General Motors puts a price on the Chevrolet Volt

By Brett Davis | July 28th, 2010

General Motors has announced the price of the upcoming Chevrolet Volt. US$41,000 (AU$45,500) as a starting price. Not bad for a plug-in hybrid. It’ll go on sale in the US in October/November.

The plug-in hybrid is also an eligible vehicle under the American government’s federal tax credit system, which means US$7500 in the pocket for any buyer. General Motors is also offering the car on a lease plan for a little as US$350 for 36 months with an initial down payment of just US$2500, although this is only available to customers within the same area codes of the launch cities; Austin, California, Michigan, New York City, Texas and Washington D.C

Nissan’s Leaf is the only real competition in this category of car. The Nissan Leaf is planned to go on sale in December. The difference? Well, GM/Chevrolet say the Volt will do 40 miles (64km) on battery power alone until the petrol engine kicks in. Nissan say the Leaf will achieve 100 miles (160km). Nissan also say the Leaf will be available from $32,780 (AU$36,360).

On the other hand the Chevrolet Volt comes with piece of mind, showcasing an 8-year/160,000km warranty on the speculated ‘fragile’ lithium-ion battery pack. This deal puts an end to any uncertainty; eight years resembles a fair amount of confidence from the manufacturer. It’s unclear as to what warranty deal will be offered with the upcoming Nissan Leaf.

Joel Ewannick, chief of marketing in the US, said to reporters recently,

“Our strategy will be, ‘It’s more car than electric’. They’re looking for a real car. They’re looking for a car that will meet their transportation needs, that gives them no anxiety. You can drive it [Volt] across the country without having to recharge, and our competition can’t do that.”

The latest reports say the Chevrolet Volt will go on sale in Australia some time in 2011, for around $60,000 thanks to delivery and compliance charges.

*Update: Nissan has announced the Leaf will be offered with the same 8-year/160,000km warranty deal as the Chevrolet Volt.

dp01

another super expensive supposed “green” car. theres no way the volt will be sold in australia at that price. Aussies don’t even buy hybrids at $35k let alone 60k. I agree with the writers article on the stupid “car rebate scheme”, just another vote getter from a govt that loves to spend on meaningless psuedo green schemes. When will the govt back the cleanest fuel – Hydrogen or Solar – yes i know only when they can tax it and make money, ie never…

As for the 8 year warranty – they want you to keep it for as long as possible so you don’t figure out that the car will be worthless on the secondhand market for a very long time and by then its too late.

http://www.wheelalignmentshop.com/ Hal (RSA)

I pretty much agree with you here. Particularly on the used car scenario. The battery issue is the big gorilla hiding in the green jungle. I’m all for alternative fuel systems but there’s very little green about chemical batteries that will very likely have to be treated like environmental waste. Not to mention the huge cost of replacing them.

As to the whole “Tax Rebate” scheme. Total sales gimmick that looks to help out DC approval ratings. It won’t of course.

Dave

I think GM is on a winner with this one. Small /medium size car with incredible economy.
Dennis

This and the Honda Insight are really the best Green cars out there…

si1982

dont forget the Ford Fiesta Econetic and other Econetic cars around in Europe, Mini D, Prius, VW Bluemotion range etc … there are plenty more green cars apart from the 2 you mention.

Dennis

What i ment was non fossil fuel cars. I know the volt has a Petrol engine, but is it E85 friendly?

Devil’s Advocate

That works out to be around $120,000 on the road here. There is nothing scientific about this calculation and is just a simplistic way of comparing the Volt cost in the US to a car that is sold both here and over there. The car I used is the BMW 335i sedan. In the US it costs just under $41,000 US yet costs $120,000 on road in NSW. Being an electric car IIRC it is exempt from the LCT so you can subtract another $13,200 off the $120k.

NOTE: This is only a light hearted way at looking at what it could potentially cost if released here and has no basis in fact what-so-ever. It is more a method of highlighting how we get ripped off on cars like the BMW 335i compared to other nations. I know there are things like economy of scale and ADRs etc that also factor into the increased costs. I was just having a little fun! *smiles*

Lazybones

It kind of says the problem is beyond the manufacturer. Even at 60k thats 15k more than they pay in the US.
http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/2316/usjettas.jpg Micky

Doesn’t always work that way. A Chrysler 300C SRT-8 in the US costs over $48,000 USD. Here, it costs $74,990. Does anyone think the headlights on this look like they’re taken from a Honda Accord Euro?

TomJ

It is absolutely ridiculous to compare the Volt and the Leaf. When the Leaf runs out of energy you are stranded, when the Volt does the petrol engine kicks in and away you go.

The volt is a real usable car with the benefit of most peoples daily commute being able to run entirely off electricity, the Leaf is a gimmick.
Alan

So why isn’t the Prius Plug-in a more logical competitor to the Volt? The leaf is pure electric, the Volt is a range extender. Toyota already has 600 Prius Plug-ins on test all over the world and it will probably be on sale at about the same time as the Volt but for much less in on the road cost as its battery is much smaller
(about 6kWhrs for the Prius vs 16kWhrs for the Volt).

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1285962287 Declan Collins

In the Prius the engine powers the wheels directly while for the Volt the engine charges the battery and only the battery will power the wheels.

Also, the Prius plug-in is just a quick mock-up by toyota to respond to the Volt. 12miles on a single charge… how is that useable at all…

TomJ

The thing with the volt is that Chevrolet predict that 90% of the time it will never have to be ran on petrol.

The prius plug in the electricity bit is more a range extender.

Also i have yet to hear anything about them being sold.

svd

The current Prius we see in Aus is powered by Petrol only. A plug in version rumoured to become available here but already available O/S will allow us to use Coal fired electricity just like the Volt will. A plug in Prius will finally make that vehicle a true hybrid as at the moment it has a hybrid transmission called Hybrid Synergy Drive. I personally cannot see the sense in purchasing either a plugin or the current Prius/Civic hybrids over a CRDI Diesel as development and electricity supply and infrastructure stand at the moment.
Frenchie

Chevrolet are only building 10000 this year alone. Next year 40000 and only a selected major cities where it will be sold.

Over in the US the preferred way to get your backside into a new car/truck is to lease. You can lease a Volt for $350 per month (over 36 months) with a $2500 deposit. I think most will be sold this way.

Eric

“in Australia some time in 2011, for around $60,000 thanks to delivery and compliance charges.”

That’s an EXTRA $15,000 for Deilvery and compliace, ouch.

You can buy new cars drive away for under $15,000 that aslo have delivery and compilance charges.
Yianni

Good luck getting your money back over time in fuel savings. You’ll probably be dead by the time you break even with these cars since the initial price is too high.

You’re better off buying a sub 20K car with good fuel economy.

No doubt these cars will one day make sense and they do have to start somewhere. The problem is 99% of Australian’s wont be interested in the Volt or the Leaf simply because of its high cost.
MK

A second hand landcruiser is still more green than one of these.
Shak

Good to hear that GM is on track with the Volt. I guarantee that even with such a high price, people will buy them firstly because they will have a Holden badge on the front, and in Australia that badge is a powerful marketing tool, and secondly because there are early adopters out there who want the latest tech to see how and why? And besides, it looks much better than the Prius or the Insight.
Eric

I think if the electric car adds that sell ECO, GREEN, ENVIRO should be banned, I have read too many articles on the matter.

Eric
Toxic_Horse

this type of car is the future. Early adoptors will pay the extra to be the first to have one.
Same as some people used to pay 20 grand for a lcd television which you can now get for 1 Grand.
Over time prices will drop.
As for the leaf. Very few people would ever drive more than 160km in a average day. If you are that type of person, don’t buy a leaf, simple…
Rowman

Car of the future? Non fossil fuel car? Where does the power to charge it come from? 90% Coal powered electricity fools. What is the enviromental impact of the production and disposal of the lithium batteries? A car from a company which went broke making bad decisions and now subsidises the huge R&D costs of the Volt via the American taxpayer. Go GM.
Barney

A$60k here? can anybody explain why?