General Motors Sales Increase 21 Percent in November

8/8/2019 General Motors Sales Increase 21 Percent in November

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General Motors Sales Increase 21 Percent in November

Wed, Dec 1 2010

y GM¶s four brands are on track to gain market share for the year y C hevrolet monthly sales rise 18 percent; year-to-date sales are up 17 percent

y Buick monthly sales increase 36 percent; year-to-date sales are up 54 percent

y GM C monthly sales improve 30 percent; year-to-date sales are up 28 percent

y C adillac monthly sales increase 21 percent; year-to-date sales are up 38 percent

DETROIT ± General Motors dealers reported 168,704 total sales in November, a 21-percentincrease from the prior year for the company¶s four brands. The gains were the result of balancedcontributions from Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac cars, crossovers and trucks. With salesfor GM¶s four brands up 22 percent through November, GM is on track to gain market share for the year.

November retail sales for the company¶s brands rose 20 percent compared to a year earlier.

³Each brand came to the party in November,´ said Don Johnson, vice president, U.S. salesoperations. ³These results show that our brands continue to gain momentum with consumerswho want stylish, fuel-efficient vehicles.´

During the month, combined sales of the Chevrolet Equinox, GMC Terrain and Cadillac SRXincreased 56 percent, while the combined sales for the Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia andChevrolet Traverse rose 38 percent versus last year. Combined, GM¶s crossovers improved 39 percent during the month, and are up 51 percent year to date.

Combined sales of the Chevrolet Avalanche, Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra full-size pickups increased 16 percent for the month and are 16 percent higher year to date, compared to2009.

Passenger car deliveries increased 17 percent during November, driven by improving demand for the Chevrolet Cruze (8,066 unit sales) and Buick Regal (1,979 unit sales). Strong increases fromChevrolet Aveo (up 47 percent), Chevrolet Impala (up 19 percent) and Buick LaCrosse (up 20 percent) also helped drive the year-over-year improvement.

³November sales results are consistent with our expectations and show that the plan we laid outearlier this year to steadily grow in the U.S. market is working,´ Johnson said. Sales for GM¶s

four brands have increased 22 percent through November, while the industry has increasedapproximately 11 percent.

Month-end dealer inventory in the U.S. stood at about 536,000 units, which is about 21,000

higher compared to October, and about 98,000 higher than November 2009.

November Key Facts and Brand Results:



y C alendar-year-to-date total sales for GM¶s four brands are up 22 percent y C alendar-year-to-date retail sales for GM¶s four brands are up 15 percent

y GM¶s four brands have sold 103,014 more vehicles year-to-date than were sold with

eight brands through November 2009 y GM sells the most stylish, fuel-efficient crossovers in the U.S. market, with sales up 51

percent in 2010

y C hevrolet: Chevrolet delivered 117,588 total vehicles in November, an 18-percent

increase year over year. Retail sales for Chevrolet rose 13 percent on the strength of improving Cruze sales, and strong Silverado and Equinox retail sales, which were up 15

and 51 percent respectively. Year-to-date total Chevrolet sales are up 17 percent.

y Buick: Buick, the fastest growing major automotive brand in the United States, reported 11,725 total sales, a 36-percent increase compared to a year ago. This includes a 37-

percent rise in year-over-year retail sales ± the 14th consecutive month of year-over-year sales gains for the brand. Total Buick sales are up 54 percent for the calendar year to

date.

y GM C : GMC reported total sales of 27,590, a 30-percent increase compared to the same

month last year . This marks the 14th consecutive month of year-over-year salesincreases. Retail sales were 29 percent higher than last year, spurred by Sierra, Acadia

and Terrain ± up 16 percent, 76 percent and 55 percent, respectively. For the year,GMC total sales are up 28 percent.

y C adillac: Cadillac, the fastest-growing luxury brand in the United States, reported total

sales of 11,801 for November ± 21 percent higher than last November, with retail salesincreasing 46 percent. November was the 10th consecutive month of year-over-year total

and retail sales gains. SRX retail sales were up 39 percent, compared to a year ago. CTS retail sales rose 97 percent, driven by strong demand for the all-new CTS Coupe. Total

sales for Cadillac are up 38 percent for the year.

y F leet sales for GM¶s four brands were 47,330 for the month.

Ford, GM sales fare best

May '09 May '08 Change Share May '09 Share May '08

General Motors 190,098 266,744 -28.7 20.5% 19.1%

Ford Motor 155,620 205,270 -24.2 16.8% 14.7%

Chrysler 79,010 148,747 -46.9 8.5% 10.6%Toyota 152,583 257,406 -40.7 16.5% 18.4%

Honda 98,344 167,997 -41.5 10.6% 12.0%

Nissan 67,489 100,874 -33.1 7.3% 7.2%

Hyundai 36,937 46,415 -20.4 4.0% 3.3%

Mazda 16,718 27,921 -40.1 1.8% 2.0%

Mitsubishi 4,352 10,430 -58.3 0.5% 0.7%



K ia 26,060 31,047 -16.1 2.8% 2.2%

Subaru 17,505 18,436 -5 1.9% 1.3%

Suzuki 2,585 10,364 -75.1 0.3% 0.7%

Mercedes-Benz 15,138 21,798 -30.6 1.6% 1.6%

Saab 783 2,148 -63.5 0.1% 0.2%Volvo 5,577 7,238 -22.9 0.6% 0.5%

Volkswagen 36,313 43,504 -16.5 3.9% 3.1%

Audi 7,503 8,534 -12.1 0.8% 0.6%

BMW 18,383 25,469 -27.8 2.0% 1.8%

Porsche 1,979 2,796 -29.2 0.2% 0.2%

Isuzu ... 510 -100 NA NA

Jaguar 1,168 1,757 -33.5 0.1% 0.1%

Land Rover 2,223 3,003 -26 0.2% 0.2%

Mini 4,610 6,312 -27 0.5% 0.5%

Ferrari 85 143 -40.6 NA NA

Maserati 128 286 -55.2 NA NA

Bentley 159 251 -36.7 NA NA

Rolls Royce 26 21 23.8 NA NA

Maybach 3 9 -66.7 NA NA

Total 925,824 1,397,033 -33.7

Competitors

Direct Competitor Comparison

GM PVT1 F TM Industry

Market Cap: 52.40B N/A 58.54B 123.76B N/A

Employees: 209,000 N/A 198,000 318,001 24.31K

Qtrly Rev Growth (yoy): 27.20% N/A -1.30% 5.80% 0.00%

Revenue (ttm): 131.04B 17.71B1 133.36B 242.05B N/A

Gross Margin (ttm): 10.35% N/A 15.73% 13.39% 28.73%

EBITDA (ttm): 9.10B N/A 13.98B 22.96B N/A

Operating Margin (ttm): 1.66% N/A 6.54% 3.00% 7.26%

Net Income (ttm): 638.00M -3.78B1 7.26B 6.63B N/A

EPS (ttm): 0.24 N/A 1.89 4.23 1.86

P/E (ttm): 147.38 N/A 8.92 18.67 N/A

PEG (5 yr expected): N/A N/A 0.42 0.60 N/A





GM continues to spend heavily on traditional advertising (including billboards and movie placements), unlike many of its lighter Asian competitors. This New York City Escalade billboard is six stories high.

Yet the biggest threat is still from foreign companies. The influx of foreign cars into the USmarket has had huge ramifications for the Big Three. The UAW's old method of keeping the BigThree in check, by demanding steep concessions whenever a clear leader seemed to emerge,worked both to placate workers and to maintain balance in the US auto industry. However,foreign companies now account for more than half of the US auto market. Now, UAW demandsdo no more than put Big Three companies at a direct and pronounced disadvantage.

Foreign companies like Toyota and Nissan are poised to dominate the mainstream, small- tomedium-sized car market with their flexibility, cheaper prices, and (in Toyota's case), earlyinvestments in fuel efficiency. Cars like the highly successful Toyota Prius are a big challengefor GM's own Saturn hybrids. GM will also have to fight these newcomers in what remains of its

highly lucrative gasoline-based SUV/trucks sector.



General Motors

The General Motors Company ( NYSE: GM, TSX: GMM.U) is an American automaker withits headquarters in Detroit, Michigan. General Motors, the world's second largest automaker,[3] traces its roots back to 1908. With its global headquarters in Detroit, GM employs 205,000 people in every major region of the world and does business in some 157 countries. GeneralMotors produces cars and trucks in 31 countries, and sell and service these vehicles through thefollowing divisions: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Opel, Vauxhall. GM's OnStar subsidiary

provides vehicle safety, security and information services.

General Motors is headquartered at the Renaissance Center in Detroit. It employs approximately266,000 people around the world. In 2009, General Motors sold 6.5 million cars and trucksglobally. General Motor's biggest success has been in the People's Republic of China, where itssales rose 66.9 percent in 2009, selling 1,830,000 vehicles and accounting for 13.4 percent of themarket.[4]



History

The company was first founded on September 16, 1908, in Flint, Michigan, as a holdingcompany for Buick , then controlled by William C. Durant. GM's co-founder was Charles StewartMott, whose carriage company was merged into Buick prior to GM's creation. Over the years

Mott became the largest single stockholder in GM and spent his life with his Mott Foundation,whose benefit was shone on the city of Flint, his adopted home. It acquired Oldsmobile later thatyear. In 1909, Durant brought in Cadillac, Elmore, Oakland and several others. Also in 1909,GM acquired the Reliance Motor Truck Company of Owosso, Michigan, and the Rapid Motor Vehicle Company of Pontiac, Michigan, the predecessors of GMC Truck . Durant lost control of GM in 1910 to a bankers' trust, because of the large amount of debt taken on in its acquisitionscoupled with a collapse in new vehicle sales.

The longest-lived continuous automobile nameplate still in production is the Chevrolet Suburban

The next year, Durant started the Chevrolet Motor Car Company and through this he secretly purchased a controlling interest in GM. Durant took back control of the company after one of themost dramatic proxy wars in American business history. Durant then reorganized General

Motors Company into General Motors Corporation in 1916. Shortly after, he again lost control,this time for good, after the new vehicle market collapsed. Alfred P. Sloan was picked to takecharge of the corporation and led it to its post-war global dominance. This unprecedented growthof GM would last into the early 1980s when it employed 349,000 workers and operated 150assembly plants.

GM has led global sales for 77 consecutive years (1931 to 2008), longer than any other automaker.[5]

[edit] Brand reorganization

As part of General Motors Corporation's reorganization as General Motors Company, the contentand the structure of its brand portfolio (its brand architecture) is also being reorganized.[13] Somenameplates like Pontiac, Saturn, Hummer, and service brands like Goodwrench werediscontinued. Others, like Saab, were sold.[14] The practice of putting the "GM Mark of Excellence" on every car, no matter what the brand, was discontinued in August, 2009.[15] Thecompany has moved from a corporate-endorsed hybrid brand architecture structure, where GMunderpinned every brand to a multiple brand corporate invisible brand architecture structure.[16]





1998[18] 4,603,991

1999 5,017,150 9.0%

2000[19] 4,953,163 1.3%

2001 4,904,015 1.0%

2002 4,858,705 0.9%2003 4,756,403 2.1%

2004[20] 4,707,416 1.0%

2005 4,517,730 4.0%

2006[21] 4,124,645 8.7%

2007 3,866,620 6.3%

2008[22] 2,980,688 22.9%

2009[23] 2,084,492 30.1%

World presence

GM World Headquarters

[edit] North America

In North America, GM will focus primarily on its four core brands ² Chevrolet, Cadillac,Buick, and GMC ² while selling, discontinuing, or scaling back its other brands. The WhiteHouse characterized the GM restructuring as a shift toward a new leaner, greener GM, whichwill aim to break even with annual sales much lower than previously stated.

[36]President Obama

declared that the restructuring "will mark the end of an old GM, and the beginning of a new GM;a new GM that can produce the high-quality, safe, and fuel-efficient cars of tomorrow; that can

lead America towards an energy independent future; and that is once more a symbol of America's success."[37]

In the middle of 2005, GM announced that its corporate chrome power emblem "Mark of Excellence" would begin appearing on all recently introduced and all-new 2006 model vehicles produced and sold in North America. However, in 2009 the "New GM" reversed this, saying thatemphasis on its four core brands would dictate downplaying the GM name.[38]



[edit] Asia

The Buick brand is especially strong in China, led by the Buick Excelle subcompact. The lastemperor of China owned a Buick.[39] The Cadillac brand was introduced in China in 2004,starting with exports to China. GM pushed the marketing of the Chevrolet brand in China in

2005 as well, moving the former Buick Sail to that marque. The company manufactures most of its China market vehicles locally through Shanghai GM, a joint venture with the Chinesecompany SAIC, which was created on March 25, 1997. The Shanghai GM plant was officiallyopened on December 15, 1998, when the first Chinese-built Buick came off the assembly line.The SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile joint-venture is also successfully selling microvans under the Wuling marque (34 percent owned by GM).

In August 2009 the joint venture of FAW GM Light Duty Commercial Vehicle Co Ltd wasformed that mainly produces Jiefang light-duty trucks.[40]

GM increased its sales in China by 68 percent to 230,048 vehicles in March 2010, outsold its

U.S. sales of 188,546 by 22 percent. And the company said it is ³on track´ to sell more than 2million vehicles in China in 2010, four years ahead of its plan.[41][42]Blumenstein, Rebecca(October 30, 2007). "GM to Invest in Green Technology in China". W SJ .http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119365251905674678.html. Retrieved November 7, 2010.

GM made Cadillac a chief sponsor of the state-run China Film Group Corporation's Birth of a Party, a film dramatizing the events leading to the creation of the Chinese Communist Party in1921 after Russia¶s October Revolution in 1917.[43]

[edit] Africa

General Motors has a long history in Egypt which began in the 1920s with the assembling of carsand light pickup trucks for the local market. In the mid of the 1950s, GM withdrew from theEgyptian market. Some year later, the Ghabbour Brothers began to assemble Cadillac, Chevrolet and Buick models up to the 1990s.

Since 1983 GM and Al-Monsour Automotive Company has founded the General Motors Egypt which is currently the only manufacturer of traditional GM branded vehicles in Egypt. TheSperanza Motors is a big company which started in the 1990s with the SK D assembling of Daewoo cars. Today the main products of Speranza are from the Chinese Chery concern.

[edit] Racing heritage

GM has participated over the years in the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC), Le Mans, Nascar , SCCA, and many other world venues.



Chevrolet Cruze in the WTCC

Corvette Racing Team at the Le Mans

GM's engines were highy successful in the Indy Racing League (IRL) throughout the 1990s,winning many races in the small V-8 class. GM has also done much work in the development of electronics for GM auto racing. An unmodified Aurora V-8 in the Aerotech, captured 47 worldrecords, including the record for speed endurance in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.Recently, the Cadillac V-Series has entered motorsports racing. GM has also used many cars inthe American racing series NASCAR . Currently the Chevrolet Impala is the only entry in theseries but in the past the Pontiac Grand Prix, Buick Regal, Oldsmobile Cutlass, ChevroletLumina, Chevrolet Malibu, and the Chevrolet Monte Carlo were also used.

In Australia, there is the V8 Supercar Championship which is battled out by the two main rivalsof (GM) Holden and Ford. The current Holden Racing Team cars are based on the HoldenCommodore and run a 5.0-litre V8-cylinder engine producing 635 bhp (474 kW). These carshave a top speed of 294 km/h (183 mph) and run 0±100 km/h in 3.8 seconds. The Holden RacingTeam is Australia's most successful team in Australian Touring Car History. In 2006 & 2007, theDrivers championship was won by the very closely linked HSV Dealer Team.

[edit] Philanthropy

Since 1996, General Motors has been the exclusive source of funding for Safe K ids USA's "SafeK ids Buckle Up" program, a national initiative to ensure child automobile safety througheducation and inspection.[44] Through 2002, the Pace Awards program led by GM, EDS, andSUN Microsystems, gave over $1.2 billion of in-kind contributions which includes computers toover 18 universities to support engineering education.[45] In 2009, the GM led group has helpedthe Pace Awards program worldwide.[46] General Motors is a leading contributor to charity. In





2011 Chevrolet Volt a plugin electric vehicle

General Motors has a commitment to environmental responsibility and is one of the leading usersin renewable energy. In 2008 General Motors committed to engineering half of its manufacturing plants to be landfill-free. In order to achieve its landfill-free status, production waste is recycled

or reused in the manufacturing process.

The Zaragoza Manufacturing Plants's Solar Panels

General Motors added the world's largest rooftop solar power installation at their ZaragozaManufacturing Plant in fall of 2008. The Zaragoza solar installation covers about 2,000,000 sq.ft. of roof at the plant and comprises about 85,000 solar panels.

[edit] Environmental principles

General Motors have a published policy that includes committments to

1. actions to restore and preserve the environment

2. reduce waste and pollutants, conserve resources, and recycle materials at every stage of the

product life cycle

3. participate actively in educating the public regarding environmental conservation.

4. pursue vigorously the development and implementation of technologies for minimizing pollutant emissions.

5. continue to work with all governmental entities for the development of technically sound andfinancially responsible environmental laws and regulations.

6. continually assess the impact of the production plants and products on the environment and the

communities in which they exist and operate with a goal of continuous improvement.

[edit] Environmental initiatives

The company has long worked on alternative-technology vehicles, and has recently led theindustry with ethanol burning flexible-fuel vehicles that can run on either E85 (ethanol) or gasoline. The company was the first to use turbochargers and was an early proponent of V6



engines in the 1960s, but quickly lost interest as the muscle car race took hold. Theydemonstrated[49] gas turbine vehicles powered by kerosene, an area of interest throughout theindustry, but abandoned the alternative engine configuration in view of the 1973 oil crisis. In the1970s and 1980s, GM pushed the benefits of diesel engines and cylinder deactivation technologies with disastrous results due to poor durability in the Oldsmobile diesels and

drivability issues in the Cadillac V8-6-4 variable cylinder engines. In 1987, GM, in conjunctionwith AeroVironment, built the Sunraycer , which won the inaugural World Solar Challenge andwas a showcase of advanced technology. Much of the technology from Sunraycer found its wayinto the Impact prototype electric vehicle (also built by Aerovironment) and was the predecessor to the General Motors EV1.

GM supported a compromise version of the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standardincrease from 27 mpg-US (8.7 L/100 km; 32 mpg-imp) to 35 mpg-US (6.7 L/100 km; 42 mpg-imp), thefirst such increase in over 20 years.[50]

[edit] Hybrid electric vehicles

Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid

In May 2004, GM delivered the world's first full sized hybrid pickups, the 1/2-tonSilverado/Sierra. These hybrids did not use electrical energy for propulsion, like GM's later designs. In 2005, the Opel Astra diesel Hybrid concept vehicle was introduced. The 2006 SaturnVue Green Line was the first hybrid passenger vehicle from GM and is also a mild design. GMhas hinted at new hybrid technologies to be employed that will be optimized for higher speeds infreeway driving.

GM currently offers the two-mode is used by the Chevrolet Tahoe/GMC Yukon and will later beused on the Saturn Vue (cancelled), Cadillac Escalade, GM 1/2-ton pickups and possibly other

vehicles.

[51]

GM has recently introduced the concept cars Chevrolet Volt, which is an electric vehicle with back-up generators, powered by gasoline, E85, or fuel cells. According to GM, a productionChevrolet Volt will be available by late 2010 as a 2011 model.[52]

The GM Magic Bus is a hybrid powered bus.[53]



[edit] All-electric vehicles

General Motors was the first American company (in the modern era) to release an all-electricautomobile. In 1990, GM debuted the revolutionary "Impact" concept car at the Los AngelesAuto Show. It was the first car with zero-emissions marketed in the US in over three decades.

The Impact was eventually produced as the EV1 for the 1996 model year. It was availablethrough dealers located in only a few regions (e.g., California, Arizona, Georgia). Vehicles wereleased, rather than sold, to individuals. In 1999 GM decided to cease production of the vehicles.When the individual leases had expired, they declined to renew the leases or allow the lessors to purchase them. All of the EV1's were eventually returned to General Motors and, with theexception of a few which were donated to museums, all were destroyed.

General Motors has announced that it is building a prototype two-seat electric vehicle withSegway. An early prototype of the Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility vehicle²dubbedProject P.U.M.A. ± will be shown off in New York a day ahead of the press previews for the2009 New York International Auto Show.[54]

[edit] Battery packs for electric vehicles

GM builds battery packs in southern Michigan.[52] GM also established an automotive batterylaboratory in Michigan.[55] GM will be responsible for battery management systems and power electronics, thermal management, as well as the pack assembly. Finally an existing GM facilityat Brownstown Township was chosen to be upgraded as battery pack plant.[52] LG Chem's U.S.subsidiary, Compact Power of Troy, Michigan, has been building the prototype packs for thedevelopment vehicles and will continue to provide integration support and act as a liaison for the program.

[edit] Hydrogen initiative

Sequel, a fuel cell-powered vehicle from GM.

GM has prided its research and prototype development of hydrogen powered vehicles,[52] to be produced in early 2010, using a support infrastructure still in a prototype state. The economicfeasibility of the technically challenging hydrogen car, and the low-cost production of hydrogento fuel it, has also been discussed by other automobile manufacturers such as Ford and Chrysler .







The National Automobile Dealers of America estimates that GM's cuts will affect about 63,000employees of those dealerships. By comparison, GM employees about the same number of unionworkers in its factories.

LaNeve said he knows many of the affected dealers personally.

"This isn't easy for anybody," he said. "But for the survival of the enterprise you have to put astrong plan in place. That's the goal here."

NADA and various dealership organizations at GM and Chrysler are fighting the cuts, lobbyingCongress and hiring bankruptcy attorneys to argue their case. The dealers hope that statefranchise laws may still protect them, despite the powers granted to the bankruptcy court and thedemand for cuts by the Treasury Department.

"We view GM's action with a profound sense of sadness and disappointment," NADA said in astatement. It said the company's problems are "no fault of the dealers, who are, in many cases,

family-run businesses that have been loyal partners with GM -- through good times and bad --for multiple generations."

Bruce Spencer, a partner at the Smith Law Firm in Helena, Mont., and an expert in dealer franchise law, said he believes many dealers will have a strong court case fighting thetermination as long as GM stays out of bankruptcy court.

GM's big losses might not be seen as "good cause" for terminating the dealer contracts, Spencer said. The dealers' chances in court drops dramatically if GM files for bankruptcy, he added.

The names and locations of all 1,100 dealers was not publicly released Friday. GM had

previously said it would likely cut in major metropolitan and suburban areas, where itacknowledges that "dealership overcapacity is most prevalent."

Some of the dealers that survived Friday's cuts expressed relief.

Judy Schumacher-Tilton, who operates two Chevrolet dealers in the New Jersey suburbs of NewYork City, said she had been confident that her sales volume would allow her to survive, butadmitted "everyone had fear."

One of her dealerships, Schumacher Chevrolet, is a single-brand operation on a downtown mainstreet, rather than a multi-brand dealership on a highway. Many experts had speculated the

downtown and single-brand dealers were most at risk of closure.

"I was trying to be positive that GM would make the right decision," said Schumacher-Tilton,whose father started one of the dealerships she operates 72 years ago. "I'm going to be hereanother 70 years."



General Motors Sets Price for Volt; Demand Likely to

Exceed Supply

Submitted by Editor on Tue, 07/27/2010 - 11:11am

in

y all states y plug-in cars

PHOTO CREDIT: SOLAR HOME & BUSINESS JOURNALThe Chevrolet Volt, with a startingsuggested retail price of $41,000, will be"packed" with premium and innovativefeatures, GM says.

Published July 27, 2010

The long-awaited pricing for the 2011 Chevrolet Volt has been announced: $41,000 is GeneralMotors' suggested retail price.

Orders are now being taken from participating Chevrolet dealers. Customer deliveries arescheduled to begin late this year, but they will be few in number, as the initial production runsare limited.

With a full federal tax credit, the extended-range electric vehicle's suggested retail price is$33,500. Incentives in some states can reduce the price further; California's $5,000 rebate, if itapplies, would drop the suggested retail price to $28,500.

Leases will begin at $350 a month for 36 months, with $2,500 due at the lease signing, based oncurrent conditions, GM said.

"The Chevrolet Volt will be the best vehicle in its class « because it¶s in a class by itself,´ saidJoel Ewanick, vice president of U.S. marketing for General Motors, who made theannouncement at the Plug-In 2010 conference in San Jose, Calif. ³No other automaker offers anelectrically driven vehicle that can be your everyday driver, to take you wherever, whenever. TheVolt will be packed with premium content and innovation, standard."



The Volt will be initially available to Chevrolet customers in California, New York, Michigan,Connecticut, Texas, New Jersey and the Washington, D.C., area. To be among the first to purchase a Volt, customers can visit their nearest participating Chevrolet Volt dealer.

General Motors said a Volt dealer locator would be available sometime today, July 27, at

http://www.getmyvolt.com. The dealer will begin the order process, which will be followed up by contact from a Volt advisor who will be available to answer any questions and keep thecustomer apprised of the progress of their order.

For customers needing general Volt information, Chevrolet will have a team of Volt advisors

available to answer questions starting today at 1-888-8... .

Interested customers who tarry may not have a chance to obtain a Volt until 2013 at the earliest.Total 2011 production is scheduled to be 10,000 cars, and 2012 production is expected to totalabout 30,000 Volts.

"There is excess demand out there; we have limited product," Mr. Ewanick said at the San Joseconference.

Tony DiSalle, the Volt's marketing director, said in an Internet conference later Thursday, "Weare being very purposeful in the first year's production" to ensure that the new vehicle exceedsexpectations before it is made available to wide numbers of consumers.

Although Mr. DiSalle did not mention it, one possible trajectory for the Volt is an accelerated production schedule in 2012 if all goes well during the first year of consumer use. GeneralMotors has the capability to ramp up production of the car should that prove desirable.

The company chose to price the Volt for sale initially at the high end of its range of possible pricing points, loading it with such standard amenities as five years of its OnStar communications and diagnostic system, a premium stereo system, electronic traction control,antilock brakes, a 7-inch touch-screen navigation display, Bluetooth wireless deviceconnectivity, eight air bags for passenger safety, and more.

"We wanted to make the Volt ownership experience unlike anything we¶ve done at Chevrolet, because the Volt is unlike any vehicle we¶ve offered," Mr. DiSalle said in a news release. "Wewant customers to fully enjoy the Volt lifestyle by providing unprecedented connectivity to their vehicle through the Volt mobile app."

The Volt contains both an electric propulsion system and a 1.4-liter, four-cylinder engine thatwill use premium gasoline. The car will have a range of roughly 40 miles, depending on terrain,climate and driver habits, using electric power only. When the 16-kilowatt-hour battery pack begins to run low, the gasoline engine turns on to recharge the battery and extend the car's range by an additional 300 miles or so.



Plug-in electric vehicles ± the few that have been available to consumers in the United States ± have proved very popular with owners of solar electric systems, and Mr. DiSalle and TonyPosawatz, GM's vehicle line director for the Volt, stressed in the Internet discussion thatrecharging the battery with renewable electricity is a major aim of the car's developers.

General Motors officials have said that the lithium-ion battery packs to be used to power the carswill have plenty of storage and discharge capacity remaining when their use in the vehicles hasended. Many used automotive battery packs are expected to have extended service lifetimesstoring electricity for household use. For more information on that topic, please see our stories"With Plug-Ins, a Second Life for Batteries May Save the Day" and "Solar Home of the Future,With EV in the Garage, Makes Debut."

The Volt battery pack will come with an eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty, and is designed for up to 150,000 miles of driving, Mr. Posawatz said.

The maximum charge time using a standard household 120-volt outlet will be about nine or 10

hours. Faster charge times of four to five hours will be available for customers who choose toinstall what are called "Level II" chargers with 240-volt nominal capacity.

In some states, electricity customers are already being offered optional time-of-use rate plans thatcharge lower prices for electricity in the night and higher prices in the daytime, especially at peak demand times of the afternoon and early evening. Such rate plans may start to becomemandatory a few years from now.

"We would gladly use that battery to collect all that wonderful green electricity" when it isavailable, Mr. Posawatz said in the Internet discussion.

Depending on their tax obligations, owners of the Volt and other plug-in electric vehicles canqualify for up to $7,500 in U.S. federal income tax credits, as well as other potential state andlocal tax credits or rebates, depending on location. Owners in certain states may qualify for access to high-occupancy vehicle lanes.

The Volt will come standard with a 120-volt charge cord that will provide owners with theability to charge the car directly from a standard home electrical outlet, but a total of 4,400 Volt buyers in launch markets could be eligible for a free 240-volt charging station, including homeinstallation. The installations are part of a program developed by the U.S. Department of Energyto install approximately 15,000 240-volt home charging stations across the country.

While General Motors was announcing pricing for the Volt, Nissan North America wasannouncing its U.S. rollout plan for the battery-powered Nissan Leaf. The car will be availablefirst to consumers in December in California, Washington, Oregon, Arizona and Tennessee.These states are part of the EV Project, a plan to deploy thousands of electric vehicles andcharging stations at the same time. The EV Project is a result of a partnership with charginginfrastructure provider ECOtality and is partially funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. Customers in the first five launch states, who represent more than 55 percent of total Nissan Leaf reservations, will be able to place firm orders for the car starting in August.



The Leaf will be introduced in Texas and Hawaii in January 2011. North Carolina, Florida,Georgia, the District of Colombia, Virginia, Maryland, South Carolina and Alabama will followin April 2011. The car is to be rolled out to the balance of the nation beginning in fall 2011, withavailability in all markets nationwide by the end of that year. The Leaf, which has a 24-kilowatt-hour battery pack and an all-electric range of about 100 miles, will also have an eight-year,

100,000-mile battery warranty, Nissan announced.

The base price for a Leaf will be $32,780; with a maximum federal tax credit of $7,500, the pricewill be $25,280. State or local incentives also will be available for the Leaf. In California, the base price will be as low as $20,280 including the state rebate.

There will be limited options available with the Volt: Options will include leather seating andinterior appointments, special styled wheels, and a backup camera.

Mr. DiSalle said General Motors sees "nothing but upside and a whole bunch of cool stuff tocome from this game-changing car."

Mr. Posawatz said of the Volt: "They're wonderful and fun to drive," adding, in reference tohimself and Mr. DiSalle, "Here in high-tech Silicon Valley, a couple of Midwestern guys showedhow it's done."

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General Motors Sales Increase 21 Percent in November