![]() ![]() ![]() 2011 was the first full year of production, with the Volt recording 7,671 sales in the U.S. Report: Chevrolet Volt, Cadillac XTS, more gone as GM aims to streamlineįor a vehicle billed as the GM car of the next decade, the Volt arrived amid a cratered auto sales landscape with a fairly significant sticker price, offset somewhat by a delayed tax credit. Ultimately, the untimely demise of the Volt cannot be pinned on any one factor, but rather a significant number of fairly recognizable "usual suspects" that eroded the business case for its continued production since its launch, leading to an outcome that will no doubt continue to be studied for years to come. It boasted a greater pure-electric range, increased energy storage and a progressive gain in mpg numbers, plus a markedly lower starting price of $33,995 before any credits and incentives. The Volt went on sale as a 2016 model year vehicle with a staggered rollout that began in California and then spread to other states. The second-generation Volt debuted at the 2015 Detroit auto show amid a significantly different automotive landscape than just five years prior. For overseas markets, the Volt was offered as the Opel Ampera in Europe, Buick Velite in China and Holden Volt in Australia, keeping the Chevy badge elsewhere. The first-generation Volt won an impressive roster of awards in its first two years on sale, despite a high sticker price of $41,720 prior to any EV credits, and projections of unprofitability for the automaker. The first example rolled out of the Hamtramck plant on November 30, 2010, a year after GM negotiated a bankruptcy minefield that saw the closure of a number of brands within a relatively short period of time and had caused considerable strain on the automaker and the industry. The first-generation Volt debuted in 2010 following an intense development cycle that saw GM engineers push battery technology to its limit at the time, pairing a 1.4-liter gasoline engine with a 16-kWh lithium-ion battery and wrapping the plug-in hybrid in a sleek and futuristic hatchback body. While the departure of large sedans was expected and somewhat overdue, especially as it concerns Cadillac's overlapping lineup, the planned departure of the second-generation Volt on Mawill close a chapter that the automaker did not expect to end this way just a few years ago. GM announced last week that the Volt will exit production in 2019, along with the Chevrolet Impala, Buick LaCrosse and Cadillac CT6, signaling a major shift in long-term planning for the end of the decade and beyond. For a vehicle billed as the savior of General Motors not that long ago, amid the darkest days of the recession and the automotive industry crisis, the Chevrolet Volt will be making a quiet departure amid an industry-wide turn away from sedans and toward SUVs, trucks and crossovers. ![]()
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