The American giant is prepared to wait to get back to the podium and they are sure that the new product will be “revolutionary”. "We're putting a lot of money into the Chevy Volt, which we're endeavoring to get into production by 2010," said GM CEO Rick Wagoner under questioning from a congressional committee. "It will not be at that point fully cost competitive," he added.
Making this electric car represents a long-term survival plan for GM as money for building conventional cars run out. The time expected for the sum to return to the constructor and make a profit is 2016 as GM CEO Wagoner told a Congressional panel on Friday.
"Building the business case for revolutionary technology is really different," said Eric Fedewa, vice president of global powertrain forecasting for industry consultants CSM Worldwide.
"The Volt is the first step in a long-term viability plan," said Rob Petersen, a spokesman for GM's electric vehicle programs.
Out of the $750 million dollars spent to develop the Volt, most of it went in creating more reliable batteries. The american giant expects the public to review their car as a revolutionary product and compares it to the iPod: "If you've got some revolutionary thing that consumers will buy, like the iPod, the manufacturers would absolutely like to be there," said Fedewa of CSM.
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