Volt to get branded as Cadillac instead of Chevy? Not likely!
Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Cadillac, Chevrolet
Late last Friday we got the news that General Motors had committed to the building the Volt at their Detroit Hamtramck assembly plant. The information came from a leaked summary of the new GM-UAW contract that local union leaders were reviewing. Over at the Motor Trend blog, Todd Lassa took a look at the information on the list did some extrapolation. Most of the vehicle assignments on the plant list specified brands in addition to platforms. One vehicle that was conspicuous in missing a brand was the Volt which was listed as simply Global Delta Volt.
From that Lassa is surmising that the GM has possibly decided not to brand the Volt as a Chevrolet but instead sell it under a premium brand like Cadillac. The rationale for such a move is that production cost of the Volt is high enough that calling it a Cadillac would allow GM to charge a higher price and hence recover more of that cost. While this seems reasonable, it also seems highly improbable.
When GM announced the Volt they made it clear that unlike the GM branded EV1, they were calling the Volt a Chevrolet because they wanted the car to be a high-volume, mainstream model. They know full-well that they will almost certainly take a loss on the Volt in the first couple of years. Bob Lutz has made clear that they intend to sell the Volt for well under $30,000 and GM has already started running TV ads and billboards that feature the Chevrolet branding in conjunction with the Volt. Most likely the lack of branding on the list for both the Volt and the Global Delta MPV7 (the next generation Opel Zafira) is due to the fact that both vehicles will be sold globally under different brands in different regions. Here in the US, the Volt will almost certainly be a Chevrolet.
[Source: Motor Trend Blog]
Paris Preview: Honda Insight concept to be new global hybrid
BREAKING: Is this the production Chevy Volt in Transformers 2?
Spy Shot: Production interior of Chevy Volt (maybe)
Pics aplenty: 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid
Paris Preview: Chevy Cruze official pics released
Honda to debut Prius-fighter concept this Thursday
New Ford EcoBoost 3.5L V6 engine smiles for the camera
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-02-2007 @ 11:12AM
Schmeltz said...
I read Tom Lassa's blog too. Although, it is not impossible that GM could brand the vehicle a Cadillac rather than a Chevrolet, I don't think that is likely. Tom reasoned that the Volt may demand a higher price than Chevy customers will be willing to fork out, and therefore market it as a Cadillac, and pursue the up-market shoppers. I can see his reasoning, however, I submit that Chevrolet is more than happy to ask $40 grand or higher for their Suburbans, Tahoes, and large Silverado's already, why would they be afraid to ask $30,000 for a ground breaking hybrid such as the Volt?
Reply
10-02-2007 @ 11:29AM
stevejust said...
Here's a reason why they might brand it a caddy that I don't see identified: CAFE standards for fleet averages. Maybe Cadillac needs the higher mileage vehicle more than Chevy, who can balance Suburban s out with Aveos?
They make huge Escalades, but what's the best mileage Cadillac get? Maybe they'll have two trim levels: the proletariat Chevy Volt and the bourgeois Vlote' or something like that.
I'm not too excited about the Volt, because I'll believe it when I see it. I'm a person that can remember even before I saw EV-1s driving around in the Bay Area when I lived there... I can remember when the EV-1 was a concept car called the Impact. I still have hologram stickers advertising the Impact from when I was in about 8th grade, and I'm 31 now.
Reply
10-02-2007 @ 1:09PM
Sam Abuelsamid said...
Stevejust, The CAFE numbers are not broken down by brand. All GM brands are lumped together, just as Ford, Lincoln and Mercury, Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep etc are lumped together.
Reply
10-03-2007 @ 12:29AM
Darryl said...
I don't see how the Volt pencils out at a $30K MSRP. At some point GM is going to have to accept that the specs they have laid out will correlate to a higher price car or they will have to back off on the spec. My guess is that they are realizing this right about now and thinking about which way to go. If they raise the MSRP, they will have a perceived problem with having a Chevy priced that high. Combine that with the reality that an REEV is a premium purchase for the forseeable future (5 years) due to battery costs and maybe they will indeed brand it as a cadillac.
Reply
10-03-2007 @ 1:59AM
JWilly48519 said...
Both, with the traditional differentiations based on sheet metal, trim, paint choices, interior design and quality. Get the platform in more dealers, sell more units, recoup the fixed costs sooner, have ~ 1.5x as many dealers who are happy to have a halo car in the showroom.
The Chevy version will be conservative/bland, the Caddy will be design-forward.
Reply
10-03-2007 @ 2:24AM
Chris M said...
The recent exhibit of the Opel "Flextreme" concept, based on the same platform, leads me to suspect they will do a more modern streamlined version and sell it in the Saturn division.
If the Volt is successful, I'd expect E-Flex models popping up for most of their brands. Not only a big luxury Caddy version, but also a high performance version for Pontiac, a posh family wagon for Buick, and a 4 wheel drive euro style sedan for Saab. Heck, they might even make an E-Flex pickup for GMC!
Reply
10-03-2007 @ 7:48PM
kenn said...
I'VE SOLD TOYOTAS AND THEY HAVE NO PROBLEM SELLING PRIUSES FOR $30,000 IN THE PHOENIX AREA. IF ITS A GOOD CAR WHY WOULD CHEVY HAVE A PROBLEM?
Reply