Supply woes, Dealer Opt-out stalls hybrid SUVs

[slant6]

Supply woes stall hybrid SUVs
Carmakers are unsure how to meet demand as high gas prices drive up interest in fuel efficiency.

General Motors Corp. ran into troubles with the battery for last year's Saturn Vue hybrid SUVs, which has slowed production for 2008 models.

And GM's other hybrid trucks, the full-size Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon, are hard to find, in part because about half of the automakers' dealers opted not to sell them. Also, GM has produced the vehicles in limited numbers.
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Bob Morgan of San Francisco said he was drawn to the Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid because it provides enough room to travel comfortably with his wife, teenage daughter and dog, and enough power to haul loads to the family's second home in the mountains.

Yet he doesn't feel any stigma from driving a full-size SUV in a town where environmentalism has long been a mainstream cause.

He bought his hybrid about two months ago and considers himself lucky because the few Tahoe hybrids still available in his area are now commanding more than the base-model $49,000 sticker price.

"I still see some on sale around here," he said. "But you look at the Chevy dealer lots, and they're tacking on a $2,000 to $4,000 premium."

GM spokesman John McDonald said the company is working carefully to match production with demand, so GM isn't delivering the trucks to dealer lots in large numbers. GM doesn't control what dealers charge for vehicles.

Dealers who sell a hybrid but don't have one on their lots can get one within weeks, McDonald said.

Edmunds estimates that GM has sold 1,000 to 1,200 Tahoe and Yukon hybrids since they went on sale in January. GM said it sold 589 of the trucks in May, but didn't provide year-to-date sales figures.

McDonald said the supply issue isn't entirely because of production limits. He said about half of GM dealers opted not to stock the hybrid SUVs. Dealers who wanted them were required to go through special training on servicing the trucks' high-voltage batteries and on explaining the technology to prospective buyers.

"We're talking about a $53,000 hybrid SUV," he said. "Nobody has done this before. We're trying to see where the market is."

[FenwickHockey65]

I wasn't exactly aware that a lot of people wanted the Tahoe/Yukon Hybrids...

[Bvonscott]

They sit on lots for awhile before selling. At least from my experience. They should have built them in a base model Yukon/Tahoe. GM needs to get with the program on what people want.

[ejj29]

i have 3 of them and they are just collecting rust. at $4 a galon no is buying any kind of suv

[gotz_otto]

They sit on lots for awhile before selling. At least from my experience. They should have built them in a base model Yukon/Tahoe. GM needs to get with the program on what people want.

GM should have put the 2-Mode in the Aura and Vue first, not a Tahoe or Yukon. Use the new diesel in the Tahoe and Yukon.

[TJ95GAGT]

GM should have put the 2-Mode in the Aura and Vue first, not a Tahoe or Yukon. Use the new diesel in the Tahoe and Yukon.

But GM was saving the Earth and the US from foreign oil by attacking the lowest MPG vehicles first.

( sarcasm should be noted)

[mrfunji]

Actually, you save much more fuel increasing MPG from 14 to 20 than you do increasing MPG from 24 to 30.

No sarcasm needed.

[drew770]

So you have some dealers opting out of selling the 2 Mode because of special training and learning to explain the technology to customers?
If those dealers are having problems with 2-Mode then what the hell are they going to do with the Volt?
These dealers better get with the program!!!

[I-Love-Pontiac]

Holy crap! Opted to not sell? With today's gas prices?

GM has the most retarded dealer network in the world.

[motorman]

They sit on lots for awhile before selling. At least from my experience. They should have built them in a base model Yukon/Tahoe. GM needs to get with the program on what people want.

they need to sell a "loaded" one to cover the manufacturing cost because people will not pay what GM would have to charge for the hybrid option on a "stripper"

[SUPERBADD75]

it surprises me that there are actually dealers out there that opted not to sell the hybrid. and it also surprises me that they were actually allowed to pass on the training needed to service the vehicles properly. so if you're in a po-dunk somewhere in east Texas with a Tahoe Hybrid, and you pull into the local Chevy store to get an issue taken care of, odds are that they don't have the training and therefore can't work on your vehicle? that just shouldn't even be allowed. dealers that would opt out shouldn't be able to keep their franchises, or should at least be penalized somehow. stupid, stupid, stupid.

[carscomblogger]

Where is the original story from? GM does not sell the hybrids like they do regular cars. See my story here:
http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2...r-hybrids.html

The dealers who opted in get one for demo and interested buyers have to basically order one and they get it in about a month. I would assume any on dealers lots were ordered by the dealer themselves. Based on selling days they're selling pretty well 49 days, vs the average of 65 days and versus about 110 days for the non hybrid Yukon for those that are on lots.

Battery issues are slowing production of the Vue hybrid however.

Why battery supply/production is not the biggest news story of the day versus how great hybrids are is beyond me. If you wanted a Vue hybrid or Escape hybrid good luck finding one. And the automakers simply can't build enough.

[paul8488]

Bah, I can see dealers not caring about selling the Yukon and Tahoe hybrids. They may be high margin but in many markets they just wouldn't sell enough to make the investment worth it. I know tons of small-town dealerships that simply couldn't justify something like that.

[XCR440SP]

it surprises me that there are actually dealers out there that opted not to sell the hybrid. and it also surprises me that they were actually allowed to pass on the training needed to service the vehicles properly. so if you're in a po-dunk somewhere in east Texas with a Tahoe Hybrid, and you pull into the local Chevy store to get an issue taken care of, odds are that they don't have the training and therefore can't work on your vehicle? that just shouldn't even be allowed. dealers that would opt out shouldn't be able to keep their franchises, or should at least be penalized somehow. stupid, stupid, stupid.

It's no different than Corvette, its a separt and optional franchise that if you can't make your money back on it, you don't have to pay for the tools and equipment.

[TJ95GAGT]

Actually, you save much more fuel increasing MPG from 14 to 20 than you do increasing MPG from 24 to 30.

No sarcasm needed.

But you move more units by making a hybrid that people really impacted by high gas prices can afford. Leave saving the earth to special interest groups, GM needs to move vehicles.