Report: Each Chevy Volt Cost Taxpayers $250,000

(Newsroom America) -- A new analysis found that each Chevrolet Volt that has been sold thus far has cost state and federal taxpayers up to a quarter of a million dollars each.

The analysis, conducted by James Hohman, assistant director of fiscal policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, found that a total of $3 billion in incentives has gone towards the support for development and production of the plug-in hybrid vehicle. Factoring in the number of Volts so thus far, the analysis found that taxpayers were on the hook for as much as $250,000 per vehicle.

According to the center, Hohman's "analysis included 18 government deals that included loans, rebates, grants and tax credits. The amount of government assistance does not include the fact that General Motors is currently 26 percent owned by the federal government."

The center's report said the analysis "includes adding up the amount of government subsidies via tax credits and direct funding for not only General Motors, but other companies supplying parts for the vehicle."

It was "unlikely" all companies involved in production of the Volt would receive the $3 billion in subsidies, said the center. "But the analysis looks at the total value that has been offered to the Volt in different aspects of production – from the assembly line to the dealerships to the battery manufacturers."

General Motors says it has sold 6,000 Volts, meaning each of them "would be subsidized between $50,000 and $250,000, depending on how many government subsidy milestones are realized," the analysis said.

Some state lawmakers have criticized the venture as a wasteful government initiative that is seeking to change attitudes and behaviors at taxpayer expense.

"It just goes to show there are certain folks that will spend anything to get their vision of what people should do," said State Representative Tom McMillin, R-Rochester Hills.

"It’s a glaring example of the failure of central planning trying to force citizens to purchase something they may not want. … They should let the free market make those decisions," he added.

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