The Fourth of July weekend served as a symbolic start for General Motors in its efforts to shake free from gas-guzzling cars. The company sent an early version of its 2011 Chevy Volt on a 1,776-mile Freedom Ride from Austin, Texas to New York City. This four-day tour ending on July 4th featured stops at Chevy dealerships in Little Rock, Roanoke and Philadelphia. General Motors preceded the Freedom Ride with a press conference that laid out plans for the Volt as it hits dealerships later this year.
The automaker notes that it will start selling Chevy Volts in California, Washington, DC, Austin and New York City by December 2010. The company’s Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant will produce as many as 10,000 Volts by the end of 2011. This production level will be eclipsed the following year with a projected output of 30,000 Volts by December 2012. General Motors says that increased production will allow Volts to be sold in Michigan, New Jersey, Connecticut, Texas and New York by the first quarter of 2011. The Chevy Volt will be available in all 50 states by summer 2012 according to current projections.
General Motors is preparing authorized dealers within the initial round of Volt releases to handle consumer demand. Sales representatives at select dealerships are undergoing training on the Volt’s drive system to answer customer questions. The company is also working with service teams at dealerships on anticipating maintenance needs for the Chevy Volt. Every dealer authorized to sell and lease Chevy Volts will receive 240-volt charging stations for refueling after test drives.
The most important step in preparations for the Chevy Volt might be the company’s recently announced partnerships with regional utilities. General Motors is working with five Texas utilities including Austin Energy and Oncor in anticipation of its Austin release. The company has also collaborated with five Northeastern utilities such as ConEdison and National Grid for the New York City release. These partnerships are part of an initiative funded by the Department of Energy to establish proper infrastructure for plug-in hybrid vehicles. The Chevy Volt may be a small step in terms of green vehicle improvements but General Motors is taking the right steps toward wider plug-in adoption.
