Chevy Volt priced at $41,000

[coolmazda5]

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- General Motors announced the final price of its Chevrolet Volt electric car Tuesday afternoon, but it's the lease rate that will probably be most interesting to consumers.

The purchase price for a Volt will start at $41,000. The vehicle qualifies for a $7,500 federal tax credit, for an effective price of about $33,500.

GM will lease the Volt for about $350 a month for 36 months with $2,500 due at signing. The price includes 5 years of GM's OnStar service.

GM will only sell about 10,000 Volts in its first year of production, which begins at the end of 2010 and they will initially be available only in California, New York, Michigan, Connecticut, Texas, New Jersey and the Washington D.C. area.

A website at getmyvolt.com will include a Volt dealer locator. Interested customers can also call 888-VOLT-4-YOU (888-865-8496) with questions, GM said.

Powered by a lithium-ion battery pack, the Volt will be capable of traveling up to 40 miles on purely electric power. For driving beyond 40 miles, the Volt will have a four-cylinder gasoline engine that will generate electricity to power the wheels.

The lease rate for the Volt makes it competitive with Nissan's electric compact car, the Leaf. The Leaf is a purely electric vehicle with an up to 100 mile range. Unlike the Volt, the Leaf has no gasoline motor as a backup. The Leaf's purchase price is lower at about $33,000 before tax incentives. Lease rates for the Leaf will be about the same as for the Volt.

GM recently announced that it will guarantee the Volt's lithium ion battery for eight years or 100,000 miles as a way of alleviating concerns that customers might have about the battery.

"With the battery warranty that we just announced, we're confident that Volt's going to have a high resale value," GM spokesman David Darovitz said. That's why the lease rate can be so low, he said. A lease covers only the portion of the car's value that it loses over the term of the lease -- not the entire value of the car -- plus financing costs.

[CNN]

 

[prof15]

yeah about that..41K way out off the league!(hand)(screwy) how in the world they think this hybrid is going to compete when its being priced way out of the market.. The Honda hybrid and the prius are going to have way better sales number than this car if they keep it at that price.

 

[8.5MS3]

**** that if im buying an electric car

only 8 grand more and looks/performs a helluva lot better.

 

[mikeyb]

The Volt has a waiting list. So there are plenty of people willing to spend that.

 

[prof15]

The Volt has a waiting list. So there are plenty of people willing to spend that.

are you serious?? is it considered a luxury hybrid then?

 

[JCell]

the same thing happened with the EV1... it was overpriced but there was still demand, plus only 10,000 units means the supply will be real low

and dont forget about the tax credit

 

[altspace]

Speaking of EV1, you guys see "Who killed the Electric Car?" Some very interesting points made.

 

[Dermen]

It will probably be the new cool and hip thing to drive. Still no idea on the cars actual mileage either, but I really doubt it will be high enough to make this car a smart buy. You will be able to buy the 40mpg Cruze (same car) for $15k less, and I'm sure the new Focus, Civic, Corolla will match that. I can see hybrid sales dropping once these cars are out.

 

[Flash5]

Speaking of EV1, you guys see "Who killed the Electric Car?" Some very interesting points made.

Yea that movie makes you wonder how far we would be if GM had not been such bastards about the whole project. That movie really opens up your eyes to the automotive world.

 

[Newf]

rofl

Goverment Motors = fail

 

[speed1585]

wow GM has some serious sackage

 

[mikeyb]

Speaking of EV1, you guys see "Who killed the Electric Car?" Some very interesting points made.

Don't spoil it! I have yet to watch it.

 

[mikeyb]

I just read an article that some Chevy dealers are going to mark up the Volt by $20K.

 

[8.5MS3]

so for 60k what can i buy instead of a volt from chevy?

a corvette
a camaro ss

why am i buying a volt again? to save gas? how much does 20k get you @ 3 bucks a gallon? 6666 gallons, at an average of say 40mpg...thats 267k miles to make up the cost....ill pass

 

[mikeyb]

Report: Chevrolet dealer ready to charge $20,000 over MSRP for Volt... will more foll



Researchers from Edmunds decided to drop their local Chevrolet dealer a line to inquire about staking a claim for one of the first available Volts, and the response was shocking at best and galling at worst. Here's the email, sans names:

Hello *****

Thank you for your online request, as you know the Volt is going to be a very limited production vehicle for the first 2-3 years. Demand is going to far exceed supply for this vehicle, initially our asking price for the Volt is going to be MSRP plus $20,000, we are expecting only receive 9 Volts all of next year.

I will keep you in my customer base for when the Volt comes out and I will contact you with any information as I receive it. We are taking orders right now for the Volt, if you would like more information, please let me know and I will be more than happy to help you. Thank you.

***** *****, Internet Specialist
******* Chevrolet
********, CA
​

You read that right. A $20k markup over MSRP for a 2011 Chevrolet Volt.

As Edmunds' AutoObserver points out, this email exchange took place before General Motors announced its plans to increase Volt production by 50% for 2011, churning out approximately 45,000 units in its first year. But even with that knowledge, would the unnamed dealer still avoid bilking early adopters? We doubt it.

While it's not clear if any other Chevy dealers plan to follow suit, history would suggest that big markups are likely the Corvette ZR1 initiated this sort of fervor when it was announced, too. On the flip side of the coin, AO sites a report from GM-Volt.com this past June, in which a GM spokesperson is quoted as saying: "We also aren't expecting our dealers to overcharge anyone for this vehicle, either, and will monitor the situation closely when we launch," adding, "we'll be paying close attention when the vehicle launches and do our best to strongly discourage this kind of behavior, as we always do with any GM-branded vehicle."

GM is allowing Volt buyers to lease the plug-in hybrid for $350 a month (with a $2,500 down payment) when sales begin later this year, so it strikes us as odd that someone would choose to purchase a Volt outright if the dealer would tack on such an astronomical amount to the MSRP. Then again, there's the possibility that dealers might only allow purchases, negating the option to lease.

With so much riding on the Volt's success from GM's long-term environmental program to the political pressures over the federal bailout the General better get its dealers in line post-haste. If not, the fallout has the potential to stymie the Volt's success before the first owner takes delivery.

[autoblog]

 

[coolmazda5]

^^ LOL, Who said an iPhone 4 was the hottest thing to own?

 

[R-X-R]

just like the tesla, they start out with huge number and gradually the price goes down.

 

[noclue119]

My wife is currently working on the radio for this car. She drove one and said wtf?? You hit the pedal and it just starts. It was weird as if it was missing something. Too werid for her taste.

 

[nate0123]

It will probably be the new cool and hip thing to drive. Still no idea on the cars actual mileage either, but I really doubt it will be high enough to make this car a smart buy. You will be able to buy the 40mpg Cruze (same car) for $15k less, and I'm sure the new Focus, Civic, Corolla will match that. I can see hybrid sales dropping once these cars are out.

The Cruze costs $26k?

 

[coolmazda5]

My wife is currently working on the radio for this car. She drove one and said wtf?? You hit the pedal and it just starts. It was weird as if it was missing something. Too werid for her taste.

Golf cart FTW!