
With the Chevy Volt now available for purchase or lease, it makes sense to reach out to potential Volt women drivers. To date, however, GM has made little effort to reach out to us. In fact, out of the 15-member Volt Consumer Advisory Board, only one woman was chosen to participate. None of the new ads that GM has put out speak directly to women either. Since women buy 65% of all new cars and influence 95% of all car purchases, it is time to create a Volt story that resonates with what we want in an electric car.
So, what do women want in a plug-in car? As a researcher and spokesperson in the green car scene, I am often asked by my female associates for vehicle purchase recommendations. Before making any suggestions, I find out about their driving needs and desires. The women I speak to want style, comfort, and convenience. They want reliability, efficiency, and cutting-edge technology. They want a car that makes them stand out from the crowd. They want power when they need it and they want a nice sound system too. In short, they want exactly what the Chevy Volt offers.
Most women in my network are young, single professionals with successful careers. We make up the Gen X and Gen Y marketing segment with advanced degrees and moderate-to-high incomes (9,000,000 in the U.S.). I like to think of our subgroup as “Generation E.” We are the most Educated, Eco-conscious, and Enterprising group of young Americans to date. We are strong believers in the power of technology to address social and ecological problems. We are looking for a car that expresses our values and our desires. In short, we are Chevy Volt’s ideal target market.

So, what kind of Volt story would appeal to this market? It’s not a story of “more car than electric.” The advanced electric drivetrain of the Volt is the part we like the most! It’s not “Chevy runs deep.” Most of us don’t have a sense of “Americana” nostalgia for Chevy cars. The story that appeals most to us is one that portrays the Volt as smart, sexy, and fun.
If I were to craft this story, it would go something like this:
The Volt is Smart: This car is so smart that it runs on electricity instead of oil for most daily driving. It is so smart that it connects to our SmartPhones to let us know when it needs to be charged. It also lets us know when to benefit from the cheapest electricity from a smart grid. And, it has an MPG that kicks some serious Prius-bootie!
The Volt is Fun: This car offers an exhilarating drive experience, with excellent acceleration and great drive dynamics. Driving the Volt is interactive – you control how much charge you get from the battery based on your own driving style. Plus, the Volt comes with entertaining features, such as a new and improved energy-efficient Bose sound system, that enhance the driving experience.
The Volt is Sexy: The car itself is sleek, aerodynamic, and stealthy. It appeals to those that want stylish options in clean mobility. The Volt makes you look and feel good. And everyone will ask…. “Is that your Volt?”
Finally, on price, women are known to make intelligent investments with their money. The sticker price is a bargain for those of us who invest in technologies that offer long-term value. There is no other similar product like it on the market – the closest stylish, fuel-efficient sedan I can think of is the Lexus Hybrid HS (which has an impressive hybrid platform, but no plug). For us, the overall ROI on the Chevy Volt is worth it.
And let us not forget that when EV technology first emerged, women were the strongest proponents of plug-in cars. At the turn of the 20th century, it was urban, well-to-do women who preferred the clean, quiet, convenience of petroleum-free mobility.
These are just a few preliminary ideas on how to craft a stronger Volt story. I am sure that GM-Volt readers will have lots to say on this topic as well, especially for the women readers out there. If the Volt story is not communicated in a way that resonates with the “hearts and minds” of today’s women, its initial entry amongst our segment could be somewhat limited. By appealing to what we really want in an electric car, however, the Chevy Volt will have a lasting impact on a whole new generation of plug-in drivers.
Shannon Arvizu, Ph.D., loves driving clean, green machines. You can catch her test drives in cars of the future at MissElectric.com.