GM hopes to boost sales of Chevrolet Volt to 3,000 a month

General Motors will be resuming production of the Chevrolet Volt earlier than planned, after March sales proved to withstand some negative publicity. The company hopes to increase sales of the Volt by more than 30 percent in the coming months.

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Read our review on the Chevrolet Volt.

In March, Gm sold a total 2,289 Chevrolet Volt units, beating the previous best month in December where it sold 1,529 units.

“It seems like we’ve sustained ourselves through this difficult period,” CEO Dan Akerson said in an interview with Bloomberg Radio’s “A Closer Look With Arthur Levitt” scheduled to air in May. “We hope to get up to 3,000-plus in the coming months and are certainly positioning it.”

Check out more news on the Chevrolet Volt.

Volt sales were hurt by a investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration into the car’s safety. NHTSA closer the probe in January, saying the Volt or other electric vehicles pose no more of a fire risk than other cars.

Refresher: The 2012 Chevrolet Volt is powered by 16-kWh, ‘T’-shaped lithium-ion battery that powers the electric drive unit, which allows it to drive 40 miles on battery power alone. The system puts out 149-hp and a maximum torque of 273 lb-ft, allowing the Volt to go from 0-60 mph in about 9 seconds, hitting a top speed of 100 mph. The battery can be re-charged by plugging into a household outlet and takes 4 hours to recharge on 240 volts, and about 10-12 hours on a standard 120-volt outlet. The Chevrolet Volt also carries an 84-hp 1.4 4-clyinder engine that allows the five-door, FWD sedan to travel additional miles while averaging a fuel-economy of 50 mpg. A fully charged battery and full tank of gas will allow the Volt to travel 379   miles. The 2012 Chevrolet Volt gets an EPA estimated 93 miles per ’gallon-equivalent’ when driving under electric power only, 37 mpg when in gasoline mode and over the long term it is estimated to get 60 miles per gallon in combined gasoline-powered and electric-powered driving. Prices for the 2012 Chevrolet Volt start at $39,995 but with a full federal income tax credit (which range from $0 to $7,500), the Volt can cost a total of $32,495.

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– By: Omar Rana

Source: AutoNews