3 ms·

>I suspect the fact that it's ugly is a feature: it will hamper sales a bit and reduce the chance that they'll need to produce lots of this car. I doubt that.

by gozur88 10y ago

>I suspect the fact that it's ugly is a feature: it will hamper sales a bit and reduce the chance that they'll need to produce lots of this car. I doubt that. I'm sure GM would be perfectly happy selling millions of these things if consumers were willing to buy. They're in the business of selling cars, after all. But I also doubt they'll put much effort into it.

mark-r 10y ago
No, they're in the business of making money. Selling cars is the means to the end. If they can make more money selling fewer cars, they'll do it. You need to look at the overall fleet sales - somebody somewhere has calculated the exact number of each vehicle they need to sell to maximize the profit.
- gozur88 10y ago
  It only hurts them to sell more Bolts if those sales cut into other vehicles or if they're selling at a loss.
  - mark-r 10y ago
    It's quite possible that either or both of those are true. Or it could be that they have limits on their manufacturing capacity and would have to cut back on production of something more profitable to make more Bolts. There are probably other factors that you and I wouldn't think of in a million years.
    - maxerickson 10y ago
      Earlier I was trying to find some other takes on their output and 1 article mentioned that the plant they are building it at is only running 1 shift, which puts it at 90,000 vehicles per year. It's a mixed line with the Chevrolet Sonic, which probably isn't super profitable. So they can flexibly shift production from the Sonic or they could expand production by an awful lot, but I guess to add a shift they would need much higher sales volume. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-gm-bolt-idUSKBN1300PM http://www.reuters.com/article/us-gm-bolt-idUSKBN1300PM GM has also recently announced that they are idling several plants in January because they aren't selling enough cars. http://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/general-motors/2016/12/19/gm-idles-5-plants-jan-passenger-car-supply-swells/95625740/ http://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/general-motors/2016/12...
kevin_thibedeau 10y ago
That is what BMW did with i3. They don't like being forced into selling them. Make it look like a turd and then complain about how consumers don't really want them to get the quotas relaxed.

by gozur88 10y ago

mark-r 10y ago

No, they're in the business of making money. Selling cars is the means to the end. If they can make more money selling fewer cars, they'll do it. You need to look at the overall fleet sales - somebody somewhere has calculated the exact number of each vehicle they need to sell to maximize the profit.

gozur88 10y ago
It only hurts them to sell more Bolts if those sales cut into other vehicles or if they're selling at a loss.
- mark-r 10y ago
  It's quite possible that either or both of those are true. Or it could be that they have limits on their manufacturing capacity and would have to cut back on production of something more profitable to make more Bolts. There are probably other factors that you and I wouldn't think of in a million years.
  - maxerickson 10y ago
    Earlier I was trying to find some other takes on their output and 1 article mentioned that the plant they are building it at is only running 1 shift, which puts it at 90,000 vehicles per year. It's a mixed line with the Chevrolet Sonic, which probably isn't super profitable. So they can flexibly shift production from the Sonic or they could expand production by an awful lot, but I guess to add a shift they would need much higher sales volume. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-gm-bolt-idUSKBN1300PM http://www.reuters.com/article/us-gm-bolt-idUSKBN1300PM GM has also recently announced that they are idling several plants in January because they aren't selling enough cars. http://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/general-motors/2016/12/19/gm-idles-5-plants-jan-passenger-car-supply-swells/95625740/ http://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/general-motors/2016/12...

kevin_thibedeau 10y ago

That is what BMW did with i3. They don't like being forced into selling them. Make it look like a turd and then complain about how consumers don't really want them to get the quotas relaxed.