H GM προσφέρεται να κάνει buyback στα Volt
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General Motors offered to buy back Chevrolet Volts from any customers nervous about fire risks as the automaker said Thursday it would not meet its 10,000 sales target this year for the extended-range electric car.
But GM expects few if any of its 6,000 Volt owners to ask for a refund.
On Monday, GM offered loaner vehicles to any worried Volt owners as the government investigates fire risks; GM said 33 owners so far asked for loaners.
GM will repurchase any Volt if an owner asks, but none have so far, GM spokesman Selim Bingol said.
"We're going to do what it takes to make every consumer completely satisfied," Bingol said.
GM has struggled to contain concerns about the Volt since the disclosure last month that the government was investigating a fire in a crash-tested Volt.
In June, a fire broke out three weeks after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration crash-tested a Volt. A second fire broke out on Thanksgiving in a Volt battery pack seven days after a crash test, while a third battery pack sparked for less than a second, hours after a crash test in November.
GM Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson disclosed the buy-back offer in an Associated Press interview Thursday. He separately told Reuters Thursday that the automaker may redesign the Voltbattery pack.
GM said this week it is considering design changes to prevent battery intrusion during a severe crash.
NHTSA has no complaints or reports of fires in real-world Volts. Last Friday, the government opened a formal investigation into the fire risks of the Volt.
GM said Thursday it has received 230 calls from owners. Consumer Reports on Thursday said Volt owners have the highest customer satisfaction rate of any vehicle owners, with 93 percent saying they would definitely buy it again, beating the Dodge Challenger and Porsche 911, which both had a 91 percent buy-again rating.
The ratings were completed before the government investigation was announced.
GM sales chief Don Johnson told reporters on a conference call that GM won't meet the 10,000 sales mark for its electric vehicle until early next year, but is not disappointed.
"The reality is you have to continue to build awareness and availability," he said. "We'll hit it early next year."
As recently as last month, Akerson said he expected to sell 45,000 Volts in the United States in 2012 and export another 15,000. Johnson didn't back away from next year's target.
"We'll stick to the game plan," Johnson said.
In November, GM sold 1,139 Volts — the second straight month it has topped Nissan Motor Co., which sold 672 all-electric Leafs. GM has sold 6,142 Volts this year, while Nissan has sold 8,720 Leafs.
Despite the negative publicity, GM said its November Volt sales were its best-ever — beating its prior monthly record of 1,108 vehicles set in October.
In recent weeks, GM has dramatically boosted its inventory of Volt models in showrooms and is allowing dealers to sell Volt demos.
GM dealers now have about 4,000 Volts for sale.
https://detnews.com/article/20111202...ts-from-owners
