No thanks, I’ll stick with my Jetta TDI 42mpg around town, 52mpg on the highway at 80 with the AC on, all for $25k. I couldn’t put $16k (the difference) in fuel through it for the rest of my life.
So, 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.
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.
BTW, GM will be naming its preferred charger supplier and a price closer to the car’s on-sale date.