TriShield

Volt Outsells Vette in 2012



By Paul Lienert, Correspondent | Published Jun 15, 2012
www.insideline.com

•Chevrolet's Volt hybrid, a relative newcomer to the brand, is outselling the long-running Corvette sports car so far in 2012.
•The Volt, now in its first year of full production, has been delivered to 7,057 customers.
•The Corvette, in its sixth generation and 60th year, has been selected by 5,547 customers.

DETROIT — Chevrolet's Volt hybrid, a relative newcomer to the brand, is outselling the long-running Corvette sports car so far in 2012.

The Volt, now in its first year of full production, was delivered to 7,057 customers from January through May, while the Corvette, in its sixth generation and 60th year, was selected by 5,547 customers in the first five months.

Last year, the Corvette outsold the Volt, 13,164 to 7,671, although General Motors was just beginning to ramp up production of the new Chevy hybrid. So far in 2012, Volt is on pace to reach about 20,000 sales for the full year.

The Volt enjoys a clear price advantage over the Vette: Before federal and state incentives, the Volt is priced from $39,995, including shipping, while the Corvette coupe starts at $50,575.

The Volt is powered by a 149-horsepower electric motor combined with an 84-hp 1.4-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine. The 2012 model was rated by the EPA at 95 MPGe in city driving and 93 MPGe on the highway. For 2013, the Volt's city MPGe climbs to 101. After the battery is depleted and the gasoline engine kicks in, the Volt is rated at 35 mpg in the city and 40 mpg on the highway; those ratings haven't changed for 2013.

The basic Corvette coupe, in comparison, is powered by a 6.2-liter V8 that makes 436 hp and is rated by the EPA at 16 mpg in the city and 26 mpg on the highway.

Inside Line says: Vette still handily wins the 0-60 comparison.

bad_408_vert

iTrader: (6)

I'm sorry but this is stupidest comparison between 2 cars.
Only thing common is that they are both Chevy cars.
No one buys a volt instead of a vette last minute when they walk into a dealership.

1CAMWNDR

iTrader: (21)

firebird99

iTrader: (2)

Don't think it was to prove the volt as the better car just showing that it's a niche car that is selling well and for Chevy that's a great thing.

ULTIMATEORANGESS

iTrader: (4)

with vette sales so low maybe i can get a good deal on one.

Cole Train

iTrader: (30)

^^^ Don't bet on it lol Dealers still want blood for em

ULTIMATEORANGESS

iTrader: (4)

well, if you have a GM card they're allowing 3000 points if you have that many. thats more than most of their vehicles. camaros are still only 1k.

Tainted

iTrader: (9)

that means the c7 MUST be electric then right?

SparkyJJO

iTrader: (11)

I saw a volt on the highway (of all places) today.

The Alchemist

iTrader: (19)

I'm sure the looming C7 is having an impact on sales. Who wants to buy a new corvette only to find out that a C7 is going to be better in this or that way. Nothing dates a vehicle more than when a new model rolls off the assembly line. Hence why the Trans Ams still look badass.

gearheads78

iTrader: (29)

I work in a Chevy dealership service dept and I would say at least 50% of the Volts that come in are Fleet or owned by companies like GE and ATT that are getting huge corporate tax breaks for being "GREEN"

1ltcap

it's amazing that so many people buy a vehicle rated at 95mpg that only really gets 39.

DarkblueTA

This. I remember GE buying the remaining 2011 cars that didn't sell.

2002_Z28_Six_Speed

iTrader: (19)

It proves that more people are concerned about fuel economy even if they have to pay a premium for the vehicle rather than owning one of the best values for performance/$ that you can get. The Corvette does a good job but most people aren't looking for that.

Face it. Most of the people on LS1 Tech represent a miniscule, niche group of the drivers out on the road.

transamtom

iTrader: (8)

If they really were the answer and people really did want that technology they would be out selling the Vette 50-1.

Even with taxpayer subsidies on both sides of the border the sales are less than impressive. JMHO

BTW the first one I seen was at a gas station,my GF thought it was ugly.

jimmy169

Great ironic news but also makes me consider whether a corvette can be had for a good deal at this time.

Z Fury

iTrader: (1)

Agreed. I think most potential buyers know GM is working on improving the interior on the C7, which is the main issue most Vette owners have with their cars.

The Alchemist

iTrader: (19)

Hasn't it always been the case that sales figures for corvettes decline in the last 1-2 years prior to a new generation coming out? That's when GM comes out with extra options and special packages to encourage people to buy. Like now, they have the 60th anniversary edition which is essentially a Z06 convertible. For the C5's they had the 50th anniversary edition as well as bumped up the power output of the C5 Z06 to 405hp in the last couple years of production of the c5's.

So the point of this thread is that the Volt finally wasn't the lowest selling vehicle in GM's lineup. It finally outsold something.

ULTIMATEORANGESS

iTrader: (4)

absolutely, when buyers know a next gen vette is coming out sales drop considerably.


if this is the case right now expect serious incentives on current models.

SparkyJJO

iTrader: (11)

Unless you don't drive enough at once to kick in the gas engine, then it gets near infinity mpg. That's the problem with the traditional mpg ratings, they just don't work well for hybrid cars like that.