GM Refutes Report of Huge Volt Losses

General Motors Co. dismisses as "grossly wrong" a Reuters report that the carmaker loses about $49,000 on each Chevrolet Volt it sells.

GM acknowledges the $41,000 Volt isn't profitable yet. But it says Reuters applied development costs for the extended-range hybrid only to units sold to date and not to the total number of vehicles that will be sold over the car's entire life cycle.

The company also points out that some of the Volt's components such as the battery, electric motor and power control system could be used in other models. Doing so, GM says in a statement, would further dilute product development costs and "eventually lead to profitability for the Volt and future electrified vehicles.

GM, which sold 13,500 Volts in the first eight months of 2012, predicted in June that sales of the car and its European Ampera variant this year would total at least 35,000 units.