What does it cost to make the Chevy Volt?
Although General Motors sold a record number of Chevrolet Volts in August, the automaker is not recording record profits. In fact, GM is losing upwards of $49,000 per Volt, according to new estimates by industry insiders and manufacturing experts.
Despite the Volt’s hefty base price of $39,999, the plug-in hybrid actually costs GM an estimated $75,000 to $88,000 per vehicle, says Reuters. The estimated cost is based on the total number of Volts sold through August, which is 21,500.
The loss incurred per vehicle has been heightened recently due to Volt lease offers currently being offered throughout Chevy showrooms. Customers who have taken advantage of this summer’s lease offer will actually end up paying just over $5,000 to drive the Volt for two years.
The cost per vehicle will decrease in the future as GM sells more Volts. That said, GM will likely face stiff competition from rivals like Honda and Ford, which are set to release plug-in hybrid vehicles in the near future. Honda offered a sneak peak at its 2014 Honda Accord Plug-in Hybrid earlier this week.
Here is the cost breakdown of the Volt, according to Reuters:
Fixed Costs
- Development: $18,650
- Tooling: $37,350
Production Costs
- Standard parts, material and labor: $12,000
- Unique parts, material and labor: $12,000
Total: $80,000 (Does not include marketing costs).
Introduced in December 2010, the Chevrolet Volt is the most fuel-efficient compact car with a gas engine available in America, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Volt is also available in Europe as the Opel Vauxhall Ampera and the Holden Volt in Australia and New Zealand.
The Volt has sold approximately 21,494 vehicles in the U.S. and roughly 4,000 throughout the rest of the world. Year-to-date sales on the Volt in the U.S. have been 13,500, well short of the 40,000 the automaker hoped to sell. While sales of the Volt have been underwhelming, it has outsold similar vehicles this year such as the Nissan Leaf, Honda Insight and Mitsubishi i.
Source: Reuters