The Chevrolet Volt was first shown in China at Shanghai's Expo 2010.
General Motors Co. has set up distribution of the American-made Chevrolet Volt in China – the plug-in hybrid set to go on sale at 13 Shanghai GM Chevrolet dealerships in eight Chinese cities, including the Chinese capitol, Beijing, as well as Shanghai itself, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Wuxi, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Foshan.
The Chevy Volt will be one of the rare U.S. exports to the booming Asian nation – now the world’s largest automotive market. Most cars sold in China are produced in-country, with the market dominated by joint ventures pairing local and foreign makers such as the alliance between GM and Shanghai-based SAIC.
The Chinese will see a sticker price of $75,533, or 498,000 RMB, for what GM prefers to call an extended-range electric vehicle. The Volt is designed to deliver more than 40 miles per charge of its lithium-ion battery pack. It then can continue driving by firing up a small gasoline engine.
GM made the announcement of the distribution of the Volt in China as part of the company’s participation in Auto Guangzhou 2011. Two of GM’s joint ventures, Shanghai GM and SAIC-GM-Wuling, are displaying more than 30 vehicles from the Buick, Chevrolet, Cadillac and the new Baojun brands.
The Chevrolet Equinox will be one of the vehicles going into the re-opened Spring Hill plant.
China will be among the first global markets to offer the Volt. The decision to offer the battery car in China – as well as Europe and several other markets – should help GM boost demand for the vehicle, which is likely to fall short of its 2011 sales goal of 10,000 units. CEO Dan Akerson has confirmed the target for 2012 will be to produce 60,000 Volts, 15,000 of them for export.
The Volt earned a five-star safety rating from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Its battery carries a warranty of six years/150,000 kilometers in China. The Volt’s introduction is part of Shanghai GM’s Drive to Green strategy, which is focused on delivering products that offer higher fuel economy and lower emissions.
The Chinese buyers of the Volt will be eligible to join the V+ Club. By calling a bilingual 24-hour hotline, members will receive one-on-one service. In addition, they will be invited to participate in a series of member activities that match their eco-friendly lifestyles, GM announced.
In a separate development, GM announced it is taking the first steps to reopen the company’s old Saturn assembly plant in Spring Hill, Tenn. The automaker promised in September to reopen it as part of the settlement of the new four-year labor agreement with the United Auto Workers union.
GM will invest $61 million to bring the idled Spring Hill assembly plant back to life as one of the world’s most-flexible manufacturing facilities capable of building any GM car or crossover based on customer demand or manufacturing need.
The investment is expected to create 594 hourly jobs and 91 salaried positions for the flexible operation scheduled to begin with the hot-selling Chevrolet Equinox in the second half of 2012.
The additional production will supplement Equinox production in Canada, the main assembly sites of the midsize crossover vehicle and its sibling the GMC Terrain, GM officials said.
The Equinox has been one of GM’s most popular vehicles in the past two years and GM has increased production three times since it went into production in 2009.