Recharged by the bailout, General Motors (GM) is all set to come up with the highly anticipated battery-operated, Cadillac version car named Chevy Volt. The company plans to come up with the car somewhere around 2013.
The car, the company claims, would be able to run for 40 miles on its battery alone. The car would be priced somewhere between $40,000, which GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz believes, the customers would be more than willing to pay. Lutz said that the Voltec technology, to be used in the new Cadillac version, is for those “who don't mind paying a large price for a luxury vehicle.” The company expects that the car would see a high cost of production. The battery itself would be costing around $15,000. Thus, the company believes that the car would be priced nothing less than $40,000.
The car will be built on the carmaker’s system of combining lithium-ion battery pack with a traditional engine as backup. The car is second-in-line with GM’s plug-in hybrid system of cars, which the company started using after losing its leadership position last year. It had showcased last year, during the Detroit Auto Show, Converj. However, it’s yet to roll out the car from its shed. But Chevy Volt is expected to go on for sales this November itself. The company said that it would be producing only 50,000-60,000 units on an annual basis.
Meanwhile speaking to the Society of Automotive Analysts just before the Detroit Auto Show, Bob Lutz said that the automaker should be “solidly profitable” when the sales figures reach normal levels. Lutz reiterated Chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre's prediction that GM could hand in a profit this year. “Our balance sheet is in the best shape that it's been in decades,” Lutz said.
GM is hoping to make its name count in the hybrid arena with launch of Volt.
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