What? $0.12 per mile on gasoline is ~ 30mpg. I hope this is a comparison to an average vehicle of similar size and not what the Volt does under gas power. It should be closer to $0.072 per mile on gasoline if they meet the 50mpg claim.

I wonder how many watt-hrs it consumes per mile. $0.02/mile on electric is only "ok" if done on electricity in the northwest ($0.08/kW) but is great if done on electricity elsewhere in the country ($0.16/kW).

@anon,

It's 5 miles per kWh (40 miles divided by 8 kWh available charge).

Agreed 30 mpg isn't very good, presumably a problem from choosing a normally aspirated 1.4 gasoline ICE.

Hmmm.... pack made up from 220 lithium-ion cells. So did they go with the A123 or the LG-Chem cells in the end?

Joseph, you have stated the best reason for offering an income tax rebate for those who desire to trade in an old "gas guzzler" for a newer, more fuel-economical car.

I wouldn't be surprized if the Volt will be sold at a price such as to result in a very marginal, or even negative, profit just to meet draconian CAFE requirements. But even with such a price, you have raised an important issue of whether you or I will be able to afford one.

This is the best green car news since the announcement that Tesla’s roadster finally was being delivered to customers. I guess GM is playing it very safe with the battery only using 50% of its full capacity. Later on when they get more complete information about the wear down of that battery in actual use they may discover that they can increase the percentage to 65% without jeopardizing battery life. That could be a positive surprise just before launch or perhaps a few years after launch where people can get it fixed with a simple software upgrade. I think it will sell for $34,000 to $38,000 and it will only be sold in places where the state offers a $5000 rebate like California. So $29,000 to $33,000 after rebate.

The price has creeped up over the last year or so. First target was $30k. Then they realized what they were getting themselves into and the price became $40k. Now, Lutz is thinking it would need to be $48k.

Not much market penetration at that price. With the PHEV Prius in a similar pricing scheme as it currently is, GM made need to rethink their 40-mile insistence, with perhaps different configurations (i.e., 10 mile, 20 mile, 40 mile battery pack options).

Does anyone have a BFSC chart on the 1.4 liter engine? It might not hurt for GM to have multiple engine options as well.

Chevy Volt is not coming this year. First Chevy Volt will be sold two years from now. That is sad side of the story.

"The car is not a big luxury SUV so it should be possible to make the car without any profit for $34k to $38k including the battery pack."

The SOLE purpose of a corperation is to make profit why on earth would one assume a company would do something for zero profit? no these will be in the 40K range, and at that price a LOT will sell no every one is scraping the bottom of the salary barrel. I would rather have one of these for 45k than a midsize BMW. electric motors last for millions of miles too these could be lifetime cars. using nanolithium packs with 15000+ deep cycle lifespans is 20+ years of driving at 40 miles a day. 1500 a year payback times 20+ year lifetime = these will sell like hotcakes.

GM estimates that the Volt will cost about two cents per mile to drive while under battery power compared to 12 cents per mile using gasoline priced at $3.60 per gallon. For an average driver who drives 40 miles per day (or 15,000 miles per year), this amounts to a cost savings of $1,500 annually

I would like to see the above estimate with cost of batteries included.

No name

Absolutely, the sole purpose is to be profitable for a corporation like GM. However, the strategy to be most profitable in the longer run is often to introduce new products at lower than normal prices simply to get the sales going to reach the volume that is necessary to produce at low costs. Also with completely new products like this Volt it has a lot of first mover advantages. Specifically, you can be sure GM is filing a truckload of patents for all sorts of things that will give them an advantage over competitors. These patents will make it difficult for competitors to follow without paying royalties or spend their own large development costs. This amounts to hidden future profits to be made by GM and therefore it can be the most profitable strategy to sell the first innovative product at production cost without a profit. The next generation Volt will sell 300,000 per year or so and be profitable but not this version.

I think you are being to optimistic about payback times. Most people and businesses will not invest unless it pays back in 5 years. Governments and large corporations may have longer payback horizons though.

floccina,

Easy divide $8000 (estimated price of battery) by $1500, you get 5.3 years before it pays off the cost of the battery.