The Chevrolet Volt, the first mass-market electric vehicle from General Motors Co., will have a sticker price starting at $41,000 when it hits showrooms later this year.
But government tax credits and rebates designed to speed the entry of electric vehicles into the marketplace will make the price more attractive. There’s a federal tax credit of $7,500 for electric vehicles. That lowers the Volt price to $33,500. An earlier report factored in an additional $5,000 credit for Californians, which would have brought the price to $28,500, but GM said the Volt will not be included in the state’s special rebate program.
The sticker price of the hybrid Toyota Prius, the current favorite of gasoline misers and eco-drivers, ranges from $22,150 to $28,820, depending on the trim level and equipment.
Chevrolet also plans to offer a lease program on the Volt with a monthly payment as low as $350 for 36 months plus $2,500 due at lease signing. And in a move to reassure potential buyers that they won’t have to make a costly battery replacement early in the life of the vehicle, GM is guaranteeing the battery in the Volt for eight years or 100,000 miles.
The Volt will be initially sold in California, New York, Michigan, Connecticut, Texas, New Jersey and the Washington, D.C., area, regions where there is a growing power charging infrastructure for electric vehicles or where local and state governments provide extra incentives for electric vehicle purchases.
The regions where the Volt will be sold also have different climates and driving patterns that will demonstrate the abilities of the sedan, said John Hughes, Volt’s marketing manager.
The car comes with a kit that will allow drivers to plug the vehicle into a standard electric socket, though it will take about 10 hours to fully charge. Owners who upgrade a circuit to 240 volts could charge the Volt in four hours, Hughes said.
But unlike the Nissan Leaf, an electric vehicle and the car that likely will be the Volt’s main rival through next year, Californians won’t have the potential to get thousands of dollars more off the sticker price through a special rebate program operated by the California Air Resources Board. Chevrolet did not put the Volt through the testing because it would have delayed the launch of the car and added expense.
The all-electric Nissan Leaf hatchback will start at $32,780 when it goes on sale in December. It also qualifies for the federal tax credit and might qualify for an additional $5,000 rebate pending emissions tests, said Johanna Levine, air pollution specialist with the Air Resources Board in Sacramento. Nissan has said the car will qualify for the rebate. Together, the government subsidies will lower the base price for the standard Leaf to $20,280 in California. Nissan also has a lease deal — $349 a month on a 36 month lease with an initial $1,999 customer payment.
Enterprise Holdings Inc., which owns the Enterprise, Alamo and National car rental companies plans to purchase 500 of the Leaf hatchbacks for its rental fleets in January.
“As a company that owns and operates the world’s largest fleet of passenger vehicles, we have a vested interest and a history of working with manufacturers to integrate alternative-powered vehicles into our fleet,” said Lee Broughton, director of sustainability for Enterprise Holdings, on Tuesday.
Although both are electric, the two vehicles use different systems. The Leaf is an all-electric vehicle with a range of 70 to 120 miles, depending on driving conditions, with zero emissions. It is powered by a 24-kilowatt-hour, laminated lithium-ion battery pack that will allow the Leaf to reach a top speed of 90 mph.
Nissan estimates the Leaf’s five-year operating cost will be $1,800 versus $6,000 for a gas-powered car.
The Volt is propelled by a 120-kilowatt electric motor that pulls power from a 16-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery. That gives the sedan an all-electric range of about 40 miles, gas and emissions free. But the Volt also has a 1.4-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine. When the car runs out of electricity, the gas engine kicks in and works as a generator, supplying electricity to the motor. The car can reach 60 miles an hour in just under nine seconds and has a top speed of 100 mph.
This design extends the range of the Volt by about 300 miles, according to GM, but it also means the car is burning gasoline. GM expects that many buyers will be able to make their daily commutes or errand runs within the 40 miles, or will be able to recharge while at work and that many will only rarely use the gasoline powered generator.
Hughes said the extended range of the Volt addresses the biggest consumer concern about electric vehicles – driving range – and is a marketing advantage over the Leaf.
The Volt “gives you the ability to drive just on electricity but you also have range confidence. You are never going to worry about your battery charging down in traffic or on a very hot day. You won’t have to turn off the air conditioning to preserve electricity,” he said.
Although the Volt is more expensive than the Leaf, both in its sticker price and for its lease payment, many driver
There is a market for both cars, said James Bell, an analyst with Kelley Blue Book, the auto pricing information company.
“We are just at the very beginning of the learning curve for selling electric vehicles and how people will use them and decide between different propulsion choices,” he said.
Volt buyers will likely be people with midrange commutes, who have to make occasional longer drives and who don’t hesitate when it comes to taking off for Las Vegas or a trip to the mountains. He said these people want the extended range provided by the gas engine as an “insurance policy.” Leaf buyers will have similar commutes but will likely have a second vehicle they use for longer trips.
For electric vehicle fans looking to go upscale, the Tesla Roadster, a sports car, is already on the market. Telsa asks $109,000 for the two-seat speedster, before tax credits and rebates.
