GM?s Volt priced for the average family

[SVT_Power]

DETROIT?Just over a decade ago, electric cars were expensive niche vehicles for gadget lovers and celebrities. Now, Nissan and General Motors are competing to sell the most affordable electric car to middle-class America.

The contest escalated Tuesday when GM announced it would start the Chevrolet Volt at $41,000 (all figures in U.S. dollars). While it costs $8,000 more than the base price of Nissan?s Leaf electric hatchback, GM is matching the $349-per-month lease deal that Nissan is offering on its car. Nissan Motor Co. countered by matching the Volt?s eight-year, 160,000-kilometre battery warranty.

Both vehicles will cost more than a comparable gasoline-engine car when they hit showrooms this fall. But their lease deals are competitive with regular cars. That reflects the overall decline in the cost of the cars? technology over the past decade. Even if the automakers have to eat some of the costs, they can still afford to keep the Volt and Leaf within many families? budgets.

The average U.S. new-car payment is about $450, so most new-car buyers can afford a $350 lease, especially when they factor in what they won?t pay for gas, said Jesse Toprak, vice-president of industry trends at the car pricing website TrueCar.com. General Motors Co. said it would cost about $1.50 worth of electricity to fully recharge the Volt each night.

?The middle-income family in Ohio cannot afford $41,000 plus tax to get a Volt, Toprak said. ?But $350 a month is within reach.?

Lease and base sticker prices for both models are far lower than earlier electric cars. GM?s EV-1, the first widely available electric car, was leased for $477 a month in 1996.

While celebrities such as Mel Gibson and Ed Begley Jr. touted the car?s green appeal, GM had trouble getting most people to take the two-seat cars, which had a sticker price of roughly $44,000. The project was cancelled after four years and only about 800 leases. One of the few broadly available electrics now on the road is the Tesla Roadster. But it costs $109,000, well out of reach of mainstream buyers.

For those who buy the Leaf or Volt, the two cars also are eligible for a U.S. federal tax credit that will cut their prices by $7,500. The Volt?s price would fall to $33,500 while the Leaf?s would drop to $25,280 ? from $32,780. Some states, such as California, Georgia and Oregon, offer additional tax breaks that will lower the price further. The U.S. government will phase out the credits when each manufacturer sells 200,000 electric cars.

GM expects to sell 10,000 Volts in the first year and Nissan said it already has 17,000 orders for the Leaf.

Both automakers are also vying to show their cars offer the best features.

The Volt, a four-door sedan which goes on sale in November, runs on battery power for up to 60 kilometres but has a small gasoline engine to generate electricity once the battery runs down. The gas engine can generate power to run the car another 480 kilometres.

Nissan?s Leaf, which goes on sale in December, can go up to 160 kilometres on a charge. The car doesn?t have a gas engine and must be recharged once its battery is depleted. Nissan spokeswoman Katherine Zachary said the Leaf itself emits no pollution and is designed for people whose daily travels are within its range.

GM says the Volt?s big selling point is that drivers don?t have to worry about the battery going dead during trips. This so-called ?range anxiety? dogged the EV-1.

To give the car wider appeal, drivers must know ?they?re not going to get stranded,? said Joel Ewanick, GM vice-president of U.S. marketing.

GM?s $350-a-month lease deal is for 36 months with $2,500 down. Nissan?s lease plan is $349 a month over the same period with $1,995 down. Toprak said the Volt lease will be heavily subsidized by GM as a way to get people into Chevrolet showrooms.

Nissan also said Tuesday it would sell 500 Leafs to Enterprise Rent-A-Car starting in January in an effort to get more people familiar with the car.

Both Nissan and GM say the base models of their cars will have just about everything that people want as standard equipment, with few options. Both have navigation, multiple air bag and premium audio systems standard, for example. Options for both include backup monitoring cameras. The Volt has leather seats available, while the Leaf has a solar-panel spoiler that generates electricity.

GM will sell the Volt first in California, then make it available in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Washington, D.C., Michigan and Texas. Orders are being taken at 600 Chevrolet dealers in those states. The car will be sold nationwide in 12 to 18 months.

Nissan will start selling the Leaf in California, Washington, Oregon, Arizona and Tennessee in December. The Leaf will go on sale in other markets through 2011 and be available nationwide by the end of next year.

[GoCougs]

$41k for a Volt and $33k for a Leaf? Wow, that's more of an epic fail than a diesel or Prius.

[Byteme]

The Volt is a gee-look-at-me-I'm-concerned-about-the-environment statement car.  As a car it's overpriced for the functionality it delivers.   It will fail in the market place, or at best be a niche model.    

[68_427]

The Volt is a gee-look-at-me-I'm-concerned-about-the-environment statement car.  As a car it's overpriced for the functionality it delivers.   It will fail in the market place, or at best be a niche model.   

350/mo is pretty reasonable.  Also whereas the Leaf absolutely cannot go more than 100 miles or so the Volt can.

(They are both 350/mo.  The Volt looks like the better deal to me.)

[Payman]

What? The Volt offers technology and engineering no other vehicle can match, at any price point. You fill its gas tank, and it may be months before you'll have to fill it again. Given all the other $40,000 cars in the market that sell reasonably well, I think the Volt is a relative bargain, and I hope it does well.

[VTEC_Inside]

?The middle-income family in Ohio cannot afford $41,000 plus tax to get a Volt, Toprak said. ?But $350 a month is within reach.?

So even if they can't afford it, they can afford it...

Is it just me or hasn't that been a general problem for 'mericans....

[The Phantom]

Hey, what's that loud sucking sound I hear?  Could it be, perhaps, the sound of fun being sucked right out of driving?

[sportyaccordy]

What? The Volt offers technology and engineering no other vehicle can match, at any price point. You fill its gas tank, and it may be months before you'll have to fill it again. Given all the other $40,000 cars in the market that sell reasonably well, I think the Volt is a relative bargain, and I hope it does well.

There is no value in technology just for technology's sake. $350 a month to LEASE? You can lease and gas up a Civic for about that much, or you could outright buy a Civic for about 300-350/mo and at least have a $12-15K car at the end. Or a Prius or Insight or whatever. Not worth it is an understatement.

[GoCougs]

True, but is an extended range/more mpg + cool technology worth a ~$15-20k premium? To 99.99999% of new car buyers, probably not, with the added strike that the Prius-type OMG LOOK AT ME I'M SAVING THE PLANET (BUT I'M REALLY NOT) types will pass on it because it's a Chevy and not a Toyota.

[Mustangfan2003]

Speaking of the Prius I remember seeing one about a year ago one night at an intersection.  Right before the light changed I saw one of the passengers toss a cigarette butt out the window 

[sportyaccordy]

Speaking of the Prius I remember seeing one about a year ago one night at an intersection.  Right before the light changed I saw one of the passengers toss a cigarette butt out the window 

Its biodegradable. Plus a bum might see it and pick it up.

THINK GREEN!!!!!

[hotrodalex]

Any brand new technology is going to come with a cost premium. No shit it costs more than a Civic, it's got thousands of dollars worth of batteries and electric motors in it.

$40k is pretty good compared to the estimates made a year or so ago.

[Mustangfan2003]

BTW looks like GM has another green car on the market

[VTEC_Inside]

BTW looks like GM has another green car on the market

[Mustangfan2003]

yes I do think I have some humor. 

[Byteme]

350/mo is pretty reasonable.  Also whereas the Leaf absolutely cannot go more than 100 miles or so the Volt can.

(They are both 350/mo.  The Volt looks like the better deal to me.)

That $350 a month is heavily subsidized by GM; i.e. it doesn't reflect the true cost of the lease, GM is footing part of the monthly cost.  How long will that practice be sustainable?  Without government tax breaks (So I'm helping some eco-freak buy their feel good car) and the lease subsidies the economics don't cut it.   

[2o6]

There is no value in technology just for technology's sake. $350 a month to LEASE? You can lease and gas up a Civic for about that much, or you could outright buy a Civic for about 300-350/mo and at least have a $12-15K car at the end. Or a Prius or Insight or whatever. Not worth it is an understatement.

I don't think so. Compare a Volt to a Loaded Camry or Base Avalon and it's not quite so skewed. Granted, the Volt is not as roomy or large, but if folks end up on doing the math in this sense, then not really.

[AutobahnSHO]

BTW looks like GM has another green car on the market

Saw one last weekend, the wifey said she liked the color so much it should go on our van.


(can't afford that though).

[AutobahnSHO]

If I had loads of money I would buy a leaf.

My subaru right now is driven exactly like the leaf would be: about 10-15miles to work and about, and about 10-15miles home. Plug in at night and pay a buck or two per week in extra electricity.

(PLUS they will be installing recharge stations in Nashville, about 45min. away. I could take the family out on the town without a drop of gasoline..)

[VTEC_Inside]

yes I do think I have some humor. 

It was supposed to be one of those "I see what you did there jokes", but I got pwned by hotlinking..

[VTEC_Inside]

Saw one last weekend, the wifey said she liked the color so much it should go on our van.


(can't afford that though).

[the Teuton]

Great, let's knock Ohio even more...

It's hella 'spensive for a 4-passenger Cruze.

[2o6]

Great, let's knock Ohio even more...

It's hella 'spensive for a 4-passenger Cruze.

Considering how they really don't share much (other than the 1.4T) you're wrong.

[FoMoJo]

That $350 a month is heavily subsidized by GM; i.e. it doesn't reflect the true cost of the lease, GM is footing part of the monthly cost.  How long will that practice be sustainable?  Without government tax breaks (So I'm helping some eco-freak buy their feel good car) and the lease subsidies the economics don't cut it.   

With enough plug-ins, et al out on the road, sooner of later the demand for gasoline will be impacted and decline; hence allowing cheaper fill-ups for those of us still driving good old I/C units . 

[sportyaccordy]

I don't think so. Compare a Volt to a Loaded Camry or Base Avalon and it's not quite so skewed. Granted, the Volt is not as roomy or large, but if folks end up on doing the math in this sense, then not really.

Why would I compare a Volt to an Avalon? That's like comparing a Prius to a Jag XF in the context of frugality. Of course the Prius wins out.

Compared to cars of similar performance and usability the Volt loses out even at lease pricing.

[Vinsanity]

My beef with the Volt is that while the electric range is great for a lot of people who do urban commuting, they don't have anywhere to plug it in because they live in a high-rise condo/apartment with an underground parking structure. This problem would be partially addressed if the gas engine actually charges the battery to full capacity, but I don't know this to be the case.

[68_427]

My beef with the Volt is that while the electric range is great for a lot of people who do urban commuting, they don't have anywhere to plug it in because they live in a high-rise condo/apartment with an underground parking structure. This problem would be partially addressed if the gas engine actually charges the battery to full capacity, but I don't know this to be the case.

The Volt will probably get very good mileage even without charging it over night.  I'm sure the 1.4 just idles to run the electric motor.

[Laconian]

I read on TTAC that the gas engine drinks premium.

[68_427]

I read on TTAC that the gas engine drinks premium.

I does.

[SVT_Power]

I does.

Does you now?