Bob Lutz: First-gen Volt might cost $40,000
Seems the test drive date is not the only thing changing about the Volt. Bob Lutz tells Wired News the Volt will sell for more than the originally estimate of $30,000. How much more? Costs might go down on the second-generation Volt but Bob leaves open a price close to $40,000 for the first-gen Volts. Here is exactly what he said:
WN: What's the target market for the car? Will it be a high-end car, a mid-range car?
Lutz: I've always said I'd like to be able to sell it at around $30,000. The way things look now, it doesn't look like that's going to be possible. It looks like it's going to be more.
WN: How much more?
Lutz: I don't know. You'd like to have it at about $30,000 for the customer, but what I'm hearing from the team is we're not going to get there. They say we might get there on the second generation, and they say if they had a lot more time they might be able to cost-optimize it. I don't want to wait for cost optimization. I'd rather come out in 2010, and if it costs closer to 40 than 30, well, that's too bad.
When will we get to the see the new Volt design? "That I can't tell you. Sooner rather than later. I'll just say that" says Bob. I hope that design change is not too dramatic Bob. I don't know if I can take news of another big change.
[Source: Wired News via GM Volt]
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(Page 1)2. Good, they can market it to environmentally concerned rich people. I think there are four or five spread across the country. GM is sick. They want money, that's it. They make it from financing companies and vehicle repair bills. You will never, ever, get a good EV from gm.
5. This is from January 17th:http://www.gm-volt.com/2008/01/17/the-price-of-the-volt/
6. This is from January 17th:
http://www.gm-volt.com/2008/01/16/lutz-first-volts-will-cost-more-than-30000/
9. If it is an attractive car with features like leather seats, cool interior controls, they will have plenty of buyers at $40,000. It's better that they do it right rather than cut corners
Mort and Mike,
You don't seem to quite understand that everyone, including large car companies need to make money. You seem to be implying they are upping the price out of sheer greed. They would make MORE money if they were able to build it for less but they also need to make at least a small profit on the vehicle.
You are also underestimating their engineering abilities. Martin Eberhard has come away from his Tesla experience with a lot more respect for the quality of automotive engineers that one can find around Detroit than you seem to have.
10. Toyota execs must be wetting themselves laughing. The BS that flows out of RenCen every day is insane. If they price the Volt at 40K and the the third generation Prius is closer to 20K they better make sure that the Volt is equipped with driverless technology because that's the only way you will see them on the road. They can just leave the factory doors open and let them drive away as they come off the line.
11. Maybe this is why Clinton and Obama both propose upping to $10,000 the subsidies to get us into PHEVs and BEVs.
Toyotas Prius neede big subsidies to get going in Japan initially too.
Posted at 2:40PM on Jan 26th 2008 by susan.kraemer
15. susan.kraemer - Exactly WHERE would that money come from? Tax on the productive as an incentive to be less productive or more public debt for everyone else causing even more inflation.
How about a tax on corporations so they will take more production and jobs overseas?
There is NO such thing as a FREE LUNCH!
16. Yes Mik_Cal, I'm saying it flat out, American automotive engineers are for crap. They could build a great EV that lasts 200k miles for $15k, but they don't want to. They build crap on purpose, because it breaks. The whole Volt concept is an over-complicated and over-priced POS.
18.
What's happening to the USA!! Have you lost confidence on yourself? Where is the country that putted a man on the moon? Relax, an Audi A4 (2.0 TDI) sells for around 50k Euros, that’s around 70k dollars and the roads are full of them here in Europe, and we have a lower average income than you in the US. If GM really gets the Volt right it could be a game changer.
19. It is extremly hard to build a good PHEV. If it was simple cheap and easy to regulate we all would drive something similar to the 1902 PHEV Lohner-Porsche Mixte. There are great software problems and a lot of safety issues with the batteries, when you want to build a modern series hybrid. It seems that nearly evry bigger company will need quite a time to solve that problems. Even companies like Audi which allready had a working hybrid model in 1997 (mixture of serial hybrid and parallel hybrid) will need time and great investments on batteries to produce a model like the A1 Plugin-Hybrid. Furthermore the costs of the first modells with new technologie will allways be quite high.
20. $40k is allot, but not at all surprising for the newness of the serial hybrid drivetrain for a commuter car and the newness of the batteries themselves (has A123 even made the 1st prototype pack yet?) along with the low initial volume this will start out in. People saying GM should make a initially sub-$30k vehicle with EV capabilities that is safe and performs well just don't understand all of the technical hurdles and their costs, especially with the batteries. At the same time, GM was really dumb for originally hinting it would be $30K or less. If they were factoring in hopeful tax credits or something, they should have said so.
With that said; I think if they make the Gen I look good (like the prototype) and include allot of options for little profit, there will be enough people buying them to get this off the ground, and they don't have to be RICH either. But definitely higher middle class for Gen I.
The question is will the batteries last and will this price go up again?
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1. Bring Back the EV1.
Posted at 12:09PM on Jan 26th 2008 by mike