Chevrolet Is Celebrating a Modest Volt Milestone

According to Steve Majoros, head of Chevy’s car marketing, “Not only is the Volt a class-creator, it serves as the foundation of a Chevrolet electric family that will soon add the first long range, affordable EV available for customers across the U.S., the Chevrolet Bolt EV.”

The Volt’s sales numbers pale in comparison to the success of the Tesla. Elon Musk revealed in May that he expects Tesla to deliver 80,000 to 90,000 electric vehicles in 2016 alone, surpassing the 50,000 sold in 2015. Plus, Tesla claims to have over 400,000 reservations for its smaller $35,000 model that will get 215 miles per charge. The Nissan Leaf also posted better monthly sales numbers than the Volt in late 2015.

Perhaps the Volt’s greatest achievement is that it gave General Motors a goal to focus on during the company’s bankruptcy. When executives Bob Lutz and Rick Wagoner unveiled the concept car in 2007, it was called GM’s “moonshot”. Despite the automaker’s 2009 bankruptcy, work on the electric vehicle continued. The Volt was ready for delivery in December of 2010 and represented a fresh future for the wounded auto giant.

According to the EPA, the second generation Volt has an estimated EV range of 53 miles and a combined gas and electric range of 420 miles.