Volt for dummies?

US website MSNAutos was served up some gems from the head of Audi USA this week. Commenting on the Chevrolet Volt, Audi of America President, Johan de Nysschen, told MSNAutos' Lawrence Ulrich, the range-extended EV was "a car for idiots."

According to Ulrich, de Nysschen also stated he believed the car would be a sales flop and that the US Government "having publicly forced GM to develop electric cars, will subsidize the Volt to save face and boost sales".

De Nysschen is quoted as saying: "No one is going to pay a [US]$15,000 premium for a car that competes with a Corolla," he said. "So there are not enough idiots who will buy it."

He stated electric vehicles (EVs) are more about making a statement.

"They're for the intellectual elite who want to show what enlightened souls they are," he told MSNAutos

The MSN Autos article continued: "Mass electrification of cars, he argued, would result in a net increase in carbon dioxide emissions, because so much of America's electrical grid relies on dirty coal for its energy. Cleaning up the nation's power grid is the real priority, he said, and only then can EVs make environmental sense."

Hmmm… The comments sounds awfully familiar in this part of the world.

Meantime, Audi head office has committed to a 'top down' approach to introducing EVs . Recently Down Under, Audi board member, Peter Schwarzenbauer, stated the company saw no sense in adding expensive EV infrastructure to its small car offer.

"I think electric car technology has to be introduced like all the other technologies in the world, top down," he told the Carsales Network.

"Our approach will be a completely different one. We will start at the top-end," Schwarzenbauer revealed.

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