Chevy begins nationwide sales of the Volt - while also cutting the MSRP of the plug-in by $1,005.
Buyers waiting in places like Georgia and Illinois will now be able to place their orders for a Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid – and get rewarded for their wait with a $1,005 price cut.
After initially introducing the Volt in just eight so-called “launch markets,” General Motors is rolling out its high-tech halo car nationwide, reflecting both its confidence in the technology and the imminent increase in Volt production.
Introduced last December as a 2011 model, early adopters had to shell out $41,000 for the Volt, which Chevy prefers to call an extended-range electric vehicle, or E-REV. (The distinction reflects the fact that Volt’s small inline-four gas engine is designed to primarily serve as a generator, once the batteries run down. It only occasionally provides direct torque to help turn the wheels.)
The new, $39,995 price tag – which includes destination charges – “is possible in part because of a wider range of options and configurations that come with the expansion of Volt production for sale nationally,” according to a GM release.
A source indicates the maker has also been able to drive down the price it is paying for Volt’s 16 kilowatt-hours of lithium-ion batteries, the single most costly part of the vehicle.
Whatever the reason, GM is hoping to close the price gap with the significantly cheaper Nissan Leaf battery-electric vehicle, or BEV, generally seen as its most serious competitor in the emerging market for “electrified” vehicles. For the first four months of the year, Volt and Leaf sales were running roughly neck-and-neck, but Nissan’s numbers surged, in May, as it consciously pushed to expand Leaf production – even while it suffered production shortages with other vehicles due to Japan’s March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
Now, it’s GM’s turn to bump up production at its Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant, as TheDetroitBureau.com previously reported. (Click Here for that story.) According to Mark Reuss, president of GM’s North American operations, the plant will triple its Volt output after a brief summer shutdown to retool. That should provide enough of the plug-in hybrids to push sales up to 16,000 for all of 2011.
GM plans to produce up to 60,000 E-REVs in 2012 – but about a quarter of those are earmarked for overseas markets, and a chunk of those will be the Opel Ampera, a sportier looking Volt sibling designed for Europe, China and other international markets.
The increase in production should help dealers resolve a reported order backup, some potential customers initially being told they might not take delivery until as late as 2013.
The 2012 Volt will offer a broader array of options and packages, including two additional interior accent hues, white and spiced red, and two new exterior paint colors, Summit White and Blue Topaz Metallic.
“We are giving consumers greater choice of content as the Volt becomes available nationwide by the end of this year,” said Cristi Landy, Volt marketing director. “This gives us the opportunity to be more flexible in our pricing and still provide additional high-tech content to customers who want to purchase it.”
Chevy claims Volt can achieve 35 miles on battery power alone, though the exact distance depends on driving conditions and driver behavior. After the battery pack is drained, however, the 4-seater will continue to drive like a conventional vehicle using gasoline power.
Will they still be offering the $350 a month lease? I wouldn’t be able to buy one at $40,000 but if I could lease one at $350, that is in my ballpark.
Good question. No mention in the release so I will ask for a comment and post it.
Paul E.
If I wasn’t retired now and was still driving 72 miles round trip to work I would put my order in for one. The money I would save in gas should be enough to pay half or more of my car payment.
This is Rob Peterson from Chevrolet Volt Communications.
R123t: We’ll announce lease pricing for the 2012 model later this summer.
Jlowe51: My colleague who works with me at the Ren Cen has just about the same commute. He bought a Volt two months ago (had to travel to New York to get it) and estimates he’s saving about $250 a month in fuel costs. Not to mention his family loves the vehicle.
Thanks
Rob
Thanks for letting me know that Rob. $250.00 will really put a dent in that car payment. Hope people will take that under consideration when looking at the Volt.
What now Mr. Rob Peterson?
Now what Mr. President? You have now boxed yourself into yet, “another corner”. Now comes the flip & flop routine he is best qualified for.
http://weaselzippers.us/2011/06/13/bad-news-for-the-chevy-volt-british-study-finds-electric-cars-produce-higher-emissions-than-gas-fueled-cars/
Tater,
I think it’s YOU who needs to come out of the corner. I debated whether to even approve this comment as — like all your comments — it only quotes the most negative sources of information, which back a very fixed and unyielding political viewpoint. Sadly, the world cannot and should not be based solely on politically-motivated data selection. In fact, Tater, as I pointed out earlier, some conservatives who FAVOR battery power are now trying to claim that the push to EVs is the result of GW Bush, NOT Obama, since it was under the former president’s watch that the $7,500 tax incentives were approved. Would you have posted this if Mr. Bush was still in the White House? Based on your posting track record, I doubt it.
A more balanced point of view suggests that while SOME studies suggest battery vehicles do not reduce emissions — or not by much — most studies tend to favor the technologies. The assumptions used in the studies varies widely, hence the disagreement.
Here’s one on the very positive:
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/04/plug-in-hybrid-cars-co2-emissions-electricity-energy.php
Here’s something a bit more balanced and from a less biased source:
Doing the Math
According to the Energy Information Administration, for every 35 miles that the average compact car (25mpg) travels, it emits approximately 28 pounds of carbon dioxide. To fully charge a ZENN Car, it takes approximately 17 kilowatt hours, to propel the car its full range, 35 miles. Seventeen kilowatt hours of electricity produce 15 to 25 pounds of CO2 depending on the power plant providing the electricity. Coal-burning power plants, which make up about half of the US power grid, are the heaviest emitters of carbon dioxide. Nuclear, wind, and solar power contribute no CO2 emissions and the more they are in use, the better the numbers are in favor of EV cars.
I’d encourage the continuation of this debate…and, in fact, I should stress that readers might find that we, at TheDetroitBureau.com, have posted a number of stories on the subject, including more than a few questioning the environmental benefits. I’d just like to see sources — and comments — that are more balanced and objective than Tater who, while I appreciate his posting here, cannot seem to find anything that doesn’t prove the need to kill off General Motors and argue for the need for a government coup.
Paul A. Eisenstein
Publisher, TheDetroitBureau.com
I noted that tatersalad’s comments were based on a blog called “Weazel Zippers” and that information was based on an unnamed study quoted in The Australian. The Australian is, obviously, a newspaper from Australia that is part of the News Corporation empire, the communications conglomerate owned by Rupert Murdoch of Fox News fame, and would of course view things from a right-wing perspective, which, tater, you must admit that at this time is decidedly anti-Obama on almost everything and certainly would include his administration’s involvement with GM.
After furhter study on my part, I found that what i quoted as an “unnamed study” was mistaken on my part. After checking further as to what The Low carbon Vehicle Partnership mentioned in the blog is, I did find it to be legitimate, much to my surprise. However, furhter reading of the study still leads to a different conclusion than tater inferred:
“LowCVP study demonstrates the increasing importance of measuring whole life carbon emissions to compare vehicle performance
ELECTRIC and hybrid cars create more carbon emissions during their production than standard vehicles – but are still greener overall, according to a new report.
The report highlights the increasing importance of accounting for whole life carbon emissions to compare the greenhouse gas emissions of low carbon vehicles. The report was prepared by Ricardo1 for, and in collaboration with, the expert membership of the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership that includes major vehicle manufacturers and oil companies.
The study found that some of the CO2 savings made during the use of low carbon vehicles is offset by increased emissions created during their production, and to a lesser extent disposal. However, overall electric and hybrid vehicles still have lower carbon footprints than normal cars.”
The important point… overall electric and hybrid vehicles still have lower carbon footprints than normal cars.
Weazel Zipper, via The Australian, fails to put forward this conclusion. And so do you, tater.
Thanks for doing the follow-up research. I’m afraid that this is an example of how selective editing of fcts for political purposes can distort anything to give a meaning that may be diametrically opposed to what was really intended.
Tater, I’m afraid your credibility is extremely suspect but for those who already expect the distorted and politicized results you ‘report.’
Paul E.