Two high-mileage vehicles, the Chevrolet Volt and the Chevrolet Cruze.
General Motors still has not announced pricing for the Chevrolet Volt, but there are indications that cost might come in lower than originally anticipated.
Micky Bly, director of electric vehicle programs at GM, told an audience at last week’s Green Car Conference that prices for some of the Volt’s key components might be lower than expected.
“We’re seeing significant downward cost pressure on these suppliers,” Bly said. He added that in some cases, the price reductions are about three to five years ahead of GM’s expectations.
Still, to make the Volt and other battery-electric vehicles viable, Bly said the industry needs to do more.
“We have to drive the technology costs down,” Bly said.
Prabhakar Patel, CEO of Compact Power, agreed, saying at the conference that the fledgling battery electric vehicle industry should not count on government incentives for more than four to five years.
Already there are signs of a taxpayer revolt. See Ken Zino’s Taxpayers to Subsidize EVs and Charging Stations. “At that point, we have to make this a self-sustaining business,” Patel said.
Original predictions were for the Volt to come in with a price of about $40,000. A $7,500 federal tax credit effectively reduces the Volt’s price to $32,500, still wildly expensive when compared with gasoline vehicles at roughly half the purchase price, including GM’s Chevy Cruze. See Driving the Chevrolet Cruze.
GM officials had promised to set a price in May, but no announcement has been made. It is possible that officials are waiting as long as possible to see if supplier prices come down even more.
GM calls the Volt an extended-range electric vehicle. When the battery is fully charged, say after being plugged in overnight, the Volt will be able to travel as far as 40 miles on electric power. After the battery is exhausted, a gasoline engine will provide a range of about 300 miles.
GM is planning a limited introduction in November. Initially, the Volt will be available in California, Michigan and the Washington, D.C., area. GM wants to increase production slowly because the Volt is completely different from any other vehicle ever made.
Nissan, which is planning to introduce its Leaf battery-electric vehicle about the same time as the Volt, has announced a price of $32,780, but a $7,500 tax credit will reduce the price to $25,280. The Leaf, which is a “pure electric,” will have a range of about 100 miles.