It has been leaked that General Motors plans on selling as many as 60,000 Volts in its inaugural year on the market. That’s about four times the sales of Toyota ’s Prius when it made its U.S. debut. With production levels that high, GM might be able to offer the Volt for under $30,000.
The Volt, which can be driven up to 40 miles on battery power, still has several obstacles to overcome before it can reach those kinds of production numbers. According to Menahem Anderman, president of Advanced Automotive Batteries, that goal is “Totally ridiculous.” Anderman also said that “To reach that level by 2010, they’d [GM] need to be placing the orders right now.” The biggest challenge facing the Volt is the development of lithium-ion batteries.
GM product chief Bob Lutz has said he wants to sell the first Volt by late 2010, and expects to have prototypes ready for testing early next year, according to Bloomberg. While the market is more acceptant of fuel-efficient vehicles now, it took the Toyota Prius nearly 5 years to reach 60,000 in annual sales.
