Bob Lutz has told Wired News that the promising electric vehicle known as the Volt may be closer to $40,000 than the original estimate of $30,000. Getting the first generation of the car out by 2010 has trumped the need to get the cost down into an affordable price range. General Motors will then focus on pricing in the next generation of the car.
Quotes below from the Wired interview with Lutz:
WN: What’s the target market for the car? Will it be a high-end car, a mid-range car?
Lutz: I’ve always said I’d like to be able to sell it at around $30,000. The way things look now, it doesn’t look like that’s going to be possible. It looks like it’s going to be more.
WN: How much more?
Lutz: I don’t know. You’d like to have it at about $30,000 for the customer, but what I’m hearing from the team is we’re not going to get there. They say we might get there on the second generation, and they say if they had a lot more time they might be able to cost-optimize it. I don’t want to wait for cost optimization. I’d rather come out in 2010, and if it costs closer to 40 than 30, well, that’s too bad.
Read More [wired.com]
