Chevrolet, the Detroit-based division of General Motors, is one of the biggest car manufacturers in the world today. Since 1912 they’ve produced more than 200 million trucks and cars for sale at new Chevy dealers around the world, as they are currently on the road in 2/3 of the world.
Despite their global brand and quality reputation, the car company has struggled to push out their new electric car, the Volt, at local Chevy dealerships recently. Part of the reason is believed to be a disconnect between the local Chevy dealers, who operate as independent franchises, and the corporation itself.
In order to combat this dilemma Chevy just introduced a new program called “Drive My Way.” According to the industry news source HybridCars.com, earlier this week they contacted select people in certain markets and offered to deliver a 2016 Volt right to them for a 30-minute test drive. A ?vehicle specialist? will ?bring the test-drive to you? and ride along for the 30-minute drive, according to the email that was sent to potential customers with the offer.
RedCap Valet has been identified as the company that will supply the vehicle specialist. The one stipulation of the new initiative is that test drivers must agree to let GM collect driver behavior data such as speed, braking, and acceleration, along with vehicle location.
The new program comes after it’s believed executives high up in the company were not pleased that local Chevy dealers weren’t doing an adequate job selling the Volt. Even though A Chevrolet is sold somewhere in the world every 6.5 seconds, many dealers have been reluctant to really get on board with the company’s featured “green” car.
Apparently, the incidences of dealers knowing little or nothing about the car was pretty common. “Drive My Way” allows Chevy to circumvent this problem without violating contractual agreements between the company and its dealers.
Steve Majoros, Chevrolet director of car marketing, has said that Chevy and GM plan on taking a more partnering role to help educate, train, and empower local Chevy dealers to sell the Volt going forward.