The hundred-year-old American automaker, General Motors (GM), has announced that it will launch a new car, the Volt, which will provide up to 230 miles per gallon of mileage. The production of this car is scheduled for the end of 2010 as a 2011 model. The estimated price of this car will be around $40,000.
General Motors has revealed this on Tuesday (Aug 11, 2009). Now the question is whether this car will be affordable for the American public and taxi drivers in the US.
The starting price is expected to be as high as $40,000. But General Motors officials say the price will come down. Continuing to make a fuel-efficient car is a great achievement, because gasoline and oil prices are going to rise. There is a feature that allows the Volt to run 40 miles on electricity on a single battery charge. Officials said the car can extend its range to more than 300 miles with its flex-fuel-powered motor-generator. The running cost of electricity is very cheap. Considering that the average cost of electricity in the United States is about 11 cents per kilowatt-hour, a person would pay about $2.75 per 100 miles to run the Volt. In other words, a mile can be covered in less than three cents.
General Motors, a Detroit-based automobile company, was established in 1908 by William C. Durant. In 2008, General Motors was the second largest automaker in the world based on global unit sales.
If we compare the Chevrolet Volt to another economy car, we find that it is four times cheaper. Currently Toyota Prius gives around 60 mpg (very close to 25 Kmpl) and Volt claims 230 miles per gallon (around 100 km per litre). Toyota Prius price is $25,000 (or Rs 12.5 lakh) which is $40,000 (or Rs 20 lakh) for Chevrolet Volt.