First Chevrolet Volts Go on Sale in California

First Chevrolet Volts Go on Sale in California

General Motors' Bob Lutz said the first Chevrolet Volts will go on sale in California beginning late next year, fulfilling GM's long-held promise that the Volt would be in production by November 2010.

Lutz, speaking to the Motor Press Guild at the opening of the 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show Wednesday, announced GM's new partnerships with three California utilities. Those utilities will receive a total of 100 Chevrolet Volts for their company fleets. He said consumers and fleets would take delivery roughly at the same time.

Lutz said in the first few months of production at the Detroit Hamtramck plant, GM will assemble between 4,000 and 5,000 Volts, ramping up to 8,000-10,000 in its first full year of production. At full capacity, GM will built 50,000-60,000 Volts annually.

Chevrolet General Manager Brent Dewar says California is a natural as a lead market for the Volt because it is a large market and is an early adopter of new technology. Dewar said more lead markets for the Volt would be announced in the coming weeks.

Michelle Krebs:  is Editor-in-Chief of AutoObserver.com. Follow @AutoObserver on Twitter.