its debt in May by paying back $7.6 billion to the U.S. Treasury.

Instead GM said it has no immediate plans to spend some of its cash on stock buyback or toward dividends, preferring, Amman said, to build a “fortress balance sheet.”

GM president of North America, Mark Reuss further said he would not speculate when the Treasury might divest its remaining GM equity, something it has expressed the desire to do.

It is a dilemma the government is in at the moment, as it would prefer not to have bought high and sell low.

In the mean time, as GM waits for the government to sell off its shares, Reuss said direct influence of share price is out of his control, and all GM can do is keep on moving on, doing as it has by growing the business.

“We want to drive returns for our investors. The only way I know how to do that is with results,” Reuss said.

ABCDE

To possibly get more results, and at least round out its U.S. portfolio, GM said it would introduce the Chevrolet Spark minicar as a 2013 model some time between January and June of 2012.

The subcompact Sonic which we wrote about recently is going into production this month, but Chevrolet is not done catering to consumers wanting expedient solutions for rising gas prices.

Like a sub-sized Sonic, the Spark’s rear door handles are in the black section, aft of the window glass.

The five-door Spark has been a leader in other growing markets around the world and is the smallest car ever sold as a Chevrolet. Its engine options start with a four-cylinder 1.0 liter.

Yesterday Jason Laird, executive director of North American product communications, tweeted from a Management Briefing Seminar conference in Michigan that Reuss said the “Spark minicar will give Chevrolet A-B-C-D-E segment coverage for first time in [the] U.S.”

In auto industry parlance, an “A” size car is a minicar. The subcompact Sonic is a “B.” The compact Cruze or Volt is a “C,” the midsize Malibu a “D,”and the full-size Impala is an “E.”

Automotive News, Edmunds Auto Observer, GM Inside News.

Is the Bavarian maker of “Ultimate Driving Machines” going to become the maker of the ultimate Volt-inspired expressions of advanced mobility?

Last week BMW caught observers by surprise by announcing it would make available an optional range-extending engine to its pending, carbon-fiber-reinforced-plastic bodied, i3 electric city car.

This news comes just around three months after Volt lead engineer Frank Weber was hired away by BMW, and talk then was they were thinking of creating more range-extended vehicles.

BMW’s i8 and i3 look as futuristic on the outside as they are under the skin. (Click on this and following photos for high-resolution.)

We do not know what degree of influence he has had, but he is definitely an inspired, forward thinking, and competent engineer whose talents transcended into words laced with philosophical overtones when he spoke of mobility solutions.

His sensibility is at least echoed to a degree by BMW’s newspeak describing concepts in its latest video and press kit.

The more sensible car is taking the road to the right; the more viscerally provocative model is ready to tear up the left.

At the time of his hiring, BMW already had in the works the swoopy, petrol-plus-electric i8. Both it and the i3 are due for production in 2013, but details are vague. The i3 will reportedly be sold in Germany first, with unknown launch date for either car in the U.S.

i3

How many ways can automakers attempt to stamp their individuality into a synonym for range-extended electric vehicle? We don’t know, but BMW has coined one more term by calling its extended-range, four-passenger i3 the REx.

This car will be also available as an all electric, and looks like it will be the first to make range extension via petrol an option. Unknown is what engine will be utilized, but it is reportedly to be a two-cylinder, and it will not be connected to the drive wheels a la Chevy Volt.

The i3 has been around for about a couple years as a concept, and was originally called the MegaCity. It was conceived as an all-carbon fiber bodied electric vehicle, and is actually a third-generation EV design.

Carbon fiber i3 city car.

It builds on BMW’s work with the limited-production, lease-only Mini Cooper EV, and the also limited-availability and lease-only electric 1-Series Active-E, due this fall.

The expected range for the approximately 22-kWh, lithium-ion-powered, all-electric version of the i3 will be 80-100 miles, and top speed will be limited to 93 mph.

It will be rear wheel drive, with a 170-horsepower motor mounted to the rear axle as is the case with the Active-E 1 Series.

Just like dad’s station wagon, right? Space to stuff groceries; transparent doors and transparent room to see out from …

Its dimensions are about 151 inches long, 79 inches wide. Wheel base will be around 101 inches, so it will be kind of like the Nissan LEAF, albeit much lighter and upscale.

The carbon-fiber-bodied creation is expected to weigh around 600 pounds less than a LEAF at around 2,756 pounds.

Passable, but rear leg room won’t confuse anyone that they are in a 7-Series.

No word on pricing yet, but it is being speculated that the super-light, strong, rigid and difficult-to-form body, plus high-tech gadgetry throughout could see it topping $50,000, but again, that is only a guess.

i8

The i8 will also be constructed of carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic. It will be an all-wheel-drive, plug-in hybrid sports car which BMW says is capable of dashing from 0-60 in 4.6 seconds, and reaching 155 mph.

How does it do this, yet remain at least somewhat environmentally responsible? By mating a 129-horsepower electric motor to the front drive wheels, and a 220-horsepower 1.5-liter, turbocharged three-cylinder gasoline engine to turn the rear wheels.

Unmistakable BMW design, but the transparent panels are avante-garde indeed.

The environmentally sensible part will largely be realized when nursing it around town within the confines of its 22 miles of all-electric range from its approximately 8-kWh lithium-ion battery.

BMW said it will achieve over 100 mpg on the European drive cycle.

Of course if the i8 driver wants to push the exotic hybrid, gasoline power is always available to propel the 3,300-pound car with all of its 349 gas-plus-electric horsepower.

Cockpit as viewed from the perspective of a back-seat driver …

It will have three driver-selectable modes in all, the third being simply gasoline power, with ability to switch between modes assuming the battery half the size of the Volt’s is still charged.

While making less power than a full-on supercar, its dimensions are suggestive of high-line exotics. According to BMW, it is 182 inches long, 77 inches wide, and 50 inches tall.

BMW did not announce a price projection for the i8 either.

The transparent roof is to see out of, and let light in, but it does not have photovoltaic cells like Fisker’s Karma does under its glass roof top.

It did however say that a mid-range i5 will be made available in 2016, three years after the i8 and i3 are released. The i5 is expected to use the same powertrain as the i8.

More information on both the i3 and i8 is available at their Web sites linked above, although some details will not be announced until closer to their launch.

Consumer Reports, Extreme Tech, Edmunds Auto Observer

Having listened to GM explain the Volt’s cautious roll out all year, and most recently its reduced July sales, it has been reminiscent of hearing doctors making positive predictions for an injured star ball player – who just recovered from surgery.

More to the point, this week GM’s spokespeople preemptively contacted media prior to official July sales results explaining only one hundred Volt sales were expected. As it turned out, Chevrolet beat their number with 125 Volts sold in July.

In getting this background context delivered ahead of time, it was been kind of like hearing, “The kid has just started walking, but he’ll be out running for the end zone before you know it” … or something along those lines.

More Volts are being made, including for export, such as this one in old Shanghai.

It is all understandable though. Considering the Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant was shut down for upgrades for four weeks until earlier this month, Chevrolet wanted everyone to know the Volt had been down for the count, but indicators are it is just waiting to rebound with a new lease on life.

The bottom line, GM said, is it was all planned – and the positive news is demand has been relatively high.

“Volt sales are exactly as we expected as we shut down production in June and July to revamp the plant to increase Volt production in 2012,” said GM spokesperson Michelle Bunker. “We are ‘virtually sold out’ – only about 100 2011 Volts are left in stock – or one per every six dealers.”

Chevrolet built 3,975 Volts for the 2011 model year, she said, with about 550 of these being assigned as dealer demos. To date, 3,200 have sold, and 125 are being used for internal uses, such as for engineering, marketing, training and media sampling – speaking of which, GM-Volt is (finally) supposed to have one of these remaining 2011 media Volts trucked down to Pennsylvania from New York on Aug. 11 for a one-week review. I am looking forward to it …

As for regular waiting consumers in selling markets, on average, Bunker said, including time required to prep for delivery, this year Volts spent about 13 days in the dealership before being taken by a new customer.

And the really good news for Volt enthusiasts is the kid will soon be out running for the touchdown, er, that is, the Volt will soon be selling in far higher volumes.

“As a result of the plant upgrades, planned Volt and Ampera production capacity this year will increase to 16,000 units. In 2012, global production capacity is expected to be 60,000 vehicles with an estimated 45,000 to be delivered in the United States,” Bunker said.

Coming soon: More Volts to fill up those Chevy solar charging stations.

Bunker said since June 10, dealers nationwide were able to enter orders for 2012s, and it is hoped increased availability will ameliorate the up-till-now situation whereby dealers have been asking for more than Chevrolet was able to deliver.

“Our dealers have requested allocation four to seven times the numbers which were available each month since launch,” she said, which put in a positive light meant, “Each month we were able to see demand from our participating dealers.”

Gaining stride

So, we have been hearing of limited supply, but strong demand all year. Last week Volt Line Director, Tony Posawatz conceded GM underestimated Volt demand, but the question is what will it take to catch up to real automotive industry level sales numbering in the thousands and tens of thousands, instead of hundreds?

A snapshot of Chevrolet aggregate numbers illustrates this point.

In brief, July marked the 11th straight month of retail gains and they are being driven by fuel-efficient vehicles.

Overall, Chevrolet sold 149,005 vehicles in July, for a 6-percent increase over the same month a year ago. Looking at just retail sales, Chevrolet reported a 9-percent increase in July.

Chevrolet noted the 32-mpg Equinox increased 73 percent, and its retail sales were up by 75 percent – this also marked the 11th consecutive month of gains for this compact crossover.

Calendar year to date, Equinox total sales are up 47 percent and retail sales are up 59 percent, Chevrolet said, noting this accomplishment as “significantly outpacing its top competitors, the Ford Escape, Toyota RAV-4, and Honda CR-V.”

Chevrolet also observed that Edmunds.com recently named the 2011 Chevrolet Equinox the Lowest Annual True Cost to Own® SUV between $25,000 and $35,000, based on projected ownership costs over a five-year period, assuming 15,000 miles driven per year.”

Driving toward a Voltec future

Now that the Detroit-Hamtramck plant is upgraded, and poised to deliver 5,000 Volts and Amperas per month by January, supply will no longer be the reason given for lack of Volt sales. Or will it?

GM has said it is unwilling to divulge whether it could or would increase mid-year production even further if demand rises beyond capacity again.

Voltec MPV5 concept.

In the mean time, we are waiting to see what new Voltec-based model is next to spread the appeal for this new kind of powertrain. Increasing variety for a public that GM said has been demanding fuel efficiency for almost a year straight would appear to be a wise decision.

Any guesses as to what will be next? Will GM launch just one new Voltec model? Two? More?

What is the smartest thing GM could do to increase Voltec proliferation without realizing its fear of spreading itself too thin?

Do you think if GM went wild like some enthusiasts might like, and churned out more models it could over do it? Strategically, is it better for GM to keep a number of people waiting, rather than over-meeting demand and risking large numbers remaining unsold?

And for that matter, we know the readers of this site love the Volt, but think like a business: how much demand is really out there? GM plans on producing 60,000 Volts worldwide for calendar year 2012 and has made no announcements of other Voltec-based models. If it worked on improved marketing to really draw in all the new customers possible, how many Volts, or Voltec-based derivatives could it sell per year?

Working under General Motors’ “Green Zone Initiative,” a California and a Michigan Chevrolet dealership each recently installed solar charging stations to offset costs and up their commitment to renewable energy.

Modeled on the solar canopy at the Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant, the dealers’ canopies will be capable of fully charging up to 12 Chevrolet Volts per day, or up to 4,500 charges annually.

The first dealerships to install the canopies – at no cost to themselves – were American Chevrolet in Modesto, Calif., and Al Serra Auto Plaza in Grand Blanc, Mich.

Energy from the sun makes charging the Volt an environmentally cleaner proposition. Excess energy is sold back to the grid.

“The question isn’t whether to install a solar canopy, it’s where and how many,” said Joe Serra, president of Serra Automotive. “It’s a win for us because the electricity generated will help reduce operating costs, and it’s a win for the environment since solar power helps reduce our carbon footprint.”

The Green Zone Initiative is part of GM Ventures’ recent announcement to invest $7.5 million in solar panel manufacturing and development company, Sunlogics.

Sunlogics PLC is a vertically-integrated global solar energy systems provider specializing in solar project development and installation. The scope of the company’s current projects and operations includes Canada, the United States, Europe and China.

In one shot: From the sun to photovoltaic panels to end user. The canopy also happens to fit aesthetically with existing architecture.

Each of the Chevrolet dealers partnered with Sunlogics for its “Green Zone.”

“The beauty of this program is that there is no capital cost required from the dealership,” said Dave Halvorson, president of American Chevrolet in Modesto. “Not only do we generate the solar energy to increase our reliance on renewable electricity, but the Green Zone is a billboard of our commitment to the environment.”

Sort of a bird’s eye view

As part of its investment, GM has committed to double its global solar output from 30 megawatts to 60 megawatts per year by 2015, and the dealership solar chargers are a step in that direction.

“Just one of these canopies provides enough renewable energy to power two to three homes per year, or more than 25 percent of a dealership’s energy consumption,” said Perry. “Collectively, that will be a lot of power we are putting back into the grid.”

Presented with subsidized solar, the canopies’ marketing and PR value was seen as a no-brainer, as charging for more EVs is expected to increase.

A request for information from a GM spokesperson including questions of how many more dealerships will get solar canopies, at what pace will they come online, what each would have cost, and more, were not returned yesterday.

Otherwise, GM says 1.4 percent of its U.S. energy consumption is derived from renewable resources.

“GM is the leading user of renewable energy in automotive manufacturing. It has three of the largest automotive rooftop solar power installations in the United States, and the world’s largest rooftop solar installation at its car assembly plant in Zaragoza, Spain,” GM said. “Additionally, GM has started construction on a new solar field at its Detroit-Hamtramck facility and completed construction on a solar array on top of its Baltimore Operations facility.”

Recently the Volt was the highest rated compact car in the J.D. Powers and Associates 2011 U.S. Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study.

The study, appropriately enough, lists the vehicles deemed most appealing to consumers, and differs from the J.D. Power Initial Quality Study (IQS) in that it measures “things gone right” rather than “things gone wrong.”

“This news comes on the heels of being Edmunds’ consumer top choice as well,” said Volt Spokesman Rob Peterson.

Comparatively few own 2011 Volts, as only 4,488 were produced, but consumer scoring ranked the car highest in the compact car segment.

Peterson sent over the GM-related results which include the latest feather in the Volt’s cap, as it has also collected honors from engineers, journalists, safety rating organizations, and consumers.

Another way of quantifying the significance of the APEAL study it is a measure of how gratifying a new vehicle is to own and drive, based on owner evaluations of about 80 vehicle attributes.

Its aggregate findings (for all vehicles surveyed, not just the Volt) were based on responses gathered between February and May 2011 from about 73,000 purchasers and lessees of new 2011 model-year cars and trucks who responded after the first 90 days of ownership.

Vehicle Appeal at a Historic High

J.D. Powers noted that since it began conducting the annual study in 1996, the market is at an all-time high.

This is essentially a barometer indicating that automakers are designing cars better than ever.

“The auto industry has taken a battering during the past few years,” said David Sargent, vice president of global vehicle research at J.D. Power and Associates. “However, it is clear that throughout this period, automakers have never lost sight of the fact that survival – and ultimately success – only comes from winning over customers in the showroom. Offering highly appealing vehicles is one of the primary means to succeed.”

While the Volt placed first in its segment, other GM products also did well.

And for that matter, other manufacturers garnered awards in this year’s APEAL study, in fact, some did better.

For the seventh consecutive year, Porsche was the highest-ranking nameplate in the 2011 APEAL study. Hyundai improved from 2010 more than any other nameplate this year, while Jeep and Chrysler also improved considerably, J.D. Powers said.

BMW and Dodge each captured three segment-level awards. Also receiving awards were the Hyundai Equus, Land Rover Range Rover, Lexus IS, MINI Countryman, Nissan Armada, Porsche Cayenne, Scion xB, Suzuki Kizashi and Volkswagen GTI.

Among GM vehicles, Peterson pointed out the Chevrolet Tahoe, Avalanche and Camaro placed second in their segments.

He also noted that Cadillac and Buick ranked above average at tenth and 17th respectively. GMC ranked 19th and Chevrolet placed at 22th.

Source: J.D. Powers