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Chevy Losing $49K on Every Volt Sold

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    FOXNews.com Automotive Editor Gary Gastelu on the costs to chevy of producing the Volt.

  • Duration 3:55
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This transcript is automatically generated

So any report from Reuters suggests that Chevy Volt are running out of -- the report suggests that Chevy is losing 49000.

Dollars.

For every electric car -- cells foxnews.com.

Automotive.

Editor -- -- is here to crunch those numbers scary.

How the world is that possible but they're losing that much and every car run the math with me and Tommy Tommy B do agree with it.

Well they haven't sold lot yet and it cost a lot to develop in this case they're saying 56000 dollars per car sold to date.

Because about 32000 dollars each to make the cost 3940000 dollars that they get to a 49000 dollar deficit -- keep in mind this is based on an estimated.

Of one point two billion dollars in development costs.

And it is per -- -- a year ago that was twice as much a year from now it's going to be a lot less than 56.

Thousand dollars an -- it is a snapshot of -- production.

So a lot of it obviously was the initial fixed costs of start up but how long -- -- gonna take before that they.

Burn out that initial investments.

At the -- -- are selling out several years if ever depending on how long they do stick with the program they're gonna have to sell about a 120000 it.

Cars before the good start making some money off of this yeah and sales are going up but -- -- -- -- right now.

I mean does this take into account the 7500 dollars that you -- -- in every single taxpayers handing over to anyone who's willing to buy a Chevy Volt to motivate them.

Now that's really additional today as that's more money you know again if that's somebody go to General Motors -- -- go to the person buying the car.

I'm still.

But a lot of -- last month let's go back to the sales number last month they had record sales.

But they also closed down a plant firm up the kind of catch up on inventory so what's like the net net on how what how much people actually like these cars.

Other going to be shut the -- on September 17 -- scheduled to shut for a month last and they shut down this planted.

Wasn't close as long as they expected to they're trying to catch up but there's an estimate -- -- they have 84.

Day supply right now these cars.

You wanna get that down to sixty what had helped in August was it pretty intensive marketing campaign.

Some money on the hood and California recently.

Approving the car for use an hov lanes and also some extra benefits -- -- tax benefits as well so that definitely boosted August sales whether or not that continues through September October while doing Citi.

There's conflicting numbers out there I mean you -- expert that follows this industry so closely is this a popular car or not.

Well if you look at plug in hybrid cars are electric cars in -- it is the most popular one missile 2800 August the next best seller was the Toyota Prius plug in which is kind of the same sort of cars this they sold a thousand of those Ford has an electric version of the Ford Focus -- -- of 34.

Period of those last month so it's a popular car plug in hybrid cars in general but -- So popular yet.

I -- -- people love plug in hybrids I don't I don't hear though I don't see anyone in my garage and he can't and don't get on the grand scale all.

What's the impact.

The people who buy them love them but they're expensive the economy's not that great right now and gasoline isn't quite as expensive as we expected to be four years ago -- it was solidly over four dollars a gallon.

It's actually less than that now and conventional cars are doing pretty well fuel economy these days so there's just not the demand that a lot of people thought there might be for these kind of cars.

That said that will change certainly over the next decade or so so we'll she what happens.

I don't know I mean -- it's cheaper and people like to drive the smaller.

Regular gasoline cars that -- -- more fuel all but you don't have to plug them in and they're cheaper to buy in the first place so just hasn't made sense for people.

You know eat with or without the incentive to go -- buy these cars right.

Plug in an electric cars like the volt right now are about saving money -- about people not wanting to use gasoline at all and be willing to pay a premium to do that.

Later this year Ford Honda are going to be introducing cars just like the -- We're very similar to the ball and of course we have a lot of electric cars coming next year they're not going to be volume players that -- -- niche players have many years to come.

Four people have money to burning gas thank you so much for joining us -- appreciate it.

So.

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