GM Halts Production Of Chevy Volt For A Month

By Rob Janicki

Here we go again.  Another Chevy Volt episode.  The good news is that no Chevy Volt was injured in the preparation of this article.

[...] General Motors is halting, for a month, the manufacture of its well-known Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric car. [...]

I am shocked!  Shocked I say!  This will be the second time this year that GM has shutdown the vaunted Chevy Volt production line at its Hamtramck, MI, plant.

[...] the Detroit-Hamtramck plant will suspend production from Sept. 17 until Oct. 15. [...]

[...] GM late Monday disputed published reports that the move is because of slow Volt sales. GM sold 10,666 Volts through July, way up from the 2,870 sold during the same period a year earlier. [...]

To be fair to GM, this shutdown was a convergence of a convenient plan to gear up the plant for the 2013 Impala and beyond to the 2014 Impala redesign, while stopping production of the super slow selling Chevy Volt.  At the current consumer consumption of Chevy Volts, it is reported that there may be up to a 60 day supply sitting around the country on dealer lots.  Considering this condition, shutting down the Chevy Volt production line to accommodate the model year changeover for Impalas was the only sensible plan. 

[...] The 2014 Impala, a complete redesign, is an important model for Chevy, and GM wants to take extra time preparing the factory to ensure a high-quality launch, [...]