The Chevy Volt will have a new name and a new manufacturer when it goes on sale in November 2010 - the Toyota Jolt. According to sources within Toyota and GM, the decision was made after President Obama's auto task force deemed the Volt to be too little, too late and too expensive to save General Motors. To save on production costs for both companies, the re-badged Toyota Jolt will be manufactured at the NUMMI plant in Fremont, California. NUMMI is the same plant where the GM/Toyota co-produced Toyota Matrix/Pontiac Vibe is made.
Toyota has plans to "make it their own", as they say on American Idol. The Japanese automaker hopes to upgrade the current Volt platform from the planned 1.4-liter engine to the new 1.8L going in the 2010 Prius, along with adding the Solar Roof available in the new Prius. Toyota hopes the Solar Roof will create enough energy to charge the Jolt's battery pack and enhance EV range from the Volt's 40-mile range to 80 miles in the Jolt.
During today's press conference, GM's new CEO Fritz Henderson said, "We are excited about this new partnership with Toyota to produce the Jolt. President Obama has given us 60 days to turn this company around, and, unfortunately, there was no way we could continue to spend billions on the Volt project. Toyota, as the worldwide sales leader, has the resources needed to complete this car and put it in the market."
Toyota's take? Toyota USA President Jim Lentz told PriusChat that "we are pleased to be partnering with GM on the Toyota Jolt project. Toyota and GM have a long history of beautifully designed co-produced cars such as the mid-80s Corolla, Chevy Nova, and Geo Prizm. Just as those cars redefined the automotive industry, so will the Toyota Jolt. We are going to give the car industry and this economy the 'Jolt' it needs!"
And so what does the king of Chevy Volt, Bob Lutz, have to say about this new partnership? "I've been the biggest Volt supporter since the beginning, you all know that. But, as the government auto task force was adding up the numbers, it quickly became obvious that the Volt was going to be a really expensive car for what we were going to be able to offer. As soon as we realized how much the Volt was going to cost and that we would not be able to offer an immediate $8,000 'Friends and Family' discount on the car, we knew the Volt would never make it out the door."
Toyota still plans on having the Jolt in select cities' dealerships by November 2010.
We'll keep you updated on this story as we receive more information in the coming days.
