Volt Birth Watch 175: California Dreaming

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

We had been hearing for some time now that GM planned to roll out its Volt EV in limited numbers and select markets, and it comes as no surprise to hear that the first such select market will be California. The Golden State is a hotbed of support for electric vehicles and, not coincidentally, one of the more affluent car markets in the world. A number of firms, from Coda to Honda have selected California as a test-bed for their high-efficiency but not-yet-ready-for-prime-time products. In California, GM is partnering with three public utility companies, and will spend some $30m of DOE-administered stimulus money to slow-roll the Volt into reality. According to GM’s release:

As part of the research and demonstration program, Chevrolet will deliver more than 100 Volts to program participants to use in their fleets for two years. Chevrolet will also utilize OnStar telematics technology to collect vehicle performance data and driver feedback that will be reported to the DOE and used to improve customers’ experiences with the new technology.


So how many Volts will actually be for sale in California, outside of the publicly funded data-collection program? “In the first few months we will be producing 4000 to 5000 Volts,” Bob Lutz said yesterday. “In the first full year we will make eight to ten thousand… We are going to ramp it up slowly because it is all uncharted terrain for all of us once we start turning out (battery) packs in very high rates.” Another challenge presented by the ramp-up to planned production levels of 50k-60k units per year is developing competency at building electric motors, since the first generation’s motor comes from a supplier…. which helps explain the Volt’s estimated $40k price tag.

No doubt the earliest Volts will sell, as Californians tend to be highly risk-tolerant, especially when it comes to limited-volume tech toys. The real news here is that GM believes it needs two years of research post-launch to “improve customers’ experiences with the new technology.” The Volt’s extremely limited availability in 2010/2011 will help prop up the Volt’s obscene price point, but there’s also a real chance of bad PR coming out of customer experiences.

And the longer-term question is also unclear. Lutz believes the EV/Plug-In/EREV market will hit 250,000 to 300,000 units per year in five years, and according to GM-Volt.com, he says “they will mostly be our products.” Given the products on the horizon, it seems unlikely that demand for these cars (which seem to have a price floor at around $35k) will really move at those volumes, let alone that the Volt will dominate the segment… especially if Lutz is worried about battery production levels of 50-60k units per year.


Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • Carlson Fan Carlson Fan on Dec 04, 2009
    "Also as far as moving them? Were going to see a second significant spike in oil prices next year you watch and see. Were going to suffer a secondary stock market downturn and a flight to commodities. You watch and see." We can only hope. The best thing that can happen to this country long term is for oil prices to go through the roof. The sooner we learn to run this country without importing fossil fuels the better. Love the Volt, it can't get to the market quick enough. Hopefully other car manufacturers are working on something similar. That will only help strengthen the pace that the technology improves.
  • Blindfaith Blindfaith on Dec 07, 2009

    The application of the IC just being used to generate power to drive an alternator for the electric motor is simple. To waste gasoline to charge your batteries when you can do it for one twentieth the cost when you charge by plug in makes no sense. Why folks want to complicate the power train by managing the IC, batteries and alternator to either charge the batteries power the car or not run at all is simply stupid. Unless your trying to justify buying Your Prius.

  • ToolGuy This is the kind of thing you get when you give people faster internet.
  • ToolGuy North America is already the greatest country on the planet, and I have learned to be careful about what I wish for in terms of making changes. I mean, if Greenland wants to buy JDM vehicles, isn't that for the Danes to decide?
  • ToolGuy Once again my home did not catch on fire and my fire extinguisher(s) stayed in the closet, unused. I guess I threw my money away on fire extinguishers.(And by fire extinguishers I mean nuclear missiles.)
  • Carson D The UAW has succeeded in organizing a US VW plant before. There's a reason they don't teach history in the schools any longer. People wouldn't make the same mistakes.
  • B-BodyBuick84 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport of course, a 7 seater, 2.4 turbo-diesel I4 BOF SUV with Super-Select 4WD, centre and rear locking diffs standard of course.
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