DETROIT – The Chevy Volt carried much promise when GM started its development in 2007.
The Volt had previously won car of the year and many other automotive awards.
GM though it had caught lightning in a bottle but, instead, it's become a political lightning rod.
Reuters took the development cost for the Volt and divided it by sales.
The results according to the report, "GM is still losing as much as $49,000 on each volt it builds."
The Volt cost more than $40,000 before the tax rebate.
When the cars weren't selling earlier this year GM started leasing volts and Reuters says that makes the drain on the bottom line worse.
GM immediately shot back this afternoon with this statement saying, "Reuters' estimate of the current loss per unit for each volt sold is grossly wrong. Every investment in technology that GM makes is designed to have a payoff for our customers, to meet future regulatory requirements and add to the bottom line. the volt is no different, even if it takes longer to become profitable."