We know almost every single detail about the Chevy Volt, but are still missing one major piece of the puzzle: the price! Luckily, Jon Lauckner – GM’s chief of Global Program Development – was able to shed some light on the matter.

Speaking at a ceremony marking the commencement of Volt battery production, Lauckner said that the price of the Volt could be significantly lower than the estimated $40,000, adding “We have until this summer to figure that out.”

On top of that, rumors are rampant that GM’s board is thinking about pushing up the release date of the Volt, which is currently set to launch sometime at the end of 2010 in select US markets. This means that EV could be available at the end of the summer or in early fall of 2010. Such an early launch, however, would most likely mean that it would be available only to fleets or on a lease-only basis. 

It seems that GM is looking at the competition (such as the Nissan Leaf EV) and doing its best to launch the Volt at an earlier time and at a lower price range. Nevertheless, we expect high dealer markups for the bow-tie EV whenever it’s available.  

[Source: Wall Street Journal]