Former CEO of General Motors, Ed Whitacre, stated in an interview this week that he believes the electric Chevrolet Vole needs more time to see if it can become a "commercial success" according to USA Today.
General Motors sold 23,461 of its $39,995 electric vehicles last year according to a company press release, a respectable number but not nearly what the company was hoping for. Many of the Volts that the company sold also went to drivers through low-priced leases at dealerships looking to just get rid of the models.
"I think it will create value for GM somewhere down the line," Whitacre tells USA Today in a phone interview. "It's not like it sold zero."
Whitacre is in the middle of a book tour to support his novel "American Turnaround" Reinventing AT&T and GM the Way We Do Business in the USA."
Click here to read excerpts from the new book.
The former CEO also stated that making the Volt wasn't exactly about making money, but sending a "signal" to GM employees and to America. The designers and company executives wanted to let the U.S. know that GM was back as a creative force.
While he believes that the company accomplished their goal and that GM is back on "solid ground" they still have work to do. He's been impressed with his successor current CEO Dan Akerson so far, and goes into detail in his new book about his positive feelings toward GM's North American chief, Mark Reuss according to USA Today.
Morale in GM was reportedly so low when Whitacre started, he said he would regularly visit assembly lines and make unannounced visits to factories and labs to see how things were going first hand.
"You get to know the people and how they feel about the company. Their objectives, goals," said Whitacre in his book. "I find people to be people everywhere. Everyone wants the same thing, be successful."
Click here to order the new book on Amazon.
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