Even though the present-generation Chevy Volt hit showrooms a tad over two years ago in the fall of 2010, General Motors is already thinking about the next-generation of the plug-in electric vehicle. Last week, General Motors North America President Mark Reuss said that the automaker thinks it can reduce the cost of the next-generation Chevy Volt by “thousands” of dollars. And while the second-gen Volt is likely a few years away and GM hasn’t announced any formal plans for a redesigned version as of this writing, the notion of lowering the Volt’s base price is intriguing.
The price of electric vehicles is widely viewed as an impediment to their mass adoption. The Volt currently carries a starting price of roughly $40,000, and its lithium-ion battery allows for roughly 38 miles of pure electric driving.
In 2012, Chevrolet sold 23,461 units of the Volt in the United States, a 205.8 percent year-over-year increase. GM Authority has previously discussed the reasons why growth, rather than total sales numbers, is a more important metric for segment-creating vehicles such as the Volt. To that end, the Volt’s closest competitor — the Nissan Leaf — increased 1.5 percent year-over-year to sell 9,819 units in 2012.
The news comes on the heels of last week’s announcement of GM’s second vehicle utilizing the Volt’s Voltec vehicle architecture — the Cadillac ELR. The first of its kind, the extended-range EV coupe will be assembled at GM’s Detroit-Hamtramck plant in limited quantities. It has a shorter range than the Volt but is quicker and has a significant amount of amenities and features synonymous with luxury vehicles. Even though pricing has yet to be announced, the ELR is seen as a way to bring the Voltec program closer to profitability, as the Chevy Volt is currently unprofitable for GM.
Let’s discuss what price you would be willing to pay for a next-gen Volt in the comments.
Comments
My Cruze ECO is so efficient, I could only see upgrading to the Volt if I wanted more tech and softer seats (the one thing that makes me want to trade it in). To convince me beyond these issues it would need to be within $2500 (assuming no government assistance).
If the subsidy continued at $7,500, I’d be looking very seriously at the Volt if the price is below $35,000. Should the subsidy be discontinued, something close to 30 grand would likely close the deal when I’m ready to swap out my 2012 Cruze Eco.
If GM continues to off-load Volt costs onto the dealer (like the $5k battery tool) maybe they can get the price down below the Cruze
At the $300 lease price I would buy one today if it fit my needs. However I need something a lot larger. However in 7 years the kids will be in college and either the Volt or the Encore would make a great 2nd vehicle next to our Enclave!
But it would also depend on how we drive. I assume also in 7 years both of us will be retired and no need for the daily commute. So an Electric may not make sense.
Most likely we will be driving the small vehicle on longer trips (seeing the USA) so both the electric range will not be adequate and the Encore luggage room would trump the Volt.
Volt MPV5 under 30k, Volt closer to 25k.
No news here!
The Volt is like any other tech product out there and as time goes on and volume increses the price of the parts and advancement will continue to improve.
The whole point of bringing the Volt to market was not just for image but to help create a market where vendors can invest and compete to sell GM better parts and compete on price.
The key is the outside vendors as if GM has not created a market for their parts they would have never invested in it. GM is the only company out of all those involved with the Volt that could take on the cost burden. Think of GM as NASA in the Space Program and the vendors as Rockwell and Boeing that create and develope the new technologies to put into the space craft. They then learn more and adapt them to other uses or to help lower the cost.
We see this today in our cell phones and even our flat screen TV’s. It was only 11 years ago I saw my first flat screen TV in NYC. THey were almost $8,000 back then and the picture was ok. Today I have flat screens around the house and two of them on my desk at work. The picture quality improved as the prices came down.
GM took a risk here but it is a gamble I believe will pay off in the long term. We are on the edge of the Volt 2.0 and they have already been working toward the Volt 3.0 too.
The Volt was a smart move as it made an electric car the average person could love and live with in function. The only real issues has been price but they knew that going in and had to bite the bullet to create the market that would help lower the price.
Untill there is better batteries that charge faster without damage and last longer the Voltec system will do wonders to give people an option on powertrains.
Many of the loudest critics are those with other systems like Toyota. While they may have a price advantage now with the Prius they know that if the Volt prices drop they are in trouble and would have to retool with a similar system. It could cost them billions on what they have already spent and will have to spend to change.
This goes back to the old AC or DC current fight like with GE vs Edison. The winner will set the standard others will be judged by and will have a great maket advantage for a long time.
If the Volt sold 20,000 to 25,000 vehicles a year that would be fairly awsome. It is such a niche vehicle and not everyone has a garage to charge a vehicle like this over night. Not sure how effective it is to use the Gas engine to charge the batteries all the time.
Gas engine does not charge batteries. When the battery is down the engine runs the generator motor directly.
Realistically, I think the price with rebates included will need to be around $28,000 or less. Fuel savings at that price will make the purchase a long term savings for buyers. Also, GM needs to think upscale in the future…or perhaps develop a smaller more efficient generator. That said a two seat sport coupe based on the Volt might be quite popular with commuters….give it a performance kick and you justify the price.
I would like For them to be directly competitive with the Nissan leaf and the Ford focus electric. The Ford focus electric and the Nissan leaf both have a lease rate at $2500 down and 225 a month for 15,000 miles a year at a 36 month lease. The Chevy volt is over $100 more a month! January sales for the Chevy volt were dismal so GM needs to put better incentives and rebates out on the vehicle to bring the price lower and be more directly competitive with the competition.
???
That would be nice but they are different animals.
The Ford/Nissan are electrics with minimal range before stalling out by the side of the road.
The Volt has a generator that allows it to go for as long as you want(using gas of course) after the battery is depleted.
So the Volt doesn’t have a weatherproof charging system? It would seem that would be a fairly simple technological step to overcome, no?
The charger is in the car, the “Charging stations” are only smart extension cords. When plugged in they communicate to each other before power is allowed to flow, and then monitor the flow. If people were getting killed plugging in cars, that would be the end of them.
When calculating the cost of a cheaper car compared to the Volt, remember to add in the cost of gas. With my Prius it was a tank every 3 weeks. I am spending about $25 a month in power (my charger keeps up with this) and less than 5 gallons of gas a month. I drive 30 miles a day round trip to work. If I do sometimes plug into a 110 at work once or twice a month, if I have to make trips at lunch. On long trips i get between 35 and 40 MPG when using the generator.