Chevy Volt Will Cost $41,000

By: Martin LaMonica
Topics: In The News ,; Tech Talk

Three and a half years after introducing the concept Chevy Volt electric car, General Motors is finally answering the question of its price: $41,000 before a federal tax credit.

GM is scheduled to disclose the pricing and tout the 340-mile range of the Chevy Volt on Tuesday at a conference on plug-in vehicles in San Jose, Calif.

Chevy Volt electric vehicle

(Credit: GM)

The cost of a lease is $350 a month for 36 months with a $2,500 down payment. The Volt, which has an eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty, qualifies for a $7,500 federal tax, which brings the net purchase price to $33,500 after receiving the credit.

People on Tuesday will be able to order a Volt from www.getmyvolt.com and be able to track the status of their order as GM starts delivery of the car later this year.

Initially, GM will offer the Volt in seven regions: California, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Washington, D.C., Michigan, and Texas.

The company anticipates that it will sell 10,000 cars in the first year and then make the Volt available nationally and sell 30,000 units in 2012, GM executives said on a conference call on Tuesday. The company hopes that higher volumes will bring down the price in the future, but some of that is already figured in, said Joel Ewanick, GM vice president of U.S. marketing.

"We're pricing very aggressively taking into account some of those factors already," he said. "We think it's a great opening salvo and we'll see what happens over time."

The base model will include a number of high-tech features, such as Bluetooth connectivity, a navigation screen, and five years of GM's OnStar service. There will also be four options, such as a rear camera, a more expensive paint package, and different wheels. If all options are chosen, the cost is $44,600 before the $7,500 tax credit.

When GM first launched the Chevy Volt concept in 2007, there wasn't a lot of competition among major automakers in the electric-vehicle category. But now the battery-electric $33,000 Nissan Leaf is expected for release in coming months as well a host of other electric vehicles and hybrids.

Although this is the first time GM has disclosed the suggested retail price, outsiders for some time have anticipated cost of the Volt would be about $40,000.

To stand out from the competition, GM is emphasizing the relative long range of the Volt's design over battery-electric cars, such as the Leaf, said Ewanick.

"Our strategy is (to say) that it's more car than electric," said Ewanick. "This car gives you a 340-mile range, it gives you real peace of mind, which is a big piece of differentiation between us and the competition. This is a car you can drive cross-country and our competition can't do that."

GM also plans to provide coaching to Volt buyers on how to install a higher-voltage charging station in their homes, although the Volt can charge overnight using a standard outlet.

Electrification ahead?
Unlike a traditional hybrid, the Volt is driven entirely by an electric motor, which gives it a peppy, smooth acceleration. The batteries store enough charge to drive the car about 40 miles and then a gasoline engine runs a generator to maintain charge for the batteries. By contrast, battery-electric vehicles planned from major automakers, such as the Nissan Leaf, can go about 100 miles.

But GM is still not able to say what sort of mileage the Volt will get because the Environmental Protection Agency is still working on a methodology to communicate the fuel economy of electrically driven cars.

GM and other automakers tend to list pricing of their electric vehicles net of the $7,500 federal tax credit. But those tax credits are limited to 200,000 cars per manufacturer, said Ewanick. That's enough for GM to launch back into electrification, he said. In the coming years, the company plans to use the Volt's powertrain, known as Voltec, in other models.

"Two hundred thousand vehicles gets us many years down the road and it gets the electric-vehicle market established," Ewanick said. "It's a good time frame to build awareness."

This article appeared originally on CNET

Martin LaMonica is a senior writer covering green tech and cutting-edge technologies. He joined CNET in 2002 to cover enterprise IT and Web development and was previously executive editor of IT publication InfoWorld.
Follow on Twitter »

70 Comments Have Your Say
Email Story Send to a Friend
Share This Tell Your Friends
Tweet This Tweet This
More Share It

Add a Comment

See all 70 Comments


by Rangerdog2 December 28, 2010 3:30 PM EST: If anyone cares, I will not be buying one. The Volt is way over priced, and I will be one hundreds of thousands of people that feel the same. If GM wants to sell cars, and be a leader, then get on with it. You are not going to do it by gouging on new technology, but by making them cheap in price, high in quality, sell them like hot cakes, get them established as the standard, then start raising prices as improvements are made. That is what Toyota did, then because of quality rose to be a giant. $41,000 is way out of the average Americans ability to own a car. Let the highly paid UAW people buy it.; Reply to this comment


by JadeSmith1789 November 22, 2010 6:59 AM EST: The one thing that I really liked about the Volt is that the car had enough room for four people. The acceleration was more than enough. The biggest surprise to us was Volts? handling. It after all is rather heavy car, because it carries all its pieces and bits of both a gasoline-powered vehicle and an electric.
http://www.chevyreview.net/chevrolet-volt-expensive-but-practical.html; Reply to this comment


by jacaspar July 29, 2010 8:06 PM EDT: Electric cars are not an enviromental savior. You are using 4-6% efficient electricity by burning coal instead of just running gas through your car which is overall about 30-40% efficient. Do the math, it doesn't make sense. Also, bio diesel gels at higher temperatures than regular diesel. Another joke is ethanol, you put 10% ethanol into your gasoline and you see a 10% decrease in mpg. Again do the math, you are not doing anything for the environment, you are just giving taxpayer money away to these people claiming to save the environment. And for you foriegn car drivers who claim American cars can't get good mpg, my 2000 buick century gets 34 mpg and my girlfriend's 97 ford escort gets over 45 mpg.; Reply to this comment

by Resin-Smoker July 28, 2010 10:56 AM EDT

Hybrids are just flat, out a stupid idea...

-The car uses two forms of propulsion that are heavily interlinked, making it a very complex system that will be beyond your average hobbyist / mechanic.

-Repairing the vehicle this complex will require an infrastructure that many of your existing dealerships will be unable to provide. Not to forget that the costs of repairs will be equivalent to that of many high end sports cars. While this will be a boon for the auto industry (assuming the car is successful), it will make the vehicle prohibitively expensive to own past its warranty period.

-The cost of building such a vehicle (materials / manpower / cash) will be two to three times higher that a standard 4 cylinder vehicle, capable of the same level of mileage and equivalent performance.

Rather then developing / selling a Hybrid, a pure battery based car, such as the Nissan Leaf is the best solution?

-The car will be very simple mechanically as vehicles will no longer need a transmission, emission controls or any of the other systems (that are required by law) for a gasoline consuming vehicle.

-Will be far simpler to build.

-Cheaper to maintain as all you?d have to worry about are the tires, breaks, and battery pack (which should last 5-10 years)

-Will be lighter, safer and have better handling.

-Electric motors provide 100% torque (all the way up) thru to redline and hence the car will have far better acceleration then its gasoline equivalent.

Reply to this comment


by Clouseau2 July 28, 2010 2:20 PM EDT: Electric cars will be a much better solution than anything else once two things happen: 1) the cost and capacity of the batteries improve and 2) there are enough places around where you can recharge your batteries quickly instead of having to wait 4-6 hours for a full charge on a regular 220V circuit. American drivers will not put up with the inconvenience of problem #2.

For now, the Chevy Volt is a good bridge solution between gasoline powered cars and electric cars. Serial hybrid technology is decades old, diesel locomotives and submarines use it.


by rf35 July 28, 2010 9:24 AM EDT: It kills me that Pontiac went away in the GM reorg. I loved my G6 convertible (had to give it up because of overseas assignment). I was going to get another one, but I guess not now.
So I'll be heading Stateside in a few months...what car shall I get? If payments are 350/mo with 2500 down, I'll go for the Volt. I highly doubt this is the case for the average guy. Maybe if you had a perfect credit score. No, I think I'll be looking at a motorcycle. Good mileage, reasonable price, and I can still take my wife's Pacifica to work when it's snowing.; Reply to this comment


by MrKing.net July 28, 2010 2:58 AM EDT: Ford wins Again. Ford Motor Company the ONLY AMERICAN Brand.; Reply to this comment


by zebra8835 July 28, 2010 12:25 AM EDT: Let's see... buy a new Honda Civic @ 35 MPG for $15K. Another $8K for gasoline for the next ten years. Total outlay $23K. I like the looks of the new Chevy Volt but it IS over priced! askagain is absolutely right in reference to the the innovators wanting the "latest thing!" but that won't last long though, remember the AMC pacer bubble car?; Reply to this comment


by vancouverboo July 28, 2010 12:03 AM EDT: newsterl, you're thinking of a tax deduction which just reduces your taxable income, but a credit reduces your tax liability, so, providing you pay as much as $7,500 in taxes in one year you will get it reduced by $7,500 which is money in the bank. That's why they're pricing it at $41,000, so that after reducing it by $7,500, it will be competitive with the Nissan. In other words you will pay $34,000 and the taxpayers will pay the other $7,500. Ain't America great? Socialism for the rich, Socialism for the Poor, Taxation for the Middle Class.; Reply to this comment


by askagain July 27, 2010 11:47 PM EDT: To believe that people would spend $44,000 on a car for better fuel economy misses the point. People choose their cars for a number of reasons which might include: 1) Keeping up with the neighbors. 2) The novelty that cetain models offer. 3) The idea of helping the environment. 4) Owning something different than what most people have. People who are willing to spend $44,000 on a car such as the VOLT realize that it is priced higher than your average car. They also realize that the cost to own and maintain it will be higher. The arguments for not buying the VOLT probably won't influence the people who will buy them.; Reply to this comment


by rwsmith29456 July 27, 2010 11:15 PM EDT: Maybe somebody will make an energy efficient car that I will be able to afford.; Reply to this comment