Your quoted author was just
Your quoted author was just restating GM's feeble excuse that the Volt was unprofitable and didn't sell well. But GM did a crappy job in marketing the Volt, and dealers openly diverted customers from both Volt and Bolt sales to their most profitable full sized pickup trucks and SUVs (which GM promoted heavily). Without proper marketing and support no product ever sells well, and the fact that the Volt was a top seller in it's class despite that shows how competitive the car truly was. Imagine if GM had promoted the Volt and Bolt as much as they do the more profitable Silverado and Escalade.