Volt Price Revealed: Be Prepared For a $41K Sticker Price

The other shoe has finally dropped and GM has revealed the price of the much anticipated (maybe less so now) 2011 Chevrolet Volt. As you have undoubtedly noticed, the entry-level price will be $41,000 when it rolls into the showrooms later this year. Many analysts and industry experts have already said that any thing over $40K could potentially put a damper on U.S. sales of the Volt, but there are rebates. Yes, the rebate game maybe what makes the Volt still affordable, but the question will be how long rebates continue to be apart of the alternative transportation buying landscape.

If you buy a $41K Volt off the showroom there will be a federal tax credit of $7,500. With a little bit of math, that takes the Volt down to $33.5K. That puts the Volt right about five to ten thousand dollars more than Toyota Prius (depending on trim of course). That isn’t terrible for new technology, but you have to remember that you can only drive 40 miles in the Volt before it switches to range-extending mode and starts burning petrol again. We might add that the Volt is estimated to go an additional 300 miles ones in the range-extending mode. So it isn’t far off the price of the most popular hybrid in the world. However, when compared to the Leaf, as we mention yesterday, it is a slightly different story due to the $32,780 entry-level price.

So what does this all mean? Well, contrary to what you might think, it means nothing unless you plan to purchase one. By purchase, I mean buy one to keep. Given how new the technology is, it might be better to actually take advantage of the lease offer that Chevrolet has put together for prospective Volt buyers. With $2,500 due at signing, you can drive home a Volt for as low as $350 a month for 36 months. For contrast, you could lease a Leaf for $1,999 due at signing and $349 a month for 36 months. So with the new pricing information, the question remains—are you still anticipating the release of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt as much as you were yesterday? Leave us a comment and let us know what you think.

[Source: L.A. Times]