Comments on: Chevy Volt batteries may be leased

GM considers renting the battery packs to make the electric car more affordable overall, according to a story in The Financial Times.

[henebry]

Sounds doubtful to me

I guess I'm not a financial genius, because I fail to see how this
helps solve the problem. If batteries were longer lived than cars,
then renting them out would make sense as a way of selling the car
for less. But, since batteries are likely to last just a few years (I've
heard 3 years is the expectation), I can't grasp how renting the
things is anything except a clever way for GM to disguise just how
big a loss it's taking on these cars.

[theBike45]

Error about lifespan of batteries

The first comment is understandable, hwoever based on false information. The article writer
made a big error when she said that the batteries have a limited lifespan compared to the car. The batteries will likely have a lifespan over 20 years, longer than the car. And THAT's why it's possible to lease the batteries and cut the
monthly out of pocket costs for the owner. And that $30K figures INCLUDES the batteries. The option of leasing the batteries will cause the purchase price of the car to be in line with the Malibu, or around $20K. So there, people. To avoid errors like this that occur over and over in the media - consult www.gm-volt.com for info
about this GM project. Approximately half the time the media gets their facts backwards.

[dlock]

Leasing - what a great idea!

Just like GM leased the EV-1. And then called in all the vehicles after the leases expired, and destroyed every last EV-1. Read up here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_EV1#Controversy