Next-Gen Chevy Volt to Cost $10,000 Less
There’s a problem with the Chevy Volt says General Motors CEO Dan Akerson; the American automaker is losing money on every one of them. That, however, will change with the second-generation model, he says, as will the price which could drop by as much as $10,000.
Akerson make the comments speaking at Fortune magazine’s Braintrom Green conference in Laguna Niguel, CA this week. “This next generation, we think we can decrease the price on the order of $7,000 to $10,000,” he said.
SEE ALSO: 2013 Chevy Volt Review
Helping make the car profitable, a 25 percent reduction in its price should result in a significantly higher volume of sales, allowing the company to better leverage economies of scale. GM has already announced plans to expand the use of its Voltec technology to a Cadillac coupe, called the ELR.
In addition to shedding cost, the new Volt will also drop a few pounds. Akerson also commented that reducing the Volt’s weight was another key goal for the next-generation car. Likely to come through lighter electronics and more compact batteries, it’s also possible the new car will use a smaller 3-cylinder engine.
The Volt currently costs $39,145 though a federal tax incentive of $7,500 makes that much easier to swallow.
SEE ALSO: Nissan Leaf Price Cut
Plug-in rival Nissan has experienced dwindling sales of its fully-electric Leaf model and followed a similar cost-cutting path to help attract buyers. In January the Japanese automaker reduced the cost of the car by $6,000 resulting in a $28,800 asking price, which can drop to below $20,000 depending on Federal, state and local incentives.
[Source: CNN]
With AutoGuide from its launch, Colum previously acted as Editor-in-Chief of Modified Luxury & Exotics magazine where he became a certifiable car snob driving supercars like the Koenigsegg CCX and racing down the autobahn in anything over 500 hp. He has won numerous automotive journalism awards including the Best Video Journalism Award in 2014 and 2015 from the Automotive Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC). Colum founded Geared Content Studios, VerticalScope's in-house branded content division and works to find ways to integrate brands organically into content.
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The current Volt just has the same engine that is in the Chevy Cruze, without the turbocharger. Not special at all, not Atkinson cycle like Kia and Toyota hybrids. The next gen Volt at a minimum should have an Atkinson cycle 4 cylinder engine but hopefully a 3 cylinder atkinson cycle engine, that would be best. A regular 3 cylinder would work too. I believe the current engine is around 85HP. A 3 cylinder Atkinson cycle would probably be more like 60HP and a regular 3 cylinder engine would be a bit more HP but that should be enough in nearly all conditions if the user thinks ahead and put it in hold mode or mountain mode if they know they'll be using a lot of power, like towing a small trailer or lots of cargo or a mountain or running from the police. Also allowing the engine to operate at peak RPMs constantly, rather than having it be quiet at stop lights, have it stay at 3,000RPM or whatever is the most efficient RPM for the situation.
guess if you are keeping gas in your car 9-12 months, now you will have to buy a gas stabilizer to add to the tank.