GM Stock Price Jumps on Glimpse of Volt

GM Stock Price Jumps on Glimpse of Volt

By Bill Visnic

Think General Motors Corp.'s Chevrolet Volt concept car has lost some of its power as a supercharged hype-machine?

Hardly.

GM director of advanced design Bob Boniface this morning displayed mere images of the production-representative front and rear of the advanced "extended-range" electric vehicle at the annual Center for Automotive Research Management Briefing Seminars, a longstanding elbow-rubbing confab of industry big wheels.

Result: by 1:00 p.m., GM's stock price soared by as much as 15 percent, ending the day hiked by a still-healthy 10 percent.

GM's stock-price jump may not be attributable entirely to the Volt showing some skin, so to speak, but the event seems to have certainly influenced Wall Street - although the reaction seems overheated, as the Volt is not scheduled to hit showrooms until late 2010, and the glimpses of sheetmetal are far from worthwhile indicators of the development status of the Volt's critical lithium-ion batteries and other complex systems. A GM source was quick to say the Volt's progress is on schedule, however.

GM sources, including vice-chairman and chief product guru Bob Lutz, have given repeated reassurances the Volt's lithium-ion batteries will be ready for production and able to deliver the 40 miles of all-electric driving range pledged for the Volt.

Skeptics remain, however, regarding the 40-mile driving range, and their case has been supported in recent weeks by driving reports of the equally hyped Tesla Roadster electric car, which some early testers - including one of the company's founders - have found to deliver markedly less driving range than claimed by Tesla.

Questions also abound regarding the Volt's eventual price point. GM initially said it wished the Volt to be priced less than $30,000, but Lutz recently said the more-realistic number is $40,000. There is some speculation GM will be unable to sell the Volt even at $40,000 the unless it plans to subsidize initial volumes of the car. Lutz also has said the company would like to see the promise of substantial tax incentives for Volt buyers.

PHOTOS:

1. Front corner of production Chevrolet Volt.

2. Rear decklid area for production Volt.

Bill Visnic:  is an AutoObserver Senior Editor. Follow @AutoObserver on Twitter