GM Halting Chevy Volt Production For 5 Weeks Following Slow Sales

Battery fires might not have killed the emergence of the Chevy Volt thanks to a quick customer friendly response from company officials but a lack of sales has forced General Motors to shut down the Volt’s production lines for at least five weeks.

According to the Wall Street Journal 1,300 workers will be laid off from at least March 19 to April 23 while the company waits to see if demand will pick up as supply lessens.

In attempting to push up the number of sales the vehicle receives GM later March will also launch a new ad campaign that pushes the 36-month lease price on a Chevy Volt down by $59 to just $350 per month.

While the Chevy Volt has not had the best track record GM’s North America chief notes:

“This technology is here to stay, we have all kinds of people who want to copy it and go after it. We are not re-evaluating anything. “The only question here is what the rate of sales will be.”

In the meantime some Volt owners have been less than happy with their vehicles. As one customer notes the Volt offers:

“Short range, expensive, no infrastructure support, and the element of uncertainty with performance.”

Since launching the Chevy Volt in 2011 GM has managed to sell just 7,700 vehicles with an initial goal of 10,000.

Are you surprised by GM’s decision to stop Chevy Volt production for five weeks given the numerous commercials and other ad campaigns the company has produced since 2011?