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Slow sales - running well behind forecasts - have derailed the GM green hero in the past week, after it took hits from a high prices and a safe scare last year.
GM decided last week to 'idle' the Volt factory, which means stopping production temporarily, to clear a backlog of around 6000 unsold cars and adjust output to the actual showroom demand in the USA.
Production at the Hamtramck factory in Detroit will be stopped for five weeks and 1300 workers will be idle, following first-year sales that only hit 7671 against a prediction of 10,000 and only 1626 deliveries in January. But Holden says the Volt drama will not affect its local plans, with the car already locked-in for sales in 2012.
"There are no concerns," Holden spokesperson, Emily Perry, says bluntly. "Honestly, the market dynamics in the US are not appropriate for us to talk about."
She refuses to discuss or acknowledge the potential impact of the shutdown on local confidence, particularly after last year's Volt fires, and says Holden is not worried about pricing the Volt too high.
Early guesstimates put the likely Volt price in the $65,000 range, based on the $48,800 sticker for the Mitsubishi iMiEV electric car and the $34,990 base price for the Toyota Prius, as well as the complexity of the range-extender hybrid drive system - which uses an onboard petrol engine to charge the car's battery pack - in the Volt.
"We're confident we have the right strategy for the vehicle. We haven't given any pricing," she tells Carsguide. "It's a one-of-a-kind vehicle. But of course we plan to sell more than just one."
The first Australian Volts should arrive within two months to begin local engineering work and evaluation runs and, although Perry will not comment, customer deliveries are likely by August.
"Our vehicles are not affected by the situation in the US. For us, we have no concerns and we're really excited about the launch."
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