April 26, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] GM Korea is considering ordering more units of the plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt after the first batch of 60 vehicles sold out within two weeks of its launch, ETnews reported on Feb. 20.

The report said GM Korea had planned to receive an additional 400 units of the Volt, but most of the units were known to be reserved for businesses, such as car rentals and car sharing.

A GM Korea spokesperson told The Investor that nothing has been confirmed about the increased orders, saying related talks are ongoing with head office. 

With the full-electric Chevrolet Bolt hitting the market this year, GM has been reluctant to launch the Volt for general sales due to its high pricing.

The Volt with a larger battery pack benefits from the same generous subsidies as full-electric models in the US. But in Korea, the government offers plug-in hybrid models at just 5 million won (US$4,360), compared to 20 million for EVs.

The Volt is priced at 38 million won here.

An industry source said, however, GM is unlikely to raise orders for the Volt before the upcoming launch of the Bolt that is expected to come within the first half of this year.

“For GM Korea, the Bolt is a bigger launch. The Korean unit will make limited promotions,” he said on condition of anonymity.

GM Korea plans to unveil the Bolt at the Jeju EV Expo on March 17. In the US, the price tag starts at US$37,495 before subsidies. In January, the Volt and Bolt sold 1,611 and 1,162 units, respectively, on their home turf.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)