General Motors vice chairman Steve Girsky says the US giant should know by June this year whether or not the Chevrolet Volt “has legs.”
The GM range extender had some much-publicised battery issues recently, but appears to have resolved them as sales start to gain momentum.
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“I think we will know this June whether this car [Volt] has legs or not,” Girsky said at this year’s Automotive News World Congress in Detroit. “We are prepared for it if it does.
“This is a car that people are buying [who] don’t know GM cars. It is doing something for the brand and something for the company – it is ‘oh wow’ technology. Customer ratings on this car are spectacular. If it doesn’t have legs, we will adjust production to demand.”
Girsky declined to be drawn on any discussion on who would eventually succeed current GM CEO Dan Akerson, but highlighted instead the recent “landmark” agreement inked with the UAW union.
“This company has come a long way on labour relations,” he said. “We signed a landmark deal with the UAW – we have a strong relationship.
“It [deal] works for the company and the business. We wanted to keep our break-even level down – we gave a little bit more to protect ourselves…and it is working for them as well.”
Despite hailing what he referred to as GM’s strong balance sheet, Girsky conceded Europe remained problematic.
“In Europe, we have made progress in 2011 versus 2010, but we wanted to break even this year and that is not going to happen,” he said.
“The European industry is facing significant challenges – the message is we need to be prepared for a challenging environment for the foreseeable future.”
