Despite Obama's short sighted viewpoint on the future viability of the Chevrolet Volt, many can see past the first generation investment and on to the second and third generation, something GM would never have focused on during the glory days of big profits. This article is very insightful and worth checking out.
General Motors Corp., along with one of the auto maker’s sharpest critics, takes exception to comments by President Obama’s auto industry task force regarding the commercial viability of the upcoming Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle.
In a 5-page report rejecting GM’s latest viability plan submitted to keep receiving taxpayer loans and stave off bankruptcy, the task force says GM is “at least one generation behind” principal-rival Toyota Motor Corp. in developing alternative powertrains.
It then suggests the auto maker may have gone all-in with the Volt to remain competitive. “In an attempt to leapfrog Toyota, GM has devoted significant resources to the Chevy Volt,” the task force says in its determination of GM’s viability.
“While the Volt holds promise, it is currently projected to be much more expensive than its gasoline-fueled peers and will likely need substantial reductions in manufacturing costs to become commercially viable.”
GM expects to bring the Volt to market late next year for less than $40,000. Even at that price point, the auto maker concedes it will not book a profit on the vehicle.
Rather, the company is banking on a maturation of the supply base and progressively higher sales volumes in succeeding generations to make the Volt more affordable to build and less expensive for consumers to buy.
“The Volt is a brand-new technology, no different than the iPod, plasma-screen televisions or DVD players,” says GM spokesman Rob Peterson. “We’re working towards Generation II and Generation III, when costs come down and the business case gets brighter. But you have to take the first step in that direction, and that’s what we’re doing.”
Plug In America, a national coalition of plug-in hybrid-electric-vehicle owners and enthusiasts, also takes exception to the task force’s comments.
“This discouraging statement about the Volt’s early viability is counter-productive to (Obama’s) own goal of 1 million plug-in vehicles by 2015,” Plug In America advisory board member Chelsea Sexton says in a statement.
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