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out of the 2012 production general motors expected to produce 10 @@ 000 amperas for sale in europe 6 @@ 000 destined for opel and 4 @@ 000 for vauxhall in the uk in addition 2 @@ 000 volts will be made available for the region by early 2012 gm abandoned its sales target to deliver 45 @@ 000 volts in the us and instead announced that production in 2012 will depend on demand by march 2012 the volt plant has a global production capacity of 60 @@ 000 vehicles per year
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the volt 's battery cells are produced by lg chem in south korea and then shipped to the us where the battery packs are assembled at a purpose @@ built facility in brownstown charter township michigan owned and operated by general motors compact power the north american subsidiary of lg chem is building a battery plant in holland michigan to manufacture the advanced battery cells for the volt and other carmakers with capacity to produce enough cells for 50 @@ 000 to 200 @@ 000 battery packs per year the us $ 303 million holland plant was funded by 50 us department of energy matching stimulus funds and is planned to open by mid @@ 2012
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the 2011 chevrolet volt was officially launched on november 30 2010 at a ceremony at the hamtramck plant where the first production unit for retail sale came off the assembly line the first retail vehicle was delivered to a customer in denville new jersey on december 15 2010 gm reported it had built 12 @@ 400 volts in total through december 2011 this includes dealers ' demo vehicles in north america and amperas in dealerships in europe crash test vehicles and other unavailable volts owned by gm
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gm halted production for about one month at the detroit / hamtramck assembly plant by mid june 2011 to complete some upgrades including the installation of new tooling equipment and overhead conveyor systems throughout the facility these upgrades allowed gm to triple the rate of volt production and prepared the plant for 2012 volt and ampera production after the plant retooling the production rate reached 150 units per day four days a week by august 2011 the volt plant was also down during january 2012 in preparation for building the california lower @@ emission version a four @@ week shutdown due to slow sales took place between march and april 2012 gm said it had around 3 @@ 600 volts in inventory and needed to reduce dealer inventories as production is expected to meet market demand gm also extended the traditional two @@ week summer vacation by an extra week at the hamtramck plant gm closed its detroit @@ hamtramck plant from september 17 until october 15 2012 affecting roughly 1 @@ 500 workers on downtime while the plant was retooled to assemble the all @@ new 2014 chevrolet impala alongside the 2013 volt this was the second time in 2012 that gm has halted volt production
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production of the 2013 model year volt began in july 2012 and customer deliveries began during the same month in october 2012 gm announced that the cadillac elr extended @@ range luxury coupe will be built at the detroit @@ hamtramck assembly plant together with he chevrolet volt opel ampera and holden volt the addition of the elr to the plant represents an additional us $ 35 million investment bringing the total product investment to us $ 561 million since december 2009 the first 2014 elrs rolled off the production line in late may 2013 these were pre @@ production units destined for testing purposes before production for retail customers began at the end of 2013 deliveries of the 2014 model year volt began in august 2013 volt sales in the us reached the 50 @@ 000 unit milestone in october 2013 with over 60 @@ 000 vehicles of the volt / ampera family sold worldwide production of the 2015 model year volt ended in mid @@ may 2015 while manufacturing of pre @@ production units of the second generation began in march 2015
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= = = = united states = = = =
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sales of the 2011 chevrolet volt began in selected markets due to limited initial production as general motors ' original target for 2011 was 10 @@ 000 units the first cars were delivered in washington dc the new york city metropolitan region california and austin texas by may 2011 the volt had been launched also in connecticut maryland michigan new jersey and virginia deliveries in delaware florida georgia hawaii north carolina oregon pennsylvania south carolina and washington began in the third quarter of 2011 in june 2011 chevrolet dealers nationwide began taking orders for the 2012 volt and deliveries in all 50 states began in november 2011
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the suggested retail price ( msrp ) for the 2011 chevrolet volt in the us started at us $ 40 @@ 280 which excluded destination freight charge tax title license dealer fees and optional equipment and before any savings due to factory incentives tax deductions or other available subsidies for qualifying buyers the msrp for the 2012 volt starts at us $ 39 @@ 995 including a us $ 850 destination freight charge and excludes tax title and license fees or other available government subsidies the base price is us $ 1 @@ 005 less than the 2011 model year and general motors explained that this price reduction is possible because of a wider range of options and configurations that come with the expansion of volt production for sale nationally the price will drop to us $ 34 @@ 995 including destination charges for the 2014 model year
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due to the capacity of the volt 's battery pack it qualifies for the maximum us $ 7 @@ 500 federal tax credit as specified in the emergency economic stabilization act of 2008 the federal tax credit phases out over a one @@ year period after the manufacturer has sold at least 200 @@ 000 vehicles in the us several states also have additional incentives or rebates available for plug @@ in electric vehicles for qualifying buyers the 2011 volt price including all available regular production and premium options is us $ 44 @@ 600 including destination charges and before tax credits or any subsidies for the 2012 model year the price of the volt with all available options is us $ 46 @@ 265 before tax credits or any subsidies available
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although the volt 's retail price is higher than its main competitor the 2011 nissan leaf the lease payment for the volt is almost the same as its competitor except that the leaf has a lower initial payment general motors explained that the apparent disparity between the volt 's sticker and lease prices is a reflection of the company 's calculation that the vehicle will maintain a very high residual value after three years significantly higher than that of the leaf
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the price for the home charging units is us $ 490 plus installation costs the voltec is a home @@ charging unit built by spx for volt owners it is a 240 @@ volt ( level ii ) charger and according to general motors can replenish the volt 's batteries in about four hours consumer reports has advised buyers to budget up to us $ 2 @@ 000 as many older homes may need a substantial electrical upgrade because the us national electrical code requires that the charger have its own dedicated 220 @@ volt 30 @@ amp circuit early buyers can benefit from the federal tax credit available for charging equipment
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the 2011 volt was not submitted for application to the california air resources board 's ( carb ) clean vehicle rebate project rebate and therefore was not required to meet the 10 @@ year 150 @@ 000 @@ mile ( 240 @@ 000 km ) battery warranty requirement for enhanced advanced technology partial zero @@ emissions vehicles ( enhat @@ pzev ) the volt team explained that for the launch general motors decided to go with a common national package which includes an 8 @@ year 100 @@ 000 @@ mile ( 160 @@ 000 km ) battery warranty for this reason owners of the 2011 volt did not qualify for california 's rebates and free access to use carpool lanes even when traveling solo a third package scheduled for 2013 is under development with an e85 flex @@ fuel engine general motors engineering team commented that introducing two or three packages of an entirely new technology set and platform at the same time wasn 't an option
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in february 2012 general motors began deliveries of a low emission version destined for california that features a new low emissions package that allows the 2012 chevrolet volt to qualify as an enhanced advanced technology partial zero emissions vehicle ( enhat @@ pzev ) and have access to california s high @@ occupancy vehicle lanes ( hov ) the new standard california version of the volt features a modified engine and exhaust components the catalytic converter was modified to add a secondary air @@ injection pump that streams ambient air into the exhaust stream to increase its ability to remove pollutants owners of a 2012 volt with the low emissions package are eligible to apply for one of 40 @@ 000 available hov lane stickers issued to vehicles that qualify as a california at @@ pzev the permits are handed out on a first @@ apply first @@ served basis additionally the new low emissions package makes the 2012 volt eligible for owners to receive up to us $ 1 @@ 500 in state rebates through the state s clean vehicle rebate project ( cvrp ) this incentive is in addition to the federal government s us $ 7 @@ 500 tax credit only the 2012 volts manufactured after february 6 2012 are fitted with the low emission package and sold as standard models in california other states where the volt has solo driving access to hov lanes are florida georgia new york and virginia
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us sales
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since sales began in december 2010 a total of 98 @@ 558 volts have been sold in the country through june 2016 the volt ranked as the all @@ time top selling plug @@ in electric car in the united states until february 2015 when it was surpassed by the all @@ electric nissan leaf in march 2015 cumulative volt sales passed leaf sales in march 2016 and became once again the best selling plug @@ in car in the american market
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the top 10 selling states during the first quarter of 2012 were california michigan florida illinois texas new york minnesota ohio north carolina and maryland california is the leading market and accounted for almost 23 of volt sales during this quarter followed by michigan with 6 @@ 3 of national sales in california the leading regional markets are san francisco los angeles and san diego all metropolitan areas notorious for their high congestion levels and where free access to high @@ occupancy lanes for solo drivers has been a strong incentive to boost volt sales in the state
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resale value
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in may 2011 kelley blue book ( kbb ) projected the 2011 chevrolet volt resale value at just over us $ 17 @@ 000 after 36 months the length of a typical lease which represents 42 of the car 's us $ 41 @@ 000 suggested retail price ( msrp ) kbb explains that even though the residual value seems low the projection considers that the first 200 @@ 000 volts sold will qualify for a us $ 7 @@ 500 federal tax credit which effectively reduces the msrp to us $ 33 @@ 500 making the us $ <unk> 51 of its original value after the tax credit in comparison kbb notes the 2011 toyota prius has a projected residual of 46 after 36 months kbb 's estimate assumed gasoline price will be around us $ 4 per gallon in 2014 for 2012 kelley blue book expected the volt to retain 42 of its original value after 3 years and 27 after 5 years based on these figures in november 2011 kbb awarded the volt with the 2012 best resale value awards in the plug @@ in electric car category kbb explains that the residual value for the volt is lower than the market 35 @@ 5 average due to the us $ 7 @@ 500 federal tax credit which lowers the transaction price and pushes down the residual value
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consumer reports ' analysis show that many chevrolets lose about half of their purchase price after three years of ownership and if the volt depreciates the same us $ 17 @@ 000 seems a reasonable estimate however consumer reports have noted that fuel @@ efficient hybrids and diesel models often depreciate far less than most vehicles which might increase the volt 's resale value after three years above the us $ 17 @@ 000 estimate additionally if gasoline prices continue to rise or if the tax credits expire the demand for used chevrolet volts could quickly increase raising their market value on the other hand if the next @@ generation volt s battery has twice the capacity and cost less as general motors has claimed the first generation volts will be obsolete when the new ones come out in 2015 considering these assumptions consumer reports considers that at this point we believe it s still unclear how the volt will fare
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pecan street demonstration project
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general motors is sponsoring the pecan street demonstration project at the mueller neighborhood in austin texas the project objective is to learn the charging patterns of plug @@ in electric car owners and to study how a residential fleet of electric vehicles might strain the electric grid if all owners try to charge them at the same which is what the preliminary monitoring found when the plug @@ in cars return home in the evening as of june 2013 the community has nearly 60 chevrolet volt owners alone thanks to gm 's commitment to match the federal government 's us $ 7 @@ 500 rebate incentive which halves the purchase price of the volt
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= = = = canada = = = =
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chevrolet began taking orders in may 2011 and deliveries began in september 2011 in major cities only during 2012 the volt was the best selling plug @@ in car in canada outselling all other pevs combined despite a 24 reduction from 2012 sales the volt continued as the top selling pev in the canadian market in 2013 and again in 2014 with 1 @@ 521 units as of december 2015 the volt continued to rank as the top selling plug @@ in electric car in canada since september 2011 a total of 6 @@ 387 volts have been delivered in canada through may 2016 the monthly sales record was set in may 2016 with 270 deliveries
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the suggested retail price ( msrp ) for the 2012 chevrolet volt starts at ca $ 41 @@ 545 ( us $ 42 @@ 423 in june 2011 ) which excludes any charges fees and optional equipment and before any available subsidies or incentives for qualifying buyers in the canadian market the volt is offered in one standard trim level with two option packages a premium trim package and a rear camera and park assist package some provinces are offering government incentives including ontario quebec ( both at ca $ 8 @@ 500 us $ 8 @@ 680 ) and british columbia has announced their new <unk> bc program in which the chevrolet volt qualifies for a ca $ 5 @@ 000 incentive / rebate as well as ca $ 500 towards charging equipment
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= = = europe = = =
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the european version of the volt the opel ampera ( known as the vauxhall ampera in the united kingdom ) was unveiled at the geneva auto show in march 2009 and also was exhibited at the 2009 frankfurt auto show opel developed the battery control modules for the ampera at the opel alternative propulsion center europe in mainz @@ kastel germany the production version of the ampera was unveiled at the 2011 geneva motor show the ampera is assembled at the detroit / hamtramck assembly plant michigan
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the main differences between the volt and the ampera are in their styling the ampera has a distinctive front and rear fascia with a large cut @@ out in the rear bumper the opel ampera features more stylized alloy wheels as standard and the side skirts are body @@ colored rather than black in the inside there are only minor differences and both versions share the same exact powertrain and battery pack a key operational difference was that the ampera has four drive modes one more than the 2011 / 12 model year volt the additional option is city mode which adapts battery management to the needs of commuter travel city mode or battery hold engages the range @@ extender immediately allowing to save the energy currently stored in the battery and when switched off the range @@ extender stops and the ampera is then able to use the energy saved in the battery for pure electric driving for example for traveling urban areas or restricted zones such as the european low emission zones or to allow the ampera to qualify for an exemption of the london congestion charge the 2013 model year volt included the hold drive button to allow drivers to conserve battery @@ pack energy for use at a particular time of their choice
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sales
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general motors production target for 2012 was to manufacture 10 @@ 000 amperas for sale in europe 6 @@ 000 destined for opel and 4 @@ 000 for vauxhall in the uk plus an additional 2 @@ 000 volts were to be made available for the region the carmaker targeted the ampera for business fleet market and local government agencies where opel has a strong customer base while the volt is aimed at retail customers according to opel by june 2011 around 5 @@ 000 customers across europe had reserved an ampera with fleet or business customers representing 60 of reservations and a total of 7 @@ 000 orders were received by march 2012 with benelux germany and the united kingdom as the top markets in terms of orders
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the first deliveries of the chevrolet volt in europe took place on november 30 2011 to the us embassy in france distribution of the opel ampera to dealerships began in december 2011 but deliveries to customers were delayed until february 2012 because opel decided to wait until the nhtsa completed its investigation of the volt 's battery fire risk after a crash since may 2012 the vauxhall ampera is available through the zipcar carsharing club in london bristol cambridge and oxford
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the opel / vauxhall ampera was europe 's top selling plug @@ in electric car in 2012 with 5 @@ 268 units and captured a 21 @@ 5 market share of the region 's plug @@ in electric passenger car segment as of october 2013 the ampera held a market share of almost 10 of european registration of plug @@ in electric cars since 2011 the market share in the netherlands was 40 and 10 in germany ampera sales fell 40 in 2013 to 3 @@ 184 cars and within the plug @@ in hybrid segment the ampera was surpassed in 2013 by the mitsubishi outlander p @@ hev ( 8 @@ 197 ) volvo v60 plug @@ in ( 7 @@ 437 ) and the prius plug @@ in ( 4 @@ 314 ) in 2013 the ampera ranked eighth among europe 's top selling plug @@ in electric vehicles and its market share fell to about 5 during the first five months of 2014 only 332 units had been sold down 67 from the same period in 2013 in july 2014 opel announced that due to the slowdown in sales the ampera will be discontinued after the launch of second generation volt and between 2014 and 2018 opel plans to introduce in europe a successor product in the electric vehicle segment ampera sales totaled 939 units in 2014 and only 215 units during the first nine months of 2015
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as of december 2015 opel / vauxhall ampera sales totaled almost 10 @@ 000 units since 2011 with the netherlands as the leading market with 5 @@ 031 amperas registered followed by germany with 1 @@ 542 units and the uk with 1 @@ 250 units registered by the end of june 2015 the netherlands is also the top selling volt market in europe with 1 @@ 062 units registered through december 2014 > out of about 1 @@ 750 volts sold through 2014
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pricing
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in february 2011 opel announced that the ampera was to be offered for a uniform price throughout the eurozone at € 42 @@ 900 ( us $ 56 @@ 920 in may 2012 ) including vat but prices by country may vary due to the trim levels that will be offered in each market the chevrolet volt also has a uniform price that starts at € 41 @@ 950 ( us $ 55 @@ 660 in may 2012 ) including vat the opel ampera is eligible to several subsidies and tax breaks available for plug @@ in electric vehicles in several european countries
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in the uk the vauxhall ampera starts at gb £ 37 @@ 250 ( us $ 60 @@ 400 in may 2012 ) before discounting the gb £ 5 @@ 000 plug @@ in car grant the chevrolet volt will also be available in the uk at a cost of gb £ 33 @@ 545 ( us $ 54 @@ 400 in may 2012 ) before the government grant all volts in the uk will come standard with leather interior
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= = = china = = =
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general motors unveiled the chevrolet volt in shanghai under its chinese name of <unk> ( wo lan da ) in september 2010 the first volts out of the 10 @@ vehicle demonstration fleet arrived in china by late december 2011 the demonstration program is taking place in beijing tianjin and shanghai
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the volt went on sale in china by late 2011 with pricing starting at cn ¥ 498 @@ 000 ( around us $ 78 @@ 300 as of august 2012 ) and sales are limited to eight chinese cities beijing shanghai hangzhou suzhou wuxi guangzhou shenzhen and foshan gm explained that 13 dealerships were selected in the eight cities and they were chosen because these cities have more elites who are inclined to try new technologies and lead the fashion tide
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however according to general motors in a move illegal under wto rules the chinese government refused the allow chevrolet volt owners access to up to us $ 19 @@ 300 in government subsidies available for plug @@ in vehicles unless gm had agreed to transfer intellectual property to a joint venture with a chinese automaker for at least one of the volt s three core technologies electric motors complex electronic controls and power storage devices whether batteries or a fuel cell general motors negotiated with the chinese government to let the volt qualify for the subsidies without the technology transfer but as of november 2011 the subsidies were available only for electric cars made by chinese automakers as a result of the high import duties general motors reported in august 2012 that sales are minimal those of a very low @@ volume car according to lmc automotive a total of 18 volts have been sold in china through june 2012
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in march 2012 general motors announced that an agreement was signed with the china automotive technology and research center ( <unk> ) to manage the volt demonstration fleet in beijing and to gather feedback from the fleet usage for one year the demonstration volts were scheduled to be delivered in april 2012
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= = = other markets = = =
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australia
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deliveries of the holden volt in the australian market began in december 2012 and the first volt was delivered to the us ambassador in canberra pricing starts at a $ 59 @@ 990 ( around us $ 62 @@ 598 ) in november 2011 the first holden volt arrived in australia for a series of evaluation tests holden has announced that the volt underwent numerous modifications to better suit it to australian roads although the test vehicles are left @@ hand drive
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the holden volt is available to purchase through 49 select holden dealerships throughout metropolitan and rural australia with 18 in victoria 11 in new south wales 9 in queensland 7 in western australia and 4 in south australia a total of 80 holden volts were sold during 2012 and 101 units in 2013 a total of 246 holden volts had been sold in the country by mid april 2015 with the stock of the first generation almost empty general motors announced that it will not build the second generation volt in right @@ hand @@ drive configuration so the volt will be discontinued in the country when the remaining stock is sold out
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brazil
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general motors do brasil announced that it will import from five to ten volts to brazil during the first semester of 2011 as part of a demonstration and also to lobby the federal government to enact financial incentives for green cars if successful general motors would adapt the volt to operate on ethanol fuel as most new brazilian cars are flex @@ fuel
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japan
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in december 2010 general motors announced plans to introduce the volt in limited numbers into japan in 2011 for technology and market test purposes exports for retail sales will depend on the results of this trial
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mexico
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the second generation volt was released for retail customers in december 2015 pricing starts at 638 @@ 000 pesos ( ~ us $ 36 @@ 880 ) and it is available in mexico city monterrey guadalajara querétaro and puebla
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new zealand
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the holden volt will be released in new zealand through three dealerships with one in auckland christchurch and wellington deliveries are scheduled to begin by late 2012 and pricing starts at nz $ 85 @@ 000 ( around us $ 71 @@ 930 )
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= = = global sales = = =
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combined global volt / ampera sales passed the 100 @@ 000 unit milestone in october 2015 the volt family of vehicles ranks as the world 's all @@ time top selling plug @@ in hybrid and it is also the second best selling plug @@ in electric car ever after the nissan leaf which has sold 200 @@ 000 units worldwide by early december 2015 the volt / ampera family was the world 's best selling plug @@ in electric car in 2012 with 31 @@ 400 units sold the opel / vauxhall ampera was europe 's top selling plug @@ in electric car in 2012 with 5 @@ 268 units representing a market share of 21 @@ 5 of the region 's plug @@ in electric passenger car segment however during 2013 ampera sales fell 40 and the declining trend continued during 2014 and 2015
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as of march 2016 global volt / ampera family sales totaled over 110 @@ 000 units since its inception in december 2010 including almost 10 @@ 000 opel / vauxhall amperas sold in europe up to december 2015 as of may 2016 chevrolet volt sales are led by the united states with 96 @@ 621 units delivered followed by canada with 6 @@ 387 units and the netherlands with 1 @@ 062 volts registered through december 2015 together representing 99 of global volt sales out of the 9 @@ 989 opel / vauxhall amperas sold in europe through december 2015 5 @@ 031 were registered in the netherlands 1 @@ 542 in germany and 1 @@ 279 in the uk by the end of september 2015 together representing 78 of ampera sales
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the following tables present retail sales of the volt and ampera variants through december 2015 for the top selling national markets by year since deliveries began in december 2010 demonstration vehicles allocated to dealerships are not included in retail sales reports while they are used for test drives
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= = related concept cars = =
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cadillac converj
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the cadillac converj is a plug @@ in hybrid concept car first unveiled at the 2009 north american international auto show which incorporated the propulsion system from the chevrolet volt including the voltec powertrain in august 2011 general motors announced its decision to produce the converj as the cadillac elr the first 2014 elrs rolled off the production line in late may 2013 these were pre @@ production units destined for testing purposes and production for retail customers started at the end of 2013 the elr was released to retail customers in the us in december 2013
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volt mpv5
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at the 2010 auto china show general motors unveiled the chevrolet volt mpv5 concept the volt mpv5 is a plug @@ in crossover hybrid and has a top speed of 100 mph ( 160 km / h ) and an electric range of 32 miles ( 51 km ) the mpv5 integrates design elements from the volt with a body style very similar to the chevrolet orlando and four inches larger than its predecessor chevrolet hhr
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opel monza concept
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the opel monza concept is a four @@ seat coupe plug @@ in hybrid concept car with gullwing door unveiled at the 2013 frankfurt motor show the concept shares the same basic plug @@ in hybrid setup as the chevrolet volt and opel ampera but using a turbocharged 1 l 3 @@ cylinder natural gas @@ powered engine as its range extender instead of general motors current 1 @@ 4 l gasoline engine according to opel this concept is the role @@ model for the next generation of opel cars and because of its modular chassis design future cars based on it would be able to accommodate gasoline diesel or electric power
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= = controversies and criticism = =
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= = = epa fuel economy testing = = =
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in 2008 general motors was concerned about how the united states environmental protection agency ( epa ) would test the volt to determine its official fuel economy rating the controversy centered on whether by including a gasoline engine the volt should be classified as a hybrid rather than an electric car as claimed by general motors if tested with the same epa tests used by other hybrids the volt 's epa fuel economy rating would be around 48 mpg @@ us ( 4 @@ 9 l / 100 km 58 mpg @@ imp ) due to the current epa test for hybrids disallowing vehicles from boosting their mpg rating using stored battery power general motors stated that the volt is an entirely new type of vehicle which the epa 's current fuel economy tests were not suited to rate and that a new test should be devised for this emerging class of hybrid @@ electrics general motors also advocated for a more simplified mpg calculation method to take into account the range of a plug @@ in hybrid while running solely on electricity because the volt can travel 40 miles ( 64 km ) on batteries alone gm argued that most drivers with a daily commute of less than that distance would drive only in electric mode so long as they recharged their vehicle at work or at home overnight
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the epa official rating issued in november 2010 included separate fuel economy ratings for all @@ electric mode and gasoline @@ only mode with an overall combined city / highway gasoline @@ electricity fuel economy rating of 60 mpg @@ us ( 3 @@ 9 l / 100 km 72 mpg @@ imp ) equivalent ( mpg @@ e ) to address the variability of the fuel economy outcome depending on miles driven between charges epa also included in the volt 's fuel economy label a table showing fuel economy and electricity consumed for five different scenarios driven between a full charge and a never @@ charge scenario according to this table the volt 's fuel economy goes up to 168 mpg @@ us ( 1 @@ 40 l / 100 km 202 mpg @@ imp ) equivalent ( mpg @@ e ) if driven 45 miles ( 72 km ) between full charges also in recognition of the multiple operating modes that a plug @@ in hybrid can be built with ( all @@ electric blended and gasoline @@ only ) for the new fuel economy and environment label that will be mandatory in the us beginning in model year 2013 epa and the national highway traffic safety administration ( nhtsa ) issued two separate fuel economy labels for plug @@ in hybrids one label is for extended @@ range electric vehicles like the chevy volt with two modes all @@ electric and gasoline @@ only and a second label for blended mode that includes a combination of all @@ electric gasoline and electric operation and gasoline only like a conventional hybrid vehicle
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= = = epa fuel economy rating = = =
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in august 2009 general motors released its estimated city fuel economy rating for the volt of 230 mpg @@ us ( 1 @@ 0 l / 100 km 280 mpg @@ imp ) of gasoline plus 25 kwh / 100 mi ( 560 kj / km ) of electricity using the epa 's proposed method for evaluating plug @@ in hybrids the us environmental protection agency ( epa ) issued a statement clarifying that the epa has not tested a chevy volt and therefore cannot confirm the fuel economy values claimed by gm in july 2010 gm explained that their estimate was based on a formula that had not been officially approved and that they had been awaiting the epa 's decision on how the equivalent fuel economy of plug @@ in hybrids would be estimated
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the official epa rating was issued in november 2010 and became the agency 's first fuel economy label for a plug @@ in hybrids the epa rated the 2011 volt combined fuel economy at 93 miles per gallon gasoline equivalent ( mpg @@ e ) in all @@ electric mode and 37 mpg @@ us ( 6 @@ 4 l / 100 km 44 mpg @@ imp ) in gasoline @@ only mode for an overall combined fuel economy rating of 60 mpg @@ us ( 3 @@ 9 l / 100 km 72 mpg @@ imp ) equivalent ( mpg @@ e ) the label also shows the combined city @@ highway fuel economy in all @@ electric mode expressed in traditional energy consumption units rating the volt at 36 kwh per 100 miles ( 160 km )
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= = = production cost and sales price = = =
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in 2009 the presidential task force on the auto industry said that gm is at least one generation behind toyota on advanced green powertrain development in an attempt to leapfrog toyota gm has devoted significant resources to the chevy volt and that while the chevy volt holds promise it is currently projected to be much more expensive than its gasoline @@ fueled peers and will likely need substantial reductions in manufacturing cost in order to become commercially viable a 2009 carnegie mellon university study found that a phev @@ 40 will be less cost effective than a hev or a phev @@ 7 in all of the scenarios considered due to the cost and weight of the battery jon lauckner a vice president at general motors responded that the study did not consider the inconvenience of a 7 miles ( 11 km ) electric range and that the study 's cost estimate of us $ 1 @@ 000 per kwh for the volt 's battery pack was many hundreds of dollars per kilowatt hour higher than what it costs to make today
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in early 2010 it was reported that general motors would lose money on the volt for at least the first couple of generations but it hoped the car would create a green image that could rival the prius
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after the volt 's sales price was announced in july 2010 there was concern expressed of the launch price of the volt and its affordability and resulting popularity especially when the federal subsidies of us $ 2 @@ 4 billion were taken into account in the development of the car
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general motors ceo edward whitacre jr rejected as ridiculous criticism that the volt 's price is too expensive he said that i think it 's a very fair price it 's the only car that will go coast to coast on electricity without plugging it in and nobody else can come close despite the federal government being the major gm shareholder due to the 2009 government @@ led bankruptcy of the automaker during a press briefing at the white house a treasury official clarified that the federal government did not have any input on the pricing of the 2011 chevrolet volt
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there have also been complaints regarding price markups due to the initial limited availability in 2010 of between us $ 5 @@ 000 to us $ 12 @@ 000 above the recommended price and at least in one case a us $ 20 @@ 000 mark up in california even though the carmaker cannot dictate vehicle pricing to its dealers gm said that it had requested its dealers to keep prices in line with the company s suggested retail price
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in may 2011 the national legal and policy center announced that some chevrolet dealers were selling volts to other dealers and claiming the us $ 7 @@ 500 federal tax credit for themselves then the dealers who bought the volts sell them as used cars with low mileage to private buyers who no longer qualify for the credit general motors acknowledged that 10 dealer @@ to @@ dealer volt sales had taken place among chevrolet dealers but the carmaker said they do not encourage such practice
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in september 2012 reuters published an opinion / editorial article where it claimed that general motors nearly two years after the introduction of the car was losing us $ 49 @@ 000 on each volt it built the article concluded that the volt is over @@ engineered and over @@ priced and that its technological complexity has put off many prospective buyers due to fears the car may be unreliable gm executives replied that reuters ' estimates were significantly flawed as they also allocated the vehicle 's research and development program costs only against the number of volts sold in the united states ( as of august 2012 ) instead of spreading the total costs over the entire lifetime of the model as well as including those units sold in europe and other countries gm explained that the investments will pay off once the innovative technologies of the volt are applied across multiple current and future products
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