General Motors is having a hard time with the Chevrolet Volt. First, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a probe into the vehicle over the possibility of post-crash fires, and now some of its dealers are refusing to take their allocations of the extended-range plug-in hybrid. For example, according to Automotive News, GM set aside 104 Volt models for 14 dealerships across the greater New York City market. Of those vehicles, dealers took just 31. The problem isn’t just out East, either. The report claims one California dealer turned down all six Volt models allocated to him despite the fact that his franchise sold 10 of the vehicles last year.
GM, meanwhile, admits that ordering on the vehicle is down. The automaker attributes the slump to the fact that most dealers were awaiting resolution on the NHTSA investigation (the Volt has since been given a clean bill of health), though GM has announced a voluntary repair to prevent the fires in the future. Even so, public opinion on the vehicle has taken a ding, and many dealers may simply be waiting for the dust to settle before recommitting to the model.
