Green Car Advisor
BMW Rumored to Be Working on Plug-in Hybrid Sports Car Slated to Launch in 2013
BMWBLOG is reporting that the Bavarian maker of "ultimate driving machines" is rumored to be working on a plug-in hybrid sports car that's slated to launch in 2013 and compete with Mercedes-Benz' SLS E-Cell and Audi's E-Tron.
The blog says the BMW i100 Coupe ActiveHybrid (rendered at right) will be capable of traveling 9 to 31 miles on electrons only and, in addition to two 50-horsepower electric motors, will feature a three-cylinder direct-injection engine generating an additional 165-185 hp.
Continuing on the rumor path, the German publication Auto Bild reports that the engine most likely a diesel unit similar to the one found in the Vision Concept. That rear/mid-mounted turbocharged engine is fitted to the 6-speed DCT gearbox.
For the U.S. market, BMW might - might - offer a four-cylinder powerplant as well, BMWBLOG says. Unlike the competition from Audi and Mercedes-Benz, the BMW will offer room for four passengers.
The blog says BMW plans to sell about 35,000 units at about $140,000 apiece, and that it might be presented at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show. We'll see. BMW isn't talking.
EcoMotors' Don Runkle Discusses Career, OPOC Engine-Generator and More...
Don Runkle, the former GM and Delphi engineering executive who now heads EcoMotors International as it strives to launch a new small-size, big-power, fuel-efficient combustion engine with potential for use with plug-in hybrids, stationary power generators and small aircraft, is the subject of the first "Power Breakfast" interview and profile series launched today by our colleagues over at Auto Observer.
----------
EcoMotors CEO Don Runkle displays briefcase-sized OPOC motor capable of generating 10 kilowatts of electricity - sufficient to power a home.
----------
The piece, by former Wall Street Journal and New York Times writer Doron Levin, examines Runkle's fascinating career track - he helped develop the EV1 as well as a number of conventional gasoline engines while at General Motors; looks at the OPOC (opposed piston, opposed cylinder) engine EcoMotors is developing - warts and all; and explains how Runkle plans to hide his new iPhone 4G when meeting with EcoMotors' investor Bill Gates so as not to get caught up in the enmity between Apple and Gate's Microsoft.
It's an enlightening, and fun, read and we recommend it.
You might also want to check our piece on Ecomotors if you missed it first time around.
Nissan Begins Taking Reservations for Leaf BEV in Portugal and Republic of Ireland
Nissan began taking European reservations for the Leaf battery-electric vehicle starting last Friday, with pre-order books opening in Portugal and the Republic of Ireland.
The U.K. will be the next European country where reservations for the BEV will be taken, Nissan announced recently.
The ordering process is a first step in securing a place on the list to receive the plug-in, emissions-free model that will go on sale in Europe starting early next year.
Leaf deliveries are slated to begin in Portugal in January, Ireland in February and the U.K. in March.
The Leaf will be priced at just under 30,000 euros ($39,519 at today's exchange rate) after incentives in most of its European launch markets.
This means the Leaf will cost almost $13,173 more than the U.S. price, which is set at $32,780 - and that's before a U.S. tax credit of $7,500 is applied.
Incentives to Spark Boom in N. American Commercial Hybrid Vehicle Market - Study
A new analysis finds that the hybrid truck, bus and van market is expected to grow from 4.1 thousand vehicles in 2009 to 222 thousand vehicles by 2016, the British research firm Frost & Sullivan reported today.
In the commercial vehicle industry, the return-on-investment potential is a key determinant for adoption of new technologies. Government incentives, fuel price volatility and low lifecycle costs associated with hybrid trucks are all in favor of hybrid commercial vehicles, the study found.
However, hybrid trucks feature energy storage systems, control and power electronics and rotating machines, which are expensive technologies creating considerable cost barriers to potential adopters. Furthermore, storage systems such as batteries must be replaced every four to five years based on the vocational application.
"Currently, the high upfront cost associated with hybrids is countered with federal grants, incentives, and tax rebates," said Frost & Sullivan Global Program Manager Sandeep Kar. "Although such incentives offer relief in the short term, for hybrids to be commercially viable in the long term, the upfront cost difference should reduce considerably."
Amongst alternative powertrain technologies and fuels, hybrid commercial vehicles exert the least pressure on the existing energy and transportation infrastructure and require only minimal modification to the current fueling infrastructure, Kar said.
This aspect of hybrid commercial vehicles is acting as one of the strongest market drivers in North America and Europe, attracting governments, commercial vehicle manufacturers, and potential consumers alike towards supporting and accepting hybrid commercial vehicles, he said.
Obama Takes a Drive in GM's Chevrolet Volt Plug-In
We try not to follow the pack too much, but just because everyone else is gonna post this picture doesn't mean we won't.
President Barak Obama got behind the wheel of a 2011 Chevy Volt today while visiting GM's Detroit-Hamtramck plant in Michigan.
Even though he's the President, GM apparently still wouldn't let him drive without a chaperon - that's plant manager Teri Quigley riding shotgun as Obama eases the car off the production line.
Hey, his administration loaned the automaker a few hundred billion bucks so it could keep going last year - a short drive in a Volt is they least they could do for him.
----------
Photo courtesy of General Motors Corp.
Mercedes Begins Electric Vito E-Cell Van Production, Plans 2,000 for Europe
We mostly know Mercedes-Benz in the U.S. as a luxury-car maker, but the company is a big truck and van producer as well. The familiar Mercedes logo adorning the grilles of tens of thousands of commercial vehicles in Europe and Asia and has recently begun appearing on large Sprinter diesel vans in the U.S.
Now the company has begun production of an electric-drive version of its popular Vito light van - a project first announced back in February.
The Vito E-Cell, which is larger than Ford's upcoming 2011 Transit Connect electric van, is being built at Mercedes' Vitoria, Spain plant, alongside the conventional diesel combustion engine models that have been on the market since 1996.
Mercedes said it expects sales to begin in the fourth quarter.
While the Vito EV model is intended at least initially for the European market, we suspect Mercedes won't be far behind if Ford's Transit Connect EV takes off in the U.S. light delivery vehicle market.
Calif. Regulators Rule EV-Charging Firms Will Not Be Regulated as Public Utilities
The California Public Utilities Commission has ruled that companies that sell electric-vehicle charging services to the public will not be regulated as public utilities.
Companies such as Coulomb Technologies, Better Place and Ecotality can operate without being regulated as an investor-owned utility, the commission ruled Thursday during its regular meeting in San Francisco.
The decision removes a barrier on reselling electricity at charging stations and may speed up the adoption of electric cars, which will help the state meet greenhouse-gas reduction targets, the commission said in a draft of its order.
At issue was whether suppliers of EV chargers should be regulated in the same way as the public utilities that generate and sell electricity. The chargers interface with the electrical grid, allowing access to electricity as well as providing other consumer services.
The commission is in the process of evaluating alternative-fueled vehicle policies to ensure California's investor-owned electric utilities are prepared for the projected statewide growth of plug-in electric-drive vehicles throughout the state.
"This decision provides needed regulatory clarity to encourage the state's entrepreneurs and investors to develop charging solutions that will satisfy consumer needs and work harmoniously with the electric grid," Commissioner Nancy E. Ryan said.
Senate Clean Energy Jobs Bill Has $3.9 Billion for EVs, Chargers and Batteries
The energy bill introduced Thursday in the Senate has a pleasant surprise: $3.9 billion in funding for electric vehicles and infrastructure.
Earlier in the week, Senate staffers briefing the media discussed only $400 million of EV funding. But the full text introduced by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., includes $2 billion for the so-called early deployment communities program and $1.5 billion for EV and battery research and development.
The EV provisions were pulled into the energy bill from the separate, bipartisan Electric Vehicle Deployment Act introduced earlier in the year.
Reid's bill, the "Clean Energy Jobs and Oil Company Accountability Act of 2010," still must win approval of the full Congress.
Some legislation watchers think it has scant chance because it needs unanimous Democratic support just to get out of the Senate and the votes of at least two oil-state Dems opposed to its provision lifting the $75 million oil spill liability cap on oil companies are in doubt.
GM Announces Plan to Increase Chevy Volt Production Output by 50 Percent in 2012
General Motors, citing strong public interest in the Chevrolet Volt, announced today that it will increase U.S. production capacity of the extended-range plug-in hybrid sedan by 50 percent, from 30,000 units to 45,000 units, in 2012.
---------
President Obama at the Detroit-Hamtramck plant today.
---------
The announcement came as President Obama toured the Detroit-Hamtramck facility where the Volt is being produced now for sale later this year.
The expanded production capacity is the latest in a series of Volt surprises this week, beginning with the announcement of its higher-than-anticipated manufacturer suggested retail price, followed immediately by the announcement of its very attractive leasing terms, and then Thursday's not-so-wonderful news that the vehicle's onboard engine-generator will require premium gasoline.
Also this week, participating Chevrolet dealers in launch markets began taking customer orders for the 2011 Volt. The brand also recently announced battery and vehicle limited warranties to bring value and peace of mind to Volt customers. And the number of U.S. launch markets for the vehicle recently was raised from three to seven.
Moreover, in the past few weeks, more than 25,000 people have joined the Volt enthusiast list, GM announced today.
The Volt offers a total driving range of about 340 miles and is powered by electricity at all times. For up to the first 40 miles, the vehicle drives gas- and tailpipe-emissions-free using electricity stored in its 16-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery. When the Volt's battery runs low, the gas-powered engine-generator kicks in to feed electricity to the battery and to the electric motor to extend the driving range another 300 miles on a full tank.
The Detroit-Hamtramck plant received $336 million in new investment to prepare for production of the Volt, part of more than $700 million GM has invested in eight Michigan facilities to support Volt production since 2008. This includes a 33,000-square-foot battery systems lab in Warren; a battery assembly facility in Brownstown Township; and supporting engine and stamping operations in Grand Blanc, Bay City, and three plants in Flint.
Besides direct GM jobs, the Volt has helped spur additional supplier employment and investment. Earlier this month, battery cell supplier LG Chem/Compact Power Inc. broke ground on a $300-million, 650,000-square-foot plant in Holland, Michigan, to support Volt production, creating 400 jobs.
LS9 Says It's Found Genes That Enable One-Step Conversion of Sugar to Diesel
Researchers at the South San Francisco biotechnology startup LS9 claim today to have discovered a way to produce alkanes - the major hydrocarbon constituents of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel - in a direct, simple conversion from sugar.
If true, the development could lead to a significant reduction in the cost of producing "drop-in" hydrocarbon fuels that are low-carbon, sustainable and compatible with the existing fuel distribution infrastructure.
"This is a one step sugar-to-diesel process that does not require elevated temperatures, high pressures, toxic inorganic catalysts, hydrogen or complex unit operations," said Steve del Cardayre, LS9's vice president of research and development.
In an article published in Science, LS9 researchers announced the discovery of novel genes that, when expressed in the bacterium E. coli (pictured), produce alkanes, the primary hydrocarbon components of the fuels mentioned above.
Alkanes, also known as paraffins or saturated hydrocarbons, are chemical compounds that consist only of the elements carbon and hydrogen (i.e., hydrocarbons). Alkanes include methane, ethane, propane, butane and octane.
It is the first description of the genes responsible for alkane biosynthesis and the first example of a single-step conversion of sugar to fuel-grade alkanes by an engineered microorganism.
According to an article in Biofuels Digest, scientists have spent the last 20 years failing in their attempts to identify the genes that enable particular natural organisms to directly convert biomass into alkanes.
The LS9 team claims to have succeeded by looking into the genomes of bacteria that produce alkanes in nature, which are known as cyanobacteria.
"We evaluated many cyanobacteria that made alkanes and identified one that was not capable of producing them," said Andreas Schirmer, associate director of metabolic engineering at LS9. "By comparing the genome sequences of the producing and non-producing organisms, we were able to identify the responsible genes."
LS9 investors include Chevron Technology Ventures, Khosla Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners. The company also has a strategic partnership with Procter & Gamble.
Firms to Team on Demonstration Tests for Recovering CO2 Found in Natural Gas
The Japanese energy-construction-projects corporation JGC, Japanese oil corporation INPEX and Germany's BASF, the world's largest chemical company, announced today that they have entered into an agreement to jointly carry out demonstration tests on a new technology for effectively capturing and recovering carbon dioxide contained in natural gas.
The tests will be carried out at INPEX's Koshijihara natural gas plant in Nagaoka in Niigata Prefecture starting next month.
Natural gas often contains CO2 when it is extracted from the well. Whether the natural gas is transported via pipelines, converted to liquefied natural gas (LNG) or used in chemical processes, the CO2 has to be captured beforehand. Even state-of-the-art CO2 capture processes require a large amount of energy and the removal facilities account for a major part of investment and operating costs.
JGC and BASF jointly began developing a new technology for a CO2 capture process called High Pressure Acid Gas Capture Technology (HiPACT) in 2004. Following basic research and a series of trials, the new technology shows a significantly higher CO2 absorption rate than existing processes and is capable of recovering CO2 under high-pressure conditions. An important milestone in this development is transferring the new technology to an operating gas processing facility.
The advantage of HiPACT technology is twofold: firstly, it reduces the overall power consumption of the facility and lowers investment costs. Moreover, because the CO2 is released from the solvent at well above atmospheric pressure there is a significant reduction in the amount of energy required if CO2 is used in high pressure applications such as chemical synthesis or sequestered underground.
Going forward with information from the test results, JGC and BASF will focus on the commercialization of HiPACT technology in all relevant sectors, for example in natural gas projects with CO2 re-injection. INPEX will aim at further energy savings at its natural gas plants by using the HiPACT technology.
Six Major U.S. Cities Unite to Push Feds Toward Requiring More Taxis Be Hybrids
By Danny King, Contributor
Any self-respecting baseball fan will tell you that folks in New York and Boston don't tend to agree on much, but at least the two cities appear to be on the same side when pushing for more fuel-efficient cabs.
Manhattan and Boston, as well as San Francisco, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Washington D.C., are reportedly pressuring the federal government to force or at least financially encourage taxicab companies to cut their carbon footprint by buying more hybrid vehicles.
The move comes after a federal court this week rejected New York City's continued attempt to effectively mandate more hybrid cab purchases by adjusting lease rates of both hybrid cabs and traditional Ford Crown Victorias (pictured).
The mayors of the six cities wrote a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) urging Congress to help ensure better fuel efficiency among U.S. cabs and limos, and they estimated that 50 million gallons of fuel would be saved each year from more fuel-efficient cabs, The Detroit News reported.
The push comes at a critical juncture as alternative-fueled vehicles gain greater exposure with the U.S. introduction of both the Chevrolet Volt extended-range plug-in hybrid and Nissan's battery-electric Leaf later this year while cab operators look for a replacement vehicle for the popular Crown Vic, which Ford is phasing out along with the Lincoln Town Car.
As it is, the Toyota Prius and Ford Escape Hybrid cabs have gained popularity in cities such as New York and San Francisco, with the Escape Hybrid getting about double the Crown Vic's fuel economy and the Prius getting roughly three times as much.
Automotive X-Prize Field Narrows - 104 Teams Out Since Contest Began
Now there are nine.
That's the number of cars moving on to the Progressive Automotive X Prize final stage next month after passing safety requirements and achieving fuel economy of at least 90 miles per gasoline-gallon-equivalent in tests at Michigan International Speedway this week.
----------
Edison2 team's Very Light Vehicle is finalist in Progressive Automotive X-Prize competition.
----------
The cars are being fielded by 7 teams - down from 111 that began the year-long competition - with just a single team, Virginia-based Edison2, in the running for the too prize of $5 million for a mainstream auto ( four wheels, at least four seats, freeway legal...) that can achieve the equivalent of at least 100 miles per gallon fuel economy.
Edison2 has two cars battling it out for the $5 million "mainstream" prize that will be determined in the "validation" stage, in which the cars will need not only to achieve the 100 miles per gallon fuel efficiency but also meet tough emissions standards in dynamometer testing at the U.S. Energy Department's Argonne National Laboratory, contest organizers said this week.
Despite the team's name, Edison2's cars both use E85-burning combustion engines, not electric motors.
Porsche Green Lights 718-HP 918 Spyder; Hybrid Said to Get 78 Miles Per Gallon
The Supervisory Board at Porsche this week gave the green light for series development of the 918 Spyder, the 718-horsepower all-wheel-drive hybrid sports car with outstanding fuel economy and claimed 3.2-seconds 0-62 mph quickness.
Taken from drawing to 2010 Geneva Auto Show in less than five months, the 918 Spyder mixes a 500-hp, 9,200-rpm, 3.4-liter gasoline V8 with two electric motors for a combined 718 hp. Porsche has calculated that it could be quicker than the old Carrera GT around the Nordschleife.
The 918 Spyder, one of three hybrid models Porsche presented in Geneva, can go up to 25 kilometers (15 miles) on electric power. The two-seater reportedly limits gasoline consumption to three liters per 100 kilometers (78.4 miles per gallon) and emits just 70 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer.
No time line has been given for when the car will be ready for the road, but Green Car Advisor doesn't expect the first production models before the spring of 2012. Pricing has not been announced, but Bloomberg news service has reported it could cost $630,000. Porsche said more details will be disclosed in coming weeks.
GM Says Chevy Volt Will Require Premium Gas; Fuel Costs 10% More Than Regular
General Motors told Green Car Advisor this morning that the 1.4-liter gasoline engine aboard the Chevy Volt extended-range plug-in hybrid will require premium gas, which currently costs consumers 10 percent more than regular.
"Premium gasoline ensures that the customer gets maximum fuel economy when driving in extended-range mode," Dave Barthmuss, group manager for GM Western Region Communications, said in an email exchange.
"We don't anticipate that Volt drivers will use a lot of gas, but when it's needed using premium fuel increases fuel efficiency by five percent or greater over the use of regular fuel. Simply put, premium fuel optimizes this engine's characteristics."
The Volt hybrid uses a 111-kilowatt electric motor as its primary propulsion system. When the lithium-ion battery pack is depleted - typically after about 40 miles - the 80-horsepower gasoline engine kicks to generate electricity to the motor and battery pack, extending the vehicle's effective range about 300 miles.
The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline today in the U.S. is $2.74, according to the national AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report. The current average price for a gallon of premium gasoline is $3.01, or 10 percent higher than the price of regular.
Still unknown: The Volt's fuel economy. GM is no longer giving estimated mileage numbers, nor is it disclosing the size of the Volt's gas tank, which would allow us to deduce how many miles per gallon the vehicle achieves.
Premium manufacturer's suggested retail price. Very attractive leasing terms. Now, the premium-gas requirement. When it comes to the Chevy Volt, which goes on sale later this year, GM's been full of surprises this week.
Scott Doggett, Contributing Editor
GreenBriefs: Leaf Rollout, DOD Energy Plan, Quantum Cash, Capstone Hybrid
Nissan has detailed the U.S. rollout plan for its all-electric Leaf, which has attracted almost 17,000 reservations from potential buyers.
- The company said the Leaf will be available in California, Washington, Oregon, Arizona and Tennessee in December 2010; Texas and Hawaii in January 2011; and North Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Washington D.C., Virginia, Maryland, South Carolina and Alabama in April 2011.
- The five-seat EV will be available in the rest of the country by the end of 2011.
- Addtionally, Nissan reported, more than 30 percent of potential Leaf customers have ordered the car in blue, while 26 percent have picked silver, and about three-quarters have picked the SL trim level that includes a rearview monitor and a solar-panel spoiler.
The federal Energy Department signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the U.S. Defense Department to speed up clean-energy initiatives.
- The MOU doesn't lay out specific timelines or numbers, but includes initiatives such as more alternative-fueled vehicles and better fueling infrastructure for the military.
- The agreement is part of a broader effort by both departments to boost energy security while cutting emissions.
Quantum Technologies, whose products include the electric drive system and photovoltaic roof module for the upcoming Fisker Karma, raised $10.9 million in a private stock offering and said the funds will be used for general operating purposes.
Capstone Turbine Corp. has begun a range-extender demonstration project for heavy-duty trucks:
- Capstone is working with a U.S. manufacturer of Class 5 to Class 8 heavy-duty trucks (all trucks that weigh more than 16,000 pounds) on what it says is the first hybrid-electric range-extender of its kind, using a microturbine to generate power to run an electric drive system.
- Capstone microturbines can run on diesel and biodiesel as well as natural gas.
U.K. to Offer Subsidies Up to $7,805 to British Buyers of EVs, Ultra-Low CO2 Cars
Motorists in the United Kingdom will get up to 5,000 British pounds ($7,805 at today's exchange rate) from the government if they buy an all-electric car or an ultra-low-carbon hybrid starting in January, U.K.'s new Conservative-led Coalition government announced today, but the number of grants has actually been sharply reduced from earlier plans.
The subsidy was announced by the Labour government in 2009 but placed on hold by the Coalition until the autumn spending review.
From January, any motorist buying a new-generation electric vehicle or an ultra-low carbon hybrid will get 25 percent off of the price of the vehicle, up to a maximum 5,000 pounds ($7,805).
However, the number of grants that had been proposed by the Labour government has been slashed from a minimum of 46,000 to as few as 8,600 as a 250-million pounds ($389-million) government plan designed to promote environmentally-friendly transport came under attack from multiple parties in the recession-gripped U.K.
The grants will be available just in time for the U.K. launch of the Nissan Leaf battery-electric vehicle (pictured), the first major all-electric rival to the globally successful Toyota Prius hybrid.
Nissan's Sunderland, England, factory will assemble future Leafs, meaning Britain will from 2013 be the company's third-biggest global electric car base.
Nissan itself received grants from the British government to build the Leaf in Sunderland, where the workforce of 4,100 built 338,000 Qashqai, Note and Micra models in 2008.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Prius Introduced in U.S. 10 Years Ago This Month
Toyota's U.S. marketing arm is celebrating the 10th anniversary this month of the U.S. launch of the Prius.
The introduction here of what has become the world's best-selling hybrid is certanly worth noting, but we'd be remiss if we didn't don our cloak of historical accuracy and point out that the Prius actually is 13 years old.
It made its world debut in Japan in 1997 - the first modern hybrid in the world.
To date, more than 1.8 million have been sold globally, about half of them in the U.S.
Although Honda actually beat the Prius here with the December 1999 U.S. launch of the original Insight hybrid, the Toyota gang was a lot better at marketing. To many, "Prius" is just another word for "hybrid."
So we add our voice to the chorus - Happy (U.S.) Birthday, Prius.
Lopsided Energy Bill: $4 Billion for Natural Gas Vehicles, $400 Million for EVs
Oilman-turned-natural-gas-promoter T. Boone Pickens seems to have a lot of friends, or at least a few powerful ones, in Congress.
Despite a presidentially expressed desire to see at least 1 million plug-in electric vehicles on the road by the end of 2015, Senate Democrats in their latest attempt at an energy bill that can get past Republican opposition have included just $400 million for further EV program development versus $4 billion for natural gas vehicles and fuel programs.
Early rumors had the bill eliminating any new funding for electric cars after last year's $2.4 billion appropriation for EV and advanced battery development, so $400 million is something. But at a 10:1 ratio to natural gas promotion???
Chevy Volt's Price Likely to Spur More Leases Than Purchases, Analysts Say
(Editor's note: An analyst quoted in this article compared the Chevrolet Volt's pre-incentive price of $41,000 to the post-incentive $49,000 price of the yet-to-be-built Tesla Model S. Before a $7,500 federal tax credit is applied, the Tesla, according to a previous announcement by company officials, will have a base price of $57,400, making the gap between the two cars slightly more than $16,000.)
By Danny King, Contributor
Don't bother calling Bob Barker, because as far as the Chevrolet Volt is concerned, the Price May Be Wrong.
That's the general consensus of automotive-industry analysts, who say General Motors may have ensured that the first batch of its extended-range plug-in electric vehicles will be predominantly leased, as opposed to purchased outright, because of a base, pre-incentives sticker price of $41,000 that may appear extravagant for a Chevrolet sedan, new technology or not.
With less than 40 percent of U.S. vehicles priced at more than $40,000, GM, which has invested about $750 million developing the Volt, may alienate potential buyers who see a car that looks somewhat like a Chevrolet Malibu within the price range of German sports sedans or GM's Cadillac luxury badge, albeit with a $7,500 federal tax credit that brings the base price of the car down to $33,500, said Edmunds.com industry analyst Jessica Caldwell.
"If GM had launched the Volt when they started teasing us years ago, it could have successfully commanded a hefty price tag," Caldwell said, noting that there now are a wider range of vehicles in the Volt's price range with improved powertrain technology and packaging. "Tesla's Model S will start at $8,000 more and is better targeted at people who can afford to pay $40,000-plus on a vehicle."
That sticker price may not be that relevant, though, because of the Volt's limited production for the first calendar year - 10,000 vehicles - and a lease price analysts say may be far more palatable to potential customers.