Official $60K Volt price due soon

Holden says it will announce the eagerly anticipated Australian price of its first electrified model - the ground-breaking Volt plug-in hybrid - within weeks, but has confirmed its widely speculated starting price of $60,000 is right on the money.

“The price that’s been reported is about right,” said Holden Executive Director of Sales, Marketing and Aftersales, John Elsworth, who also confirmed the Volt hatchback would be available in a single specification when it arrives in 49 selected Holden dealerships in November.

Mr Elsworth said Holden dealers had already received an unspecified number of pre-orders for the Volt before the reveal of its official price, which will be significantly higher than its two most direct competitors: Mitsubishi’s pioneering i-MiEV ($48,800 plus on-road costs) and Nissan’s upcoming Leaf ($51,500 plus ORCs).

The price of all three models will be undercut by Renault’s Fluence ZE battery-electric sedan, which will arrive within months priced below $40,000.

However, unlike buyers of the all-electric i-MiEV and Leaf – and the Volt, which adds the recharge anxiety-eliminating benefit of a range-extending 1.4-litre petrol engine/generator – Fluence ZE customers will pay an extra subscription fee for its similar lithium-ion battery, which is also compatible with the automated battery swap station technology to be rolled out here by EV infrastructure provider Better Place.

While Nissan Australia is unofficially forecasting annual Leaf sales of up to 2000, Mr Elsworth said Holden’s Volt was expected to attract less than half that number, split evenly between private and non-private individuals.

“(Annual Volt) Sales will be in the hundreds, not thousands,” he said, also explaining that the Volt was far removed from the traditional volume-selling Holden product.

“Volt buyers won’t be typical Holden buyers. It’s about technology – not so much about being green – so we expect the same early-adopters who bought the first iPads,” said Mr Elsworth, who added the Volt’s other advantage over pure EVs is that it can be charged from a standard 10-amp household power outlet, rather than a dedicated 15-amp source.

GM Holden Chairman and Managing Director Mike Devereux this week described the Volt as “quite simply we think the best manifestation of car and technology on the planet”, adding the Volt will be backed by a significant marketing/advertising spend.

“I don’t think it’s bombastic to say that,” he added. “It was the first and only American-made and engineered vehicle that’s ever won the European car of the year award and that is after winning the North American car of the year and the green car of the year award, so we’re very pleased to be able to launch this into the Australian market later this year.

“(But) It’s not going to be a massive volume play. Electric cars, plug-in hybrids or whatever you want to call it aren’t massive volumes, but it really does show what GM and Holden stand for in terms of innovation.

“It’s not something the Holden brand has traditionally been known for, so we we’ll make a lot of noise with this vehicle.”

In conjunction with another EV infrastructure company ChargePoint, Holden last month opened a Volt battery-charging outlet at its Port Melbourne head office and in recent days announced a network of 49 Holden dealers - in every state capital and major metropolitan centre except Darwin and Alice Springs – that will sell and service the Volt.

Volt dealerships must implement a minimum number of environmental management practices across their business, including recycling, efficient energy usage and reduced disposal of toxic chemicals, and each approved dealer will be required to install a dedicated charging station and invest in new tooling and training.

Holden commenced local testing of Volt last year, but recently announced the first right-hand drive versions of the Volt are now in Australia participating in the Victorian government’s electric vehicle trial.

General Motors also recently announced a battery upgrade to improve the driving range of the Volt, which it bills as the world’s first extended-range EV.

Minor changes to the chemistry of the battery – which now has a total storage capacity of 16kWh (up from 15.6kWh) - extend the electric-only range of the Volt from 35 miles to 38 miles (56.3km to 61.2km), while total driving range including the use of the petrol engine increases by one mile to 380 miles (612km).

As a result, the 2013 Volt, which goes on sale in the US in August, will offer an official combined fuel consumption figure of about 2.4 litres per 100km – down from 2.5L/100km.
However, the upgrades also extend the time it takes to complete a full charge.

The upgraded Volt will take four hours and 15 minutes to fully recharge from ‘empty’ via a standard 240-volt household power socket – 15 minutes longer than before.

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