GM executives have conceded from the start that they were losing money on the Volt

[Leweman]

Now the losses could be even higher. It costs $60,000 to $75,000 to build a Volt, including development, manufacturing and raw materials, estimates Sandy Munro, president of Munro & Associates, a Troy, Mich., a company that analyzes vehicle production expenses for automakers. Much of the cost comes from an expensive combination of two power systems _ electric and gasoline. With a sticker price of $40,000, minus the $10,000 the company pays in incentives, GM gets roughly $30,000 for every Volt. So it could be losing at least $30,000 per car.

GM offers big discounts to boost Volt sales - Las Vegas Sun News

 

[Leweman]

its true

 

[waltky]

Taxpayer ripoff - not a single battery has been made...

Plant that got $150M in taxpayer money to make Volt batteries furloughs workers
October 08, 2012 - President Obama touted it in 2010 as evidence "manufacturing jobs are coming back to the United States,” but two years later, a Michigan hybrid battery plant built with $150 million in taxpayer funds is putting workers on furlough before a single battery has been produced.

Workers at the Compact Power manufacturing facilities in Holland, Mich., run by LG Chem, have been placed on rotating furloughs, working only three weeks per month based on lack of demand for lithium-ion cells. The facility, which was opened in July 2010 with a groundbreaking attended by Obama, has yet to produce a single battery for the Chevrolet Volt, the troubled electric car from General Motors. The plant's batteries also were intended to be used in Ford's electric Focus.

Production of the taxpayer-subsidized Volt has been plagued by work stoppages, and the effect has trickled down to companies and plants that build parts for it -- including the batteries. “Considering the lack of demand for electric vehicles, despite billions of dollars from the Obama administration that were supposed to stimulate it, it’s not surprising what has happened with LG Chem. Just because a ton of money is poured into a product does not mean that people will buy it,” Paul Chesser, an associate fellow with the National Legal and Policy Center, told FoxNews.com.

The 650,000-square-foot, $300 million facility was slated to produce 15,000 batteries per year, while creating hundreds of new jobs. But to date, only 200 workers are employed at the plant by by the South Korean company. Batteries for the Chevy Volts that have been produced have been made by an LG plant in South Korea.

The factory was partly funded by a $150 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. LG also received sizeable tax breaks from the local government, saving nearly $50 million in property taxes over 15 years and another $2.5 million annually in business taxes. Landing the factory was hailed as a coup when shovels first hit the ground. “You are leading the way in showing how manufacturing jobs are coming right back here to the United States of America,” Obama told workers at the ground-breaking ceremony. “Our goal has never been to create a government program, but rather to unleash private-sector growth. And we're seeing results.”

Read more: Plant that got $150M in taxpayer money to make Volt batteries furloughs workers | Fox News

 

[TruthSeeker56]

This is just another case of POLITICIANS telling the American people what they will drive and why they must drive it, while squandering billions of dollars of taxpayer money along the way.

The car companies don't WANT to build electric cars. The lack of advancements and lack of technological improvements in electric-powered vehicles since the 1970s should be a BIG HINT to the politicians that the automobile manufacturers and the vast majority of American people DON'T WANT electric-powered vehicles as their primary source of transportation.

Believe me, the auto manufacturers have the techology to build LEGITIMATE electric-powered vehicles that make the Volt and the Nissan Leaf look like glorified golf carts (which is basically what they both are). But when the United States is sitting on enough petroleum reserves to make us energy independent, the auto manufacturers are not going to "play nice" with the EPA and the tree huggers.

The real question is, how long will General Motors be willing to lose tens of thousands of dollars on every Chevy Volt they produce? The answer is: until they declare bankruptcy AGAIN.

 

[RGR]

Believe me, the auto manufacturers have the techology to build LEGITIMATE electric-powered vehicles that make the Volt and the Nissan Leaf look like glorified golf carts (which is basically what they both are).

My Volt isn't a golf cart in the least. Have you even driven one, to make such a comparison? Or do you just bash things you are unfamiliar with, for fear that being familiar with them might change your mind?

The real question is, how long will General Motors be willing to lose tens of thousands of dollars on every Chevy Volt they produce? The answer is: until they declare bankruptcy AGAIN.

Based on the high tech ground breaking vehicles they cranked out last time they went bankrupt, maybe we'll get those even better ones you are looking for the next time!!

 

[flacaltenn]

Did I miss some "high tech groundbreaking" GM vehicles since 2010?

They look pretty much the same as everyone else's to me.

 

[whitehall]

The concept is simple. If you take money from the federal government you are required to build stuff that the federal government wants. The problem arises when the fools who make the rules try to build a car.