1. Politics; Senate
1. Politics; Senate Republicans blocked extension of the tax credit, thus harming US manufacturers GM and Tesla who have been at the forefront of EV vehicle development and benefiting import brands that are nowhere close to the 200,000 electric vehicle sales limit for the tax credits. Both therefore have to focus on what will turn a profit even at this disadvantage, which in Tesla's case means high performance sedans and in GM's case means CUVs. The Volt is patently neither of those things.
2. GM in particular seems anxious about an economic downturn, and is strategically hoarding cash and channeling it to what they think will be high-growth
3. What they think will be high-growth is high-end vehicles and SUV EVs, which they don't yet produce, so free cash going in this direction goes on R&D the next year or two until those electric crossovers, mainly, starting hitting the market.
4. GM remain idiots at marketing small cars. Examples; understanding cargo space on the Volt (GM seems as far as I can tell to be using the rubric of separate packages for measuring sedan trunks while Toyota measures total volume, making the Volt seem barely half the size of the Prius even though they actually will take the same number of suitcases), failing to adequately support the Volt with advertising, failing to use the Volt as a statement of their prowess in technology.
5. GM remain idiots at logistically supporting small cars. This has especially shown up with EVs with a) problems getting dealers to stock them and b) failure to roll out a Tesla-style fast charging network. In cold-weather parts of the country they should also be promoting streetside 110v outlets, which some towns have anyway for block heaters and are very useful for priming batteries and keeping them warm enough in bitter cold weather....without this kind of thing EVs don't do well in the cold.
6. GM continues to make arbitrary choices about trim; for example you have to go to the top of the line model to even have access to optioning safety features that other brands include standard across the line. That puts customers off.