General Motors has revealed the eight Chinese cities in which the Chevrolet Volt range-extended electric car will be sold.
The Volt will go on sale in Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Wuxi, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Foshan towards the end of this year.
However, with GM not keen to hand over some of its intellectual property rights to aspects of the Volt's design and engineering, it won't qualify for any of the country's generous incentives. As a result Chinese buyers will have to pay $75,533 for the car - more than $36,000 over the pre-incentive price of the car in the U.S.
That's enough to buy two Volts for those who can get the full $7,500 federal rebate in the U.S.
The Volt will initially be imported into the country before GM makes a decision on whether to begin production in China.
This would allow the car to attract subsidies of up to $19,200, but it would also require GM to hand over intellectual property rights for either the electric motor, battery pack or power electronics - hence the stalemate.
However, according to the Detroit News, GM denies any pressure from the Chinese government to hand over its secrets.
While the political struggle ensues, Chinese Volt buyers will at least be able to benefit from a 24-hour bilingual hotline as part of the V+ Club. Members will receive one-to-one service and be able to participate in a series of activities to match their eco-friendly lifestyle.
They'll also get to enjoy all of the Volt's normal benefits, like a roughly 50-mile electric range with another 300 miles of gasoline-fuelled range, strong torque and a quality cabin.
It just seems they'll have to pay a little extra...
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