Chevrolet UK has been contacted by 2,500 people “who said they want to talk to us about the Volt,” managing director Mark Terry said, adding that he expects there to be more customers than cars, certainly for the foreseeable future.
“We’re fighting for production every month and the gates are opening,” he said.
Go deeper with GlobalData
The Volt, on sale this spring, will have different specifications and pricing than the Vauxhall Ampera and Terry said that there are some people “who just won’t buy a Vauxhall”, but want the technology, who will turn to Chevrolet.
He is encouraged also by evidence that the famous US brand still has a cachet for UK buyers. “To put a Chevy on your drive is saying something,” he said, citing evidence that people downsizing from premium brands will chose Chevrolet over South Korean rivals Hyundai and Kia because “they want to go for a brand that says something.”
Despite that evidence, Terry admits that the brand still needs some work. “Customers are beginning to understand it but there’s still a lot of work to do to show them it’s not a US ‘gas guzzler’.”
