Some Chevy dealers opting out of selling Volts after new service requirements - Latest Automobile News

Starting last month, General Motors told dealers that they'd have to pony up $5,100 for additional tools as part of the automaker's program to service the Volt, a complex hatchback that can run on solely electric power for about 30 miles before a gas engine kicks in. Dealers in smaller markets where Volts are hardly big sellers say that the new costs are on top of the thousands they spent a couple of years ago for charging stations and tools when the Volt first went on sale.



As a result, the low sales volume those dealers have seen doesn't offset their costs, so they're pulling out of the Volt authorized dealer program entirely.



Automotive News talked with Allyn Barnard, the owner of Churchville, New York, dealer Jim Barnard Chevrolet, where just five Volts have been delivered since the vehicle went on sale about two years ago.



"Going forward, the profitability would be really hard for us to justify the expense of the repair tools," Barnard said.



According to Chevrolet, 2,614 of the automaker's 3,079 dealerships are authorized to sell the Volt, which means that they've bought the necessary tools and have had at least one service technician complete the necessary training. However, a Chevrolet spokeswoman said that 70 percent of Volts sold so far - around 14,800 vehicles - have come through the company's 300 highest volume dealerships, which leaves a mere 30 percent of all Volts sold through 2,300 dealers.



Still, not all dealers with low sales numbers have given up on the Volt - the industry journal reports that John Holt Chevrolet- Cadillac in Chickasha, Oklahoma, remains committed to the Volt program since the upcoming Cadillac ELR will use a very similar powertrain.



"With the new Cadillac coming, I figured I'd be foolish not to buy the damn $5,100 tool," owner John Holt said. div.post-content1 ul li { list-style:disc !important; margin-left:20px; color:#000000; } div.post-content1 ol li { list-style-type: decimal !important; margin-left:20px; color:#000000; } #editorial_graph ul li { list-style:none !important; margin-left:0px; }

Source: Leftlanenews