GM To China: The Volt Is Coming! China To GM: Yawn
While we are all waiting for Ed’s report on the Volt, let me waste some of your time by mentioning that GM will introduce the thing in China some time in the second half of 2011. They already concede that it will be a flop.
“The volumes in China won’t be large,” Kevin Wale, president of GM China told Bloomberg. But it’s not GM’s fault. It’s the damned Chinese. “Many Chinese consumers are first time buyers and aren’t environmentally conscious yet,” said Wale.
Well, they are price conscious. And they know how to do math. Even with lavish subsidies, the Chinese ignored new energy cars so far and prefer good old gasoline.
Toyota sold only around 300 Prii last year in China. BYD’s sales of pure plugins are non-existent, their hybrid sales are a disaster. BYD’s best selling car, the F3, runs on pump gas.
Then why bring the Volt to China at all? John Zeng, an analyst from J.D. Power & Associates in Shanghai, thinks it’s an advertising exercise: “The Volt will serve more to enhance GM’s green image,” said Zeng.
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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When I see the Volt logo, I can't help feeling that the 'V' appears crossed out. That's not good, right? "OLT"?
Darn! GM can't sell the Volt to Chinese consumers because "they know how to do math". The obvious solution will be to sell the Volt to consumers who can't do math. Now, which consumers would that be?