Volt Birth Watch 50: $30k by 2010

Paul Niedermeyer
by Paul Niedermeyer

GM's Vice-Chairman has (characteristically) been all over the map about the Volt's price. The Winner of TTAC's Bob Lutz Award has pegged the plug-in electric – gas hybrid's eventual sticker at everything from "around $30k" to $48k to $2.99 plus tax (just kidding; what's the bet there won't be any tax). And now Maximum Bob's boss has finally added his two bits on the Volt's msrp. In an interview with Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine, GM Chairman Rick Wagoner threw down the gauntlet. "GM has a clear goal: we want to bring the Volt to the market in 2010 at a price of less than $30,000." Want. Not will. But wait there's more! Wagoner also says that "unlike Toyota, we want to make money on the Volt from the beginning. And the obstacles to that are reducing the price of the batteries and convincing the consumer of the advantages of the Volt." Profit? As in sell the Volt for more than it costs to make, from the get-go? Toyota didn't make a dime on the Prius for many years (the exact margins are unknown). Will Wagoner even be around to eat his words? Place your bets here.

Paul Niedermeyer
Paul Niedermeyer

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  • Hwyhobo Hwyhobo on May 23, 2008

    peoplewatching04: make everything cheap (especially the interior). From what I hear, GM’s been really good at that for some time Surprisingly, the Malibu's interior is quite decent for the price.

  • Stein X Leikanger Stein X Leikanger on May 23, 2008

    This is from GM's Department of Fiction, I assume? At least they're turning out new product.

  • Bunter1 Bunter1 on May 23, 2008

    An interesting aspect of this thread is the lack of Volt "true believers" going "rah, rah". Is this so unbelievable that even they can't get pumped up about it? Amused, Bunter PS-Redbarchetta-"I second that, maybe the lieing and manipulation will finally stop." Amen. Would love to see them succeed but they are not choosing a path that seems to include that option.

  • Wulv Wulv on May 23, 2008

    Maybe since he was talking to a person From Germany he meant 30k Euros? That is pretty close to 48k US Dollars on conversion.

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