GM Does Not Expect to Profit from 2011 Chevrolet Volt

[dav305z]

The 2011 Chevrolet Volt, which was revealed today, likely will not turn a profit for GM due to both its expensive development and what the company expects to be considerable warranty costs.

Full Article at Link

http://blogs.automobilemag.com/62835...olt/index.html
Not much here (or in Automotive News' original article), but I'm a bit worried to hear them talking like this about the batteries. Are we going to see articles slamming faulty Volt batteries by 2012?

[jkennedy293]

Lutz has mentioned the warranty on the batteries numerous times. In figuring out the expected warranty costs, GM is aiming for the high side and expecting to replace the battery pack at least once during the 10-year warranty period.

[E. Haskell]

I wouldn't expect it to turn a profit. The Volt is more to show off what GM can do and to change people's perceptions.

[mgescuro]

I would not expect Volt or EFlex to churn a profit until at least 2020.

[chaseabryant]

This is why GM needs to get less expensive EFlex variants onto the market after the Volt. There need to be some models that aren't so tech-heavy so that production costs aren't so high. I would have to say that the main reason that the price of the volt is waaayyy up there is because of how complex everything in the vehicle is. You are seeing them put things into production that would normally be reserved for concept vehicles.

I can't imagine what it might cost just to replace something like the foglight or the headlight assembly...

-Chase

[Kennyboy]

It's not about making a profit, but rather a image fixer for GM. GM in the eye's of the consumer is all about trucks and SUVs. With the introduction of the Volt, hopefully the consumer will take notice and will purchase not only a Volt but other GM vehicles as well.

[Ambalanche]

This is nothing new, they have long said they didn't expect to make money on the car at least in the first generation. I don't, however think they need to go around talking about high warranty costs before the car even hit's the market, otherweise people won't want to take a chance on such new technology.