The Chevy Volt is a pioneering car, but it has also received a lot of flack. It hasn't helped that it has caught on fire a couple times and been scapegoated by the media as the poster child of the automotive bailouts.
Supposedly, taxpayers were losing tons of money on the car. But apparently, someone else actually is: General Motors.
Each Volt sells in the $40,000 range once it reaches consumer's hands. However, new estimates just came out for what it costs to build one, and Reuters says it isn't close to cheap.
Apparently, if you take development, tooling, and production costs into account, each car costs GM between $80,000 and $88,000 to build. You math majors out there will be quick to point out that each car is a loss of at least $40,000.
A big issue is that GM isn't meeting sales targets, which has resulted in production suspensions and super cheap pricing. That isn't helping to make the car any cheaper to build. GM knows they aren't making any money, but they say that they are in for the long haul with the Volt.
It took Toyota a while to start making money with the Prius, so if Chevy can hold out, the Volt could do the same for them in the years to come.