• Welcome to The Truck Stop! We see you haven't REGISTERED yet.

    Your truck knowledge is missing!
    • Registration is FREE , all we need is your birthday and email. (We don't share ANY data with ANYONE)
    • We have tons of knowledge here for your diesel truck!
    • Post your own topics and reply to existing threads to help others out!
    • NO ADS! The site is fully functional and ad free!
    CLICK HERE TO REGISTER!

    Problems registering? Click here to contact us!

    Already registered, but need a PASSWORD RESET? CLICK HERE TO RESET YOUR PASSWORD!

Volt pricing announced ($41K pre-credit MSRP)

a_Username

Your resident Classical Liberal
Messages
267
Reaction score
0
http://www.autoblog.com/2010/07/27/...iced-at-41-000-or-350-month-for-3-year-lease/

General Motors' recently hired vice-president for sales and marketing Joel Ewanick took the stage at the Plug-In 2010 conference in San Jose, CA today and finally revealed that the 2011 Chevrolet Volt will have a base price of $41,000 (including a $720 destination charge) before federal and state tax incentives. While GM hasn't gone as aggressive as most people had hoped on the sticker price, the real deal appears to be the $350 per month for 36 months lease. That matches the monthly payment that Nissan is charging for the Leaf EV.

The effective purchase price of the Volt will be cut to $33,500 with a $7,500 federal tax credit (hence the asterisk in the title), but buyers will have to finance the $41,000 and get the credit back on their next tax return. Lease customers will have the credit factored in to their payment. The Volt lease requires a $2,500 down payment (vs $2,000 for the Leaf), but GM is including a clause in the lease contract that allows leasers to buy the car at the end of their term so that the automaker don't have another standoff with customers like it did with the all-electric EV1.

The base sticker price gets customers a very well equipped car that includes standard navigation with a seven-inch screen, an eight-year/100,000 mile battery warranty, Bluetooth connectivity, Bose audio system and five years of OnStar service included. The OnStar service, which includes turn-by-turn directions and mobile applications, normally costs $300 per year. The only available options for the Volt are heated leather seats, chrome wheels, three premium paint colors and rear park assist.

We asked GM spokesman Randy Fox about the high-level of standard equipment. When the automaker's two-mode hybrid SUVs were launched, they were only available in a highly contented form like this, which led to very high sticker prices and subsequently low sales. According to Fox, these early build combinations of the Volt are being kept simple and the expectation is that there will be sufficient demand to absorb them. Within a year or two as production ramps up, GM will begin offering the Volt with less content and a lower price point. Apparently this is the cost of being an early adopter.

Within a year or two, GM will begin offering the Volt with less content and a lower price point.

Based on the lease price, GM is clearly confident that the Volt will be successful and retain a high residual value at the end of the three-year lease term. The Volt goes on sale in December of this year in seven U.S. markets, and GM expects it to be available nationally within 12-18 months. Despite the price point, enough initial demand is expected that at least some dealers will be tempted to charge an extra markup. Although the automaker has no real power to stop dealers from charging whatever they think the market will bear, Ewanick acknowledged that dealers will be discouraged from doing that.

Ewanick also outlined the ordering process for the Volt. Initially 600 Chevrolet dealers in the launch markets will be certified to sell and service the Volt. Customers can find these dealers through the http://getmyvolt.com website. Once they find a local dealer, the process proceeds much like ordering any other car with customers paying a deposit and filing order forms. Once the car has been ordered, Volt customer service advisers will contact the customer and take them through a survey to determine if they are eligible for one of the free Department of Energy-funded home charging units from Coulomb Technologies or Ecotality.

If they don't live in one of the eligible areas, they will be referred to another charger supplier that GM will be working with. Because the Volt's 16 kilowatt-hour battery pack can be charged in just 8-10 hours from a 110 volt outlet, customers don't actually have to get a 220-volt charger for the Volt, potentially saving them several thousand dollars compared to a battery EV like the Leaf. GM will be naming its preferred charger supplier and a price closer to the car's on-sale date.

Customers will also be able to use the http://getmyvolt.com site to monitor the build of their vehicle and get more information about the car even after delivery.
 
maximum range is 40 miles before recharging or switching to the premium only gas motor. I'm guessing the gas motor is going to be used way more than the electric part. Especially at 8-10 hours to recharge.
 
maximum range is 40 miles before recharging or switching to the premium only gas motor. I'm guessing the gas motor is going to be used way more than the electric part. Especially at 8-10 hours to recharge.

It was found in a recent study that the majority (95%+ if I recall correctly) only drive 40 miles a day. So it seems to be wrong that the gas motor will be used at all for the majority of Americans.
 
UPDATE: The first available Volt is subject to huge dealer markup!

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/08/02/report-chevrolet-dealer-ready-to-charge-20-000-over-msrp-for-v/

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.

While I think this article is a little too hasty in condemning GM, which seems to be the norm by critics, it still shows the huge dealer markup! This is to be expected with the Volts marketing and relatively high demand compared to other green cars, but $20K is a steep markup!
 
9 Volts? As in battery? Come on, that has to be some made-up BS.

I can't wait to see what plugging that thing into what amounts to a 240V forklift charger every night does to your electric bill though.
 
Back
Top