Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, Green, Chevrolet
Shocking! GM may build 60,000 Volts in first year
Does 60,000 Volts sound like a shocking number? Well, that's the number of Chevy Volts that General Motors may be planning to produce when the car is introduced in its inaugural year of 2010-2011. By coming to market with such a large number of vehicles, it is believed that GM can keep the price below $30,000 and still stay somewhat profitable. Bloomberg reports today that unnamed sources have confirmed that production level as a definite possibility. To put it in perspective, when Toyota brought the Prius to market, just 15,000 units were produced its first year. The market for hybrids has since proven pretty viable.
The Volt is something unique, though, and 60,000 is still a pretty big gamble for GM. While production at that level is possible, industry experts are somewhat skeptical that sales would match those goals, at least so soon. This has been a quick development cycle for GM and the costs are huge. GM will have spent at least half a billion dollars to get the Volt to market. That's a lot of money being spent in a short period of time, though fortunately the car's got all of the right green buzz going for it.
[Source: Blogging Stocks]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
G 5:07PM (8/22/2007)
Great, so will the prices be slashed and discounted like the rest of these overproduced American cars? First get demand, then build supply.
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dean 5:18PM (8/22/2007)
Incentives and discounts don't have anything to do with this article, I don't think. As far as demand goes, I figure GM would do some intensive polls/studies to see how much it would be demanded. If it delivers good range and all, I think it would.
The real question is this: Will GM have the production capacity in 5 years for this car? Depends on the platform and if their battery supplier can give them that much.
Ligor 5:43PM (8/22/2007)
u dummy
now to get back onthe car,
i'd definitely lease one of these if it comes in under $30k. so ~400-450/month
take that prius.
Chris Vitale 6:28PM (8/22/2007)
I'm interested in knowing your take on the new Tundra.
fireblade 9:29AM (8/23/2007)
BS! There is no way they are going
sell 60k of those unproven pos
GM products.
SPG 5:08PM (8/22/2007)
Wow, the market is going to go crazy for these.
In Winnipeg where every second taxi is either a Prius or an Escape Hybrid (a few new diesel Jetta's as well help break up the sea of Crown Vics) GM won't be able to keep them on the lots for more then ten seconds.
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RickCA 6:24PM (8/22/2007)
SPG, that's a good point about selling them as fleet cars to use as taxis. This is one bad @ss looking car that i'm SHOCKED GM developed..any earth loving person would probably want this over some whimpy looking prius!
Not to mention thing of the spawn potential of what Cadillac could do with their version of this thing. With MB and their diesels, BMW and their soon to market hybrids etc.. Cadillac needs to get on the ball!
SherbornSean 5:14PM (8/22/2007)
GM is really looking like they are getting ready to bet the farm on this technology. Only time will tell whether it's their "747" or "A380."
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Maestro1 8:25PM (8/22/2007)
Its the 787 actually, and the 747 is gonna win if you're actually comparing those wit the A380 because it can be converted back and forth between cargo and passenger plane, so at the moment they are selling extremely well.
Anyway, this car looks quite nice overall though i'm not too sure about the back. The entire matter about leasing the battery separtely to he car is ridiculous though.
I wonder what BMW and Mercedes-Benz's cars would look like if they designed this type of car.
jm99 1:36PM (8/23/2007)
@Maestro1, he of course can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Sherborn said what he meant. The 747 is pretty much the best-selling commercial airplane ever. Airbus conceived the A380 as a '747 killer', but it has been more of a flop to this point. I think this was the analogy he was trying to draw about the Volt. Just my impression anyway.
buddy71 5:22PM (8/22/2007)
I know 2 people ( 1 in a tdi - the other in a prius) who would buy one of these in a microsecond. And both of these people would have never considered domestics.
60,000 is gonna prove to be too little. This thing'll be wait listed for well over a year. Mark my word. Mark it!
And SherbornSean, as a more appropriate comparison, this'll be GMs 787.
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Kris 5:26PM (8/22/2007)
I've had 2 TDIs and my wife has a hybrid. I'm ready to buy a TDI next year, but I'd skip that in a second to get one of these. A plug in electric with a fuel backup is absolutely ideal for the driving I do.
Andre 5:37PM (8/22/2007)
As I said before, if they can match the MPG range and speed that of a Fossil Fuel car or more, this thing will sell like hotcakes and end up being a GAME CHANGER in the Car Industry then finally we can truly move forward with a true Fuel Alternative not with all this Hype and Marketing gimmicks with all these hybrid cars on the market. I would definitely buy it though.
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BartMack 5:37PM (8/22/2007)
The proportions on the concept are kinda cool looking, but I would be surprised (pleasantly) if they actually translated into reality. More than likely the wheels will get a lot smaller and the greenhouse will get a lot bigger, and it will lose it's aggressive, stealthy stance. ---Not that the Prius crowd is particularly aesthetically sensitive, lol... I'm sure they could care less what it looks like.
Personally, I could care less about 60mpg, or even 100mpg. Give me horsepower and cornering AR AR AR...lol.
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mastercko 6:00PM (8/22/2007)
@BartMack: you never know. It could happen. The Solstice came to market mostly unchanged from it's concept, IIRC. I guess you could say that's because Pontiac is GM's sporty, more risk-taking brand (design-wise) and a Chevy would never look that different (and good -- I agree with you there). Which is a good point, but if they can bring out the Sky (which is one fine looking Saturn)...
Also, part of the sell of a Prius is that you (and everyone else) know that it's a Prius. It becomes something of a status symbol because of its oh-so-recognizable shape. A Camry or Civic hybrid is just like, meh, you know? GM might want to capitalize on that phenomenon.
Also, to the first commenter (G) I think that demand is really not a problem for this car, provided that they meet their goals and promises that they've set forth. If they can make this a plug-in hybrid with range, power, and speed comparable to or better than ICE, 60k units WILL sell like hotcakes. If it turns into a crappy implementation of a good idea, they will be in real trouble.
If it does meet those expectations, I will definitely look into one (that'll be about the time I'm in the market for a car). Crazy in-car tech would also be nice icing for that cake.
BartMack 10:11PM (8/22/2007)
@mastercko- I totally agree with you. This is actually a genuine 'once in a lifetime' opportunity for Chevy (GM really) to turn the tide of perception toward their product, and the Solstice, Sky (tho actually an Opel TBH), and even the new CTS seem to promise that it *could* happen. BUT, like a bad relationship, I feel "burned" so many times by bad sub-status quo products from the biggish 2.5 as they are now known, that I'm hesitant to get too excited, lest the inevitable disappointment reality check return yet again... I do wish they would aim and succeed at totally outdo-ing the competion, leaving Japan in the provebial dust as it were, rather than to aim at a product that was, um...."competitive". I'm tired of stale Detroit Ketchup.
narcszm 5:43PM (8/22/2007)
heh. 60 kV
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G-Daddy 6:06PM (8/22/2007)
The only negative I can see to the Volt is its size, which at 170" long is about 5" shorter than the current Prius. But by 2010 or 2011 I'll have one kid in college and only one left at home, so a smaller car might not be so bad.
Granted I'd rather spend closer to $20k than $30k on a car, but using virtually no gasoline it wouldn't take too long to make up the difference over a standard ICE setup.
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justin 6:08PM (8/22/2007)
I will buy the first 5 door all electric vehicle under 30k in a heartbeat, some of us hippies want to transport more then golf bags.
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Dave 6:21PM (8/22/2007)
60,000 is a pretty small number by GM standards.
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