Report Says GM Loses $49,000 on Every Chevrolet Volt

A report from Reuters estimates that GM loses $49,000 on every Volt it sells. The estimates, which are based on figures from industry analysts, include the cost of developing the Volt. They’ve been widely cited by other media outlets online, although GM says the number is “grossly wrong.”

GM said in a press release that the development costs should be spread out, not just over the Volts sold so far, but also over the Volts that will be sold in the future as well as other vehicles, including later generations of the Volt, that will depend on the technology developed for the Volt. The automaker did not offer an alternative figure for its losses on each Volt sold, however. 

According to the Reuters article, GM’s VP of global product programs, Doug Parks, confirms that GM is not making money on the Volt, but says that it “eventually will make money.”